Day 971

I keep hearing that the Post Office is going broke. I don't understand why. Judging from the ridiculous amount of junk they send me, I'd think these guys would be rolling in money. Today I tried to wade through the big stack of "don't need to open now" mail that's been growing on the kitchen table for the past month. I'd just as soon never open this mail, but occasionally I forget a bill or something important, so it does need to be checked. Today I just threw away a seemingly endless stack of letters urging me to join a cause, vote for somebody, switch to a different electric company, get a new credit card, lose weight, or sign up for a pre-paid funeral plan.

I don't know why most companies even bother printing this stuff. If it doesn't contain a coupon, it's just going to get tossed.  I save coupons from Bed Bath and Beyond, Guitar Center, Lowes, and several other places. I throw the invitations to join AARP away.

Another neighborhood restaurant has bit the dust. It was sad to see a For Sale sign on my favorite local barbecue joint today. If the refrigerator was empty before shopping day, I would always just run down to Raymonds BBQ and pick up one of their three meat dinners. It probably wasn't the best barbecue in the state of Texas, but it was simple, honest food and it was dirt cheap. I would always get way more food than I could eat and never spend more than ten dollars. One by one, all my favorite little local businesses are disappearing. Anyone who thinks the economy is improving just isn't looking in the right places. You just can't have a strong, vibrant economy without small business, and from my small little corner of the world, small business is still having a tough time.

When we went to the dog park today, I watched two Shelties run straight toward the biggest mud puddle in the park and lie down in it. Their owner just shrugged his shoulders and smiled, as if to say this sort of thing happened everyday. This would have been the day for Dot and Dash to get muddy, because they were headed straight to Vhea's LaundroMutt for a bath on the way home. I don't know why the dogs hate a bath so much. They look better. They smell better. For the first three or four days, they're actually pleasant to have on the bed at night.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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