another slice of wry

[Bonnie M.]

Larry, I'm appreciating your reports regarding the fires, also.  I'm glad you're not in harm's way.  Frank & Myrna, I was wondering about your daughter, also.  Happy to hear she's also not threatened.  Until you're seen the wildfires, and the devastation, it's hard to imagine!

[Diane Amberg]

Unfortunately, the two fire fighters that died were trying to find an escape route down the mountain for their team when in heavy smoke conditions they lost sight of the road and slipped off the edge and dropped and rolled some 800 feet. The fire fighters' camp site had been over run and destroyed already. They had all (including convict labor)  taken temporary shelter in a cinder block mess hall, but they needed to get out and down for safety. Prayers please for all the fighters and the residents out there. There may yet be more lose of life. So sad.

[larryJ]

On a second note, our neighbor has a german shepherd who is a super nice dog and very quiet.  So, when she barks during the night, something is going on.  Early this morning, around 4 AM, she began barking and I could hear my neighbor trying quietly to shut her up.  She usually obeys, but not this morning.  Of course, she shut up once I was awake and getting my coffee.  The point of all this is that my neighbor's sister and family live in Tijunga right next to the fire and were evacuated at 3:30 this morning.  So she came here to my neighbor's house along with her dog, which caused the shepherd to bark.  Our neighbor called this morning to apologize, which, it is not a problem for us as we like our neighbors and like the shepherd, too.  

So, getting back to the fire and its effects on us.  Like I said the inversion layer off the ocean came in upping the humidity and helping to keep the fire down somewhat.  However, having an inversion layer also keeps the smoke and ashes lower, not allowing them to escape into the atmosphere.  I was just outside retrieving something from the car and noticed small bits of ash on our cars.  We had not had that before when the humidity was low.

In getting ready to post this, I saw two more entries.  It is sad that two firefighters have lost their lives, but it is amazing that there hasn't been more loss of life, not only to the fire crews, but to the civilians.  People are told to evacuate and most do, but there are some die-hards who feel they can protect their own property with a garden hose against 50' high flames. 

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

Yeah, or trying to ride it out in a hot tub? Good grief!!!!

[flo]

a few posts back ya' all was talking about automated call answering and the frustrations they can cause.  This is before computerized answering.  (hope no one is offended)

There was a farmer out in the country, a meek little guy who had a speech problem and couldn't talk right.  He got his first telephone, the kind that hangs on the kitchen wall and has to be cranked to get the operator.

Soon after it was install, he tried his first call. (crank, crank, ring, ring)
"Operator"
"Gimme fvree, fvree, one, fi, pease."
"Excuse me?"
"I wanna talk ta fvree, fvree, one fi."
"I don't understand you, sir."
"FVREE, FVREE, ONE, FI ! "
"Sir, if you want to make a call, you're going to have to talk plainer that that."
"Oh, yust shtick it up yer ash ! " (slammed the phone down)

The next morning, there was a knock at the farmer's door.  Two very large repairmen from the phone company were there, and they asked him if he was the one who had used a profanity with their operator. "Yesh, I yam", he said.  The telephone man said "Sir, we don't stand for our ladies being treated that way.  You have a choice,  You can either call her right now and apologize, or we're going to remove your telephone."

Without saying a word, the little man walked to the telephone.  (crank, crank, ring, ring )
"Operator"
"are yew th' lady I told ta shtick 'dis telephone up her ash? "
Immediately huffy, the operator replied "I CERTAINLY AM ! "
"well, get ready.  Dere bringin' it in.""

[larryJ]

Good one, Flo!!!!
 
Actually, when I heard about the hot tub, my initial reaction was ----- okay------ wait!!!!!!!!  wouldn't the water in the hot tub start to boil in the midst of a fire?  Was there water in the hot tub?  Of course, why else would you hide in a hot tub?  Are these people big lobster lovers?

Sometimes you wonder where these people came from, meaning what planet.  I am oft reminded of Bill Engval and his jokes about people being stupid and having to wear a sign saying, "I'm stupid" so the rest of us will be forewarned.  One of my favorites was the one where he said he had a flat tire and pulled into the gas station to get it fixed.  The station attendant came out and asked if he had a flat.  To which he replied, Nope, I was just driving along and the other three just swelled right up! 

Here's your sign.

Larryj

[flo]

I like Bill Engval.  Well, really I like all of those guys.  Incidently, Larry the Cable Guy grew up next door to my sister in Pawnee City Nebraska.  I guess he was a real clown in high school and Debbie (my niece in the same class) said the teacher asked him "so I suppose you think you can make a living as a comedian?".  Bet she's choking on her words now.  lol

[larryJ]

How cool!!  Larry the cable guy is a big favorite of mine, also.  Which makes me think, growing up around someone like that, I think maybe we/they don't think that these people might make it as a comedian.  Can you imagine going to school with Jim Carrey?   

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

I just had some of his and Jeff Foxworthy's stuff on. They both just roll me on the floor.

[frawin]

Bill Engvall's wife is from Midland Texas and he comes back to Midland every year and puts on a benefit show for the Midland Association for Retarded Children (MARC). It is a sellout crowd and all of the Money is donated to MARC, it raises a lot of money for a great cause.