Happy New Year

I am not normally one to make resolutions for the New Year. However, this year I think I will give it a shot. I hereby resolve to stop letting people walk all over me in life. So, if you happen to be one of them be forewarned! lol

Let me hear what your resolution is. In 3 months we can all look back and see how well we did.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

If this doesn't warm your heart nothing will.

This was one of those "flashmob" events. At a set time all of the participants began to sing at the Orlando Airport. They watched for a signal given by a conductor on balcony above. Look at the faces of the other people around them. Not one person is annoyed or bothered by it. Perhaps there is hope for Christians after all.

Just something to make you stop and think....

It's getting a wee bit c-c-cold.

Things are calming down a bit since the media has backed off on beating me up. It was getting rather overwhelming for awhile. Of course that leaves me time now to worry about other issues. Like the fact that our 42 year old oil burner decided to drop dead. Ok maybe not dead but more like it has a problem with incontinence. It leaks water so bad that there if I try to get heat out of it, the basement gets flooded and there is still no hot water circulating in the baseboards. Since I own a duplex, the house has 2 burners. The first one went last winter and I was able to get that one replaced. We had the installer give us a decent price since we knew they both had to be done. Unfortunately, finances limited us to just the one at the time. I knew that come December I would be able to arrange for the cash to do the one for my side of the house. Of course my burner decided to quit before that money came.

We have been using electric space heaters in the meantime. They help a bit, but it still gets a bit cold when the temps are below freezing outside. I am dreading my electric bill next month! The only good thing is I am still able to turn on the burner when I need hot water for showers. My co-workers are happy about that too I am sure!

I am not a Scrooge....

My job year round is life safety. I get paid to protect the public. I do my job year round. There is no holiday for safety concerns. Christmas time is no exception. Recently I received a complaint from a concerned citizen about the potential for someone to either be electrocuted or run over by a car. I did my job and responded to the complaint. I found that the complainant has valid concerns. Illegal electrical wiring has been run both underground and above ground. Some of it attached to a metal chain-link fence. Other wiring buried under the municipal right-of-way and attached to a public utility pole. In addition, materials have been placed in that right-of-way which forces pedestrians to have to step out into traffic to pass by. The owner of the house has several times in the past been warned and asked to correct the issue. They apparently chose not to listen. The only option left is to issue summonses for the violations. No big deal right? In fact at any other time of year I would be thanked for doing my job.

Apparently, the minute you plug any type of Christmas decoration into the electrical wiring, it no longer becomes a problem. That is the situation here. The material blocking pedestrians is an over abundance of Christmas decorations. The entire front lawn and house is covered. It actually looks quite pretty. However, the basic facts remain that there is a safety issue here. The permanent electrical wiring was installed illegally. There is no electrical inspection certificate of compliance. Not to mention, it was installed on municipal property without the permission of the municipality. In addition the homeowner took it upon themselves to also extend the decorations in front of the neighbor's home. Suddenly I am public enemy number one. I have news vans all over the place. All of them reporting on how the government has something against holiday decorations. There are pages of nasty uninformed comments on Facebook bashing me. The phones are ringing like crazy because someone posted the number online so people can call and tell us what they think. They are talking about going to the Mayors house in mass and one person is trying to rally the masses to protest at my home.

Luckily the people I answer to where I work understand the situation. I reached out to them before I wrote the summonses. I knew this would be a subject that had the potential to explode. And that it did

I have nothing against Christmas or the decorations that come with it. In fact I decorate my own home. Not to this extent but, I do put up lights. I am always the first in the office to put up decorations in the office and play the holiday music. Despite what you may see on the news,and this story will probably go national so you will probably see it on your news, I am not a grinch. Merry Christmas!