Something is Always Broken

Only once in my adult life did I not own something that was broken. That brief moment would be when I had just graduated from college and moved out of my parents' house. I also, coincidentally, did not own anything except my RCA stereo and a B & W Phillips television with rabbit ears. Life was simple. Then, my old man talked me into buying a house. Need I say any more?

I started by replacing the roof, painting the entire house inside and out, and hanging wallpaper in the kitchen which my smart ass little brother noticed had been hung upside down. Shut up! No one will notice. I'm not doing it over. Next, was the A/C. It was too hot in the house to make out with my future wife. So, I called up Love Heating and Air Conditioning to install central air. The A/C worked fine, but it was still too hot to make out. Hubba! Hubba!

Anyway, I'm getting off the subject. I have been a wonderful consumer over the past 37 years and have come to realize that most "things" have a shelf life of about 7 to 10 years before they break, self-destruct, or just aren't worth the effort to take care of anymore. You name it. I've bought it, broken it, fixed it, and replaced it.

Today, I have come full circle. I am having my A/C replaced by Love Heating and Air Conditioning because my older unit gave up after seven years. However, the goal isn't to cool down the kissing. It's her hot flashes.

It's not Personal. It's Just Business.

Ever heard that before? Well, AskIndyTed just got the business end of a stick stuck up my "you know what". Yesterday, Eastman Kodak Company terminated the company my father started in 1950 as a reseller of their products. Kodak also terminated twenty-three other closely-held small dealerships like us across the USA. They have decided to market their goodies through "Big Box" companies. The decision to whack us was made by upper management. Hey, it's "just business".

Well, the Meek's small business was started with $5,000 borrowed from a man who baked pies for a living. He was grateful for the nursing care my mother gave to his wife who was dying from cancer during World War II. He loaned the money to my father with a handshake. He trusted my Dad would pay him back. That's "personal".

My father built the business into a successful enterprise with Kodak as his flagship product line. The partnership was a win-win for both companies. Kodak was a wonderful company because they developed "personal" relationships with all of their resellers. We pointed with pride to our Kodak partnership as "bleeding yellow".

That success made it affordable for my father to send all six of his children to college. It was something he was denied due to the war and the Great Depression. He was a proud papa when we all graduated. It made it possible for me to do the same for my three sons and my wife as well, through her 3 degrees.

But, the last decade has been a mess. Kodak has been unraveling as they have tried to convert from a film-based company to a digital-imaging company. Translated, that means moving from a very profitable business model to a huge money-sucking vacuum. Meanwhile, the management team at Kodak has been completely replaced with people whose history at the company probably spans less than five years and they have very skillfully driven the stock price down to $2 per share. Bleeding yellow is a forgotten culture. Can you believe this...our customers found out and called us before Kodak did..how's that for class?

What could be the problem? Evidently, someone in Rochester thinks small independently-owned companies must be the problem. So they sent out the order to shoot 'em all!

Now, I take that "personal".

Eating Well for a Week in a Recession

Did we cook? No. Did we go out? Yes, once with friends and once with a coupon. The rest of our food was given to us by long-time friends. As you all know, my wife has cancer. People want to help and there is no better way than to make you comfort food.

They not only brought us food, the brought us the type of food that has a story. Brenda Rittenhouse brought us the chili her mother taught her how to make when her Mom was sick with breast cancer. And the pretzel dessert, chocolate chip cookies and fruit bouquet were fab.

Marilyn & Julio Fernandez invited us to dinner. I am sure she thought of her parents. They both died of cancer and she just wanted us to feel loved. Marilyn, mission accomplished.

Jim and Julie Freeman made us a chicken dish that was frozen. It's still frozen. It won't be by Tuesday. You can't eat everything hot out of the oven. Some things need to wait, but friendship never does. Thanks, Julie. Jim, I know you can't cook. But, you are married to a sweet lady.

Roxanne made us meatball soup. I love meatballs! It is a family specialty. Did your family sneak the recipe across the border? Just kiddin'. We've had it twice and there is enough for one more round. I'm eating it before the Mrs. comes downstairs tomorrow.

As for the recession? Screw it. We're well fed and well loved. That's good enough!!

Can You Afford It?

Alright, I'm back from vacation and I had a tough re-entry. I'm a bit grouchy. So, if you're under 18 years of age, get lost!

I am sick of hearing about people who are on the verge of losing their homes. I do not mean to sound mean, but some of these folks should have never been allowed to buy a house in the first place. Since when is it the United States government's responsibility to bail out homeowners who cannot make payments on time. Excuse me for being surly, but if you have not made any contingency plans for unemployment, medical crisis, getting clobbered by an uninsured motorist under the influence, and any other unfortunate everyday occurrence of modern day living, start packing your stuff.

Never take on a debt unless:
1) You can afford it. All of your monthly debt payments should not exceed 35% of your gross income.
2) You have SIX months of income stashed away in a savings account. Oh, you have no savings? Rent something or move in with your family. That is, if you're invited.
3) You have a rich aunt who really, really likes you.
4) You just purchased the winning Power Ball ticket.
5) You expect Obama to be President for the term of your loan.

Grow up America. It has been an entire generation since we've had a recession and it is time for individuals to take responsibility for their actions. Read the contract before you sign it. Then, pay up on time!

I Will Be on Vacation

It doesn't happen often, but I am leaving town and going on vacation for an entire week. Hot Damn! I will be somewhere warm where my cell doesn't work which is even better.

So, I'll be back the 27th. I will be hoping for global warming to bring an early spring upon my return. Until then.....

I'm out!

Two Good Things for Tough Times

There was a bunch of miserable news today and there is no reason to repeat it here.

However, my day started wonderfully and ended on a rather high visual note. I woke up this morning around 5:30AM with a plan to get an early start to work in Terrible Haute. That wasn't the highlight.

While lying in bed trying to wake up, my sweetie took hold of my hand. Then she rubbed my head. Then she held me and.....I got up for my shower. Hey, I'm 58 and she is getting chemo. We need to pace ourselves! But, it was a very nice and very quick hour just lying there with my Valentine. Hint, hint, just in case you forgot...get it in gear for your sweetie.

The rest of my day was a drag. it was the kind of day you would expect on the eve of the next Great Depression, thanks to all of the irresponsible money-grubbing low-life's that collect bonuses in the name of capitalism. Maybe Karl Marx was onto something.

Not to be totally discouraged, I arrived home to take my loyal dog, Wrigley, out for his daily constitutional, when I saw today's mail. It was the annual, just-after-the-Super Bowl, what-makes-the-winter-warmer, undeniably the best issue of print in the free world-The SI Swimsuit Issue! And, after inspecting it for editorial integrity, it is an all-time, hubba-hubba issue. My goodness, are there really that many girls that really look like that? There aren't in Indiana-except for one.

That would be the girl I met 37 years ago and she was rubbing my head this morning.

Hair

I am married to a beautiful woman. She also happens to be smart, personable, loving, charming, engaging, entrepreneurial, energetic, caring, and most importantly understanding...after all, she happens to live with a somewhat perplexing man which would happen to be me.

She also happens to have breast cancer. That in itself is quite an ordeal. Well, I'm experiencing my own side effects. How effective would a solar cell be without the sun? Well, she is my sunshine, it has been cloudy, and my batteries are a bit on the low side.

This week, she began to lose her hair. I've known this was going to happen for over a month, but it actually happened this weekend. We have "debated" the length and style of her locks for nearly four decades. My preference has always been the longer the better. Like most women her preference has always been for short, cute, and quick to style. We've normally compromised for something in between. As of today, it's gone until the Colts blow another Super Bowl opportunity.

Isn't it silly for me to fret about hair when she is fighting cancer? You can bet your sweet bippy it is. Nevertheless, I am human and my wife's hair is one of my major weaknesses.

So I'm sorry, but when I look at her tonight..all I can think of is "Cha-cha-cha-Chia"! If the stores haven't yet sold out their Christmas inventory of Chia Pets, and I paste those little seeds on her head, do you think her head will be covered faster?

"What? Me Worry?"

Those are the famous words of Alfred E. Newman from MAD magazine back in 60's. You see, that's what most people did back then and Alfred was the clueless cartoon character who didn't worry. Hey, it was bred into my psyche at a very young age. My first memory of grade school was getting my polio vaccination. My mother was worried I could end up like my best friend who lived four doors away from us. He was paralyzed below his waist from "infantile paralysis". That sounds serious to a kid even if you don't understand what it means.

Eventually, she also told me of her oldest brother who died of diphtheria as a baby, her sister of tuberculosis, and my grandmother of a kidney infection before I was born. The Korean War had just ended, the Vietnam War had just started, the Russians were going to bury us, and my car had no seat belts and a steel dashboard. I was convinced there was no way I would live to my 18th birthday!

My future brightened around the time I flunked my draft physical, met my lifetime sweetheart, bought a house, started a family, and thrived during a couple of recessions that in some ways were actually worse than our current downturn. Besides, Alfred didn't worry. Why should I?

Looking back now, what I avoided scares the bejabbers out of me. There is no need to detail all of the events. There is no reason to give any ideas to my grandchildren.

Let's just say the angels and the good Lord were busy looking after me and my own.

Indy Comes Up a Little Short...Duh!

When the Capital Improvements Board (a semi-autonomous entity that spends a lot of money without government oversight) built Conseco Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Indiana Convention Center it's hard to imagine that they could not know that the cost of building larger structures would carry higher costs. Well, the bills are coming in and they have underestimated the maintenance costs by $43 million. That's not what the total cost is. That's just the shortfall in the annual budget.

Now, the Pacers want the same deal as the Colts. They want to stop paying anything to use Conseco and keep all of the revenue. That would be an additional $15 million on top of the current $43,000,000.

I still say we should break the contract with the Colts, let the contract with the Pacers expire, drain the pipes, turn off the heat, and fill them up with corn.