The luckiest guy on earth? That would be Guy Ritchie, ex-husband of Madonna. She settled her divorce with Ritchie to the tune of between 76 to 92 million dollars. As much as I detest her, I would have married her if I knew I was getting that much in the divorce settlement. Actually, I have to give Madonna credit; she must have far more money than I originally thought. She has been on the downswing in her career for a while now. But, if she is able to part company with about 92 million dollars, she's got money to burn. I'm thinking of that tune by Rod Stewart..."some guys have all the luck."

I said last week that people must not know that we are in the middle of a worldwide recession based on the number of people at Wal-Mart and the malls in town. Well, maybe I spoke too soon. I went to Wal-Mart yesterday at about 3PM. Expecting to fight to find a parking space, I was shocked to see numerous open parking spaces all over the lot, In fact, I found there were about five empty spaces right in front of the Home and Garden Center where I usually park. I went into the store and it was like it usually is on a weekday. I suppose what this all means is that people are holding onto their money this Christmas season. This is going to be devastating to merchants who depend on the Christmas season for up to 50% of their revenue. The recession is only going to get worse. President-Elect Obama's plan to increase taxes on the "rich" is going to hurt the economy even more. I've never understood the Democrats economic strategy of taking money away from people through taxes. I have less money, I spend less. And I am not rich. I do not believe PE Obama will achieve all his objectives by taxing people at the 250K level. I just don't get their line of thinking. Of course, since W took office, the line between Republican and Democrat has blurred so much, I can tell no real difference between the two.

It really bugs me that craftsmanship has taken a nosedive, at least in my area. I have had the people who originally put up my new roof (this was after Hurricane Katrina remodeled my home) out twice to fix leaks. The leaks have been around the kitchen area and where the hot water heater is located. It is where the hot water heater is located that has been the biggest problem. It seems no one has been able to stop that leak. In turn, that means my ceiling has to be painted once again. I am so disgusted with these people I feel like turning this over to an attorney. This will be the third time I will have the roof fixed and the ceiling repaired. It is also going to be the last time. If there is a next time, I will turn this over to an attorney. I'm sick of it.

Finally, my little 7 year old great-niece found out there was no Santa Claus this past Saturday. She was devastated. It was quite by accident. It was the same way I found out; by overhearing relatives discuss whether or not my niece knew Santa doesn't exist. I truly felt sorry for her. It is just one disappointment that she will face in life. There will be many more disappointments she will have to face as she grows older and becomes an adult. She was crying about it and really taking it hard. So, I got online, looked up the text of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" and read it to her. She stopped crying, looked up at me and asked, "So, is there a Santa Claus?" I told her that as long as there is love and generosity, as was quoted in the letter, there would always be a Santa. And, just how dreary a world it would be if there was no Santa. Why, it would be as dreary as if there were no "Nancys." She said, "I just knew it! There is a Santa! He's just invisible." And, with that, she stopped crying. I may have made matters worse since I'm not sure she understood what I was saying. But, maybe, just maybe she will get to really enjoy Christmas one more time.