Blogging takes a hiatus

Brother Randy -- ArVee -- will be leaving the civilized world where computers and Internet abound and heading back to Virginia City for the summer. And once again, blogging won't be any fun.

DVD is home from college but I think he's already taken the season off from blogging. Other bloggers -- cousin Gary and ArEm -- seem to have begun their summer vacations as well.

So I'm wondering if I too shouldn't take the summer off. Oh, I'll still have my fits...but maybe I'll just try to keep them all bottled up inside me so I can have a heart attack or a stroke. There's no need to let them out if no one is blogging or commenting.

It's like the story about the tree in the forest. If there's no one to hear the tree fall to the ground, did it make a noise?

If there's no one to tell me that Democrats are good people just trying to make a difference by turning on the printing press and running up the national deficit...are they really the scourge of the earth that I make them out to be?

If no one tells me that Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are really right...than should I believe they are the leftists that I think they are?

Well, for the next three months or four months I may just concentrate on my work, my family life, my pedicure and manicure and leave the blogging to Greyhound. (Whoops, I meant driving.)

That sound you heard was the "blogging bear" heading into his cave for a three month hibernation. GRRRRRR!

Strike Three. You're Out!

The prelude to this blog is the one I wrote last week about my consternation with the IRS. I had mentioned that we get a letter about every six months stemming from the fact that the IRS wrongly believes that companion care for my mother was given in North Dakota and not in Montana three years ago.

Well, last night Dad handed me another letter. This one is demanding that he pay over $700 to the IRS by June 1. They have tacked on another $88 in interest since the letter we received six months ago. Now I'm wondering at which bank can I earn $88 in interest in six months on $600 of principle? I guess the answer is the bank of the IRS.

Anyway, it seems like it's time to cave and just pay. If we send them another letter explaining the errors of their ways, they'll again choose to ignore it and send us another threatening bill. And by that time the payment and interest would probably be over $800.

It's ironic that the same government that seems willing to fight against exorbitant interest rates for credit card companies is more than willing to charge them to an 88-year-old World War II veteran, who has lived an exemplary life of being a devoted husband, raising five children and working everyday of his life from his 18th birthday through his 65th. (If you want to read a fascinating account of dad's life, pick up the book "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw...it even starts out talking about a man born in 1920, raised in the Depression, forged by war..."

There seems to be no way to reason with a group that chooses to be unreasonable. So we'll pay.

Dad actually was noticeably bothered by the letter. And I thought, "nice play IRS, getting the elderly upset over something so stupid must be a strategy in the old extortion playbook."

In many way, I'm reminded of the scenes from the "Grumpy Old Men" movie where actor Buck Henry keeps taunting the character played by Jack Lemmon.

Well, I may give up but I want to go down swinging so by writing this post to warn my readers about the nastiness of the IRS is my last swing at the government's curve ball.

"Strike Three. You're Out!"

How many things can you do at once?

The old joke is that someone couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. For some of us, this is true.

However, I'm watching a new generation who thinks they can do that and more.

They are smoking, talking on their cell phone, drinking their cafe lattes and also driving.

Well, I'm not so sure about their driving.

When I see one of these multi-taskers heading back onto the highway after their habitual stop at Starbucks, I'm leery about whether they are even looking at oncoming traffic. They've got just too darn much stuff going on to be the responsible driver I know they THINK they are.

And I'm not sure if they are breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend while they are talking or texting on the cell phone. Who knows what state of mind they are in...some don't look very friendly.

This all gives me the heebie-jeebies.

I've been in a wreck and it isn't much fun....especially waiting an hour for the Bismarck police to arrive at the scene. I can just imagine having to make small talk with one of these multi-taskers for an hour while I'm steaming mad because they've banged up a fender of my car.

I don't need this...and, frankly, the driver of the other car won't be very happy that they ran into me either. I may, as the saying goes, advance from preaching to meddling. Or as the boys say, I may not use my nice voice.

How do we get this message to the drivers with ADD that they need to concentrate on driving and put down the cigarettes, the coffee and the cell phone while behind the wheel?

Will it take legislative action? If so, I'm for it.

And yet, I think there will have to be actual highway carnage before people wake up and start paying attention.

The car they are driving is a ton of metal that can kill if they are not prepared...and judging by their driving habits, they are not.

Please, I'm begging, when behind the wheel...just drive. That's enough.

Whose writing the vitriolic comments

If you read newspapers on the Web, many of them allow people to write a comment about the story. It's a way for the newspapers to be more interactive and, I suppose, studies show that this is a good thing.

Well, there's an unintended consequence to this good thing and that's the mean spirited comments that people continue to post anonymously. To someone who thinks that being polite is a sign of societal advancement and makes a man into a gentleman, there isn't much to like when the arguments degrade into name calling. In fact, I'm thinking kids at the schools may be better behaved than the commenters on the various online newspapers that I'm reading -- although brother Randy may choose to differ as he's closer to the playground variety thugs.

Now I'm friends with the online editor at the Bismarck Tribune. His name is Jason Leuder. The last time I was at the Tribune for a media briefing, I stopped by to pay my regards to Mr. Leuder. He told me that roughly 25 percent of all the comments sent to him don't get posted because they cross the line.

I can't imagine what these would be because some of the ones that do get posted are pretty outlandish and disgusting.

In yesterday's Bismarck Tribune, for instance, there was a story about a 70-some-year-old man who has been charged in his wife's death. Now there were a couple of comments from people who knew the couple who said some nice things, but there were a lot of people who probably didn't know the couple at all and they said some horrific things. Now I'm thinking about the kids, who are probably well into their 30s and 40s, and who have just lost their mother and had their father arrested. Do they also need to read the terrible things being written by these conspiracy theorists who seem to know law enforcement better than the police detectives?

It's got me scratching my head...but I say no!

This morning I was reading the Fargo Forum online and the rudeness of the commenters on that site is just as despicable.

Luckily, I still prefer to read my newspaper with it held in my hand. I like the feel of newsprint and the smell of ink. I also like knowing that I'm not going to get someone's drivel along with my news.

Emily Post, the mother of good manners, must be spinning in her grave.

Give me that old time religion -- and newspapers -- they are good enough for me.

Mom's 85th birthday

May 7, 2009, would be my mom's 85th birthday. She was born to Clarence and Gladys Anderson in Roundup, Montana. She was the oldest of three daughters and the second oldest of eight children. Only two of the Anderson children are still alive -- mom's sister Ginny and her brother Harold, the baby of the family.

We sent some money to our cousin Connie, who still lives in Roundup, to place some flowers on mom's grave tomorrow. Connie said she would buy yellow roses, which were my mom's favorite flower.

Connie said the passing of my mom has left a large void in her life. Connie came and saw my parents every morning and maybe a couple of other times during the day depending how busy she was at the local diner, the Busy Bee.

I think everyone feels a void in their life when a parent dies...especially when you were close. There are so many times when I've wanted to call her and tell her some good news.

But then I'm reminded of some words my brother Randy wrote....

"I thought of you again today, and asked God to say hello.

I know how happy you are when we call home.

I just like to stay in touch, may the Lord let you know

And I'm sure that He does, we love you very much."

Thought you might like to see what angels look like

Taking off from the previous blog, I thought you might be interested in seeing what Big Susie and Carol Ketchum looked like. In the top photo is Big Susie with my sister Susan. In the bottom photo is Carol with my mom and dad.

I think this shows that angels come in all sizes and shapes. We never know when we walk with angels.

I want to thank Uncle Randy for sharing his memories of these two extraordinary individuals who were called to help and answered the the call loud and clear.

The last thing I did for these ladies was write them letters of reference. They were extremely capable and I would trust them with my most precious possessions, including my mom.

How do you spell frustration? Easy - I.R.S.

Next month it will be three years since mom passed away of congestive heart failure. For her last three or four months, we hired a half dozen ladies to come to her home. They weren't trained...they were just ladies who could provide companion care for people who are dying to make their final days on earth a little more pleasant.

They were nice ladies. When mom was able, they would play cards with her or visit with her. When she became bedridden, they read to her or got her a glass of water or a sandwich. When mom died, they all came to her funeral.

They are in sharp contrast to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which has been just the opposite of nice.

We paid these ladies for their time and followed all applicable Montana and federal laws. But for the past three years, I've been getting the most moronic letters ever written by a government agency who is sure we screwed up somewhere.

The first letter had to do with some alleged wrongdoing on our part because we did not follow North Dakota law when it came to paying unemployment insurance.

Well, that seemed easy enough. We had used a certified public accountant in my hometown of Roundup, Montana, so I asked the CPA if he would write a letter to the IRS on my dad's behalf telling them that the services were performed in Montana and thus were not under the jurisdiction of North Dakota law.

We've never been able to figure out why the IRS thought that the care was given in North Dakota as mom never resided in North Dakota and neither did the ladies. It was only dad who moved here a month after mom passed away.

The CPA wrote a spectacular letter...and we thought the issue was settled. But in about six months we received another letter, which the CPA also answered....and the story has continued until this weekend when we got our latest letter in response to the last letter the CPA sent six months ago in 2008.

This time the IRS wants us to contact the Montana unemployment insurance office to have them write a letter regarding why companion care is not covered under Montana unemployment insurance law. There's an easy answer, BECAUSE THE LEGISLATURE SAID SO.

But that's not good enough for the IRS, so I again called the CPA, who has contacted the Montana unemployment insurance office so many times on this matter he's on a first name basis with a lady named Rose. He's now going to call Rose and ask her to write a letter on our behalf to the IRS.

You might think this would be the end of it, but you would be wrong. In six months, we'll get still another letter from the IRS and they again will be making some other stupid request and threatening a hefty fine for our stupidity and ignorance on such weighty issues.

I'm bringing this to your attention for a couple of reasons. First, because it has become a major irritation in my life. And second, because when you hear that the goverment is going to "help" in any way shape or form, you should start running the other way.

I can't believe that anyone in their right mind would ever accept the proposition of our government running anything -- least of all General Motors, Health Care, etc.

It will be a sad day when you buy a car that's a lemon and expect satisfaction from the government. If you want to see red tape, you'll see it until the end of the universe.