BURNING HAIR AND THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Minions of mine:
Just a couple of subjects today. Haven't been posting for a week, as I had nothing to say. It's funny, cause when I think of something to write, I'm away from the computer. When I'm here, I draw a blank. High? Not always.

BURNING HAIR
Some of you already know about this one, but it's a LEN IS RIGHT classic. Last Sunday morning, around 5 a.m., a train came into the shop without it's toilet dump pipes. They had been knocked off by overzealous carmen who were using a sledgehammer to........anyway, long story short, they were missing and had been broken off at the flange that connects it to the bottom of the train car. For a couple of reasons, I ended up having to try and weld these pipes back onto the car. It was a busy night and trains still needed to come in, so there wasn't alot of time. The bottom of the car had thin or rusted metal to weld to, so I had to be careful. Several blown holes later (you strike an arc and a hole blows immediately, giving you nothing to weld to), as I'm welding in the overhead position, with my welding jacket snapped up, I get 2 pieces of molten metal drop off the work and go down my t-shirt.

Being hairy means things like crumbs and such get caught on their way down. So, the heat starts to set in as these things are just sizzling on me. I'm tearing the welding helmet off, dropping the stinger, and trying to pull my shirt out of my pants so the metal can fall out. That shit is HOT!! Are you getting the picture in your mind? Classic, right? So now, I'm walking around looking like someone put out 2 cigarettes on me. NOT A KLUMSY INJURY. Just Murphy's Law accident. If there's one exposed area, be it paint, water, light, or welding slag, that's where the stuff will go. And then.......

The acrid stench of burning hair and skin starts to waft in the air. MOTHER-PUSS-BUCKET!!! I know some of you have smelled burning hair and skin. It's not like cooking something. Cause I wouldn't eat anything that smelled like that shit. WOW! It later took on a skunk-like quality. I never thought I'd have anything in common with a skunk, but the smell had qualities of fresh skunk. Both of my dogs have been sprayed a total of 8 times. You find out the difference between fresh and hours-old skunk. Hours-old skunk is sour. Fresh skunk is a bitter, charred, putrid, nasty smell. Actually burns your throat. Very effective. Just like when a dog scratches days later, I itched where I was burned and had to scratch, which brought out the smell, if ever so faint, again. Damn, my crackuhs. Nice start to last week.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Alright, here's my take. First, the Republicans. Couldn't care less. You've fucked up my world and nation (in my opinion) so bad that I gotta go with the other guys, blind. Sorry Conservatives. Sorry Republicans. I'm sure one of your candidates could do an excellent job and save our country for a while. But I can't even look your way.

So you think that would make it easy. But the other side keeps disappointing me, as does America's response. Hillary keeps flying off the handle under stress. So I'm losing confidence in her. And is it the right time for Obama? And is he the lesser of 2 evils? When Oprah jumped on his ship, it seemed that there was a shift in the polls. I know Oprah carries alot of weight in this country, but should we allow our collective opinion to be swayed by celebrity? It's a given that Oprah's got alot more going for her than , say, most other celebrities, but is she always right? Who is she? Why don't you run for office? I would love it if celebrities just voted in private and kept their opinions out of the Press, like the rest of us. But, it's a different world now. Jeez, the world can read my rantings if they can find them. Should I have influence over a mass of people? I know the SMART minions are nodding and chanting YES!! right now. The rest of you losers don't know what you're missing. I saw on Bill Maher's Real Time that a group of African-American women, in a hair salon, all were for Obama over Hillary. That told me that race, not sex, may decide the Democratic Nominee and, ultimately, the whole election.

Why have we forgotten about John Edwards? It seems that many times the nation has gone for the Popular rather than the correct choice for candidates. I was a fan of Bill Clinton, because NAFTA aside, I thought our country did well when he was in Office. I know I got more than one new contract at Amtrak when he was in Office. I'm still waiting for one from Dubya. Nothing's ratified yet, though we finally have a basic framework.

I think we know that Edwards has no chance. This is a 2-horse race. For me, if the Democrats don't end up doing the expected, and shooting themselves in the foot, then I have to hope whichever qualified candidate gets in can clean up whatever mess has been made and move us forward so we're ahead of the 8-ball.

THE CAMPAIGN
This is the main problem for me. Just hype of another nature. And folks, we're getting hammered all around right now. You like hype? Here's what you're getting hyped at you right now: A Presidential campaign complete with all the trimmings (interviews, speculation, reports, speeches, etc...), the upcoming Super Bowl XLII, the Awards Season (Grammys, Oscars, yada, yada), Valentines Day bombardment, what else? I would have no problem with the campaign if it wasn't all about NEGATIVITY. The biggest snipe hunt in the world.

Hey, esteemed lawyers running for office, can ya do me a favor? Could you please just focus on your objectives? Can you just tell all of us what your plans are going to be and maybe explain how you plan on going about making these plans a reality, so I can make my choice? "I'll give you a National Health policy." "I'll get us out of Iraq." "I'll work more on the Planet." "I'll take care of domestic and border issues." Great. How? And what programs are going to lose money so you'll be able to succeed in these plans?

Which one of these characters do YOU think is going to leave the country in better shape than he/she found it when they took Office? Here's the tough part. How do we take care of our country Domestically, and gain back our respect and status in the eyes of the world? It's a tenuous balancing act that most would be doomed to fail at.

Let's hope we make the right choice. I welcome any comments, as always. Thanks for visiting Len Is Right.

I am,
Len Tollerton