For those who regularly follow, you may have noticed my absence since the middle of last week. Things got a bit busy here. We had visitors from up north. I just like saying that since it was Carol's brothers and they live in Lexington, Kentucky. Since we are currently way down in Georgia, in what I like to call the real south, they qualify as carpet bagging northerners. They came in on Tuesday and spent a few days enjoying the sights and sounds of our little island getaway. They also learned the hazards of MapQuest directions. Someone from James' work had printed him out directions but had done them backwards from Tybee to Lexington instead of Lexington to Tybee. They were supposed to get off on route 17 in South Carolina. That would have brought them into Savannah across the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. Somehow in South Carolina they missed the exit. They continued to drive on Interstate 95 and crossed Interstate 16. When they got to I-16 James asked Roger if they should take that road since it said Savannah. Roger replied that the directions said to take route 17 south so they continued on I-95. The interesting thing is that route 17 south crosses I-95 several times on your way south. So eventually they find one of the spots where I-95 and route 17 cross and they head south on 17. The problem is they are now south of Savannah and with each passing moment they are moving further down the road. We had talked to them around 1:30 pm and they were about 3 hours away. When they hadn't arrived by 5:30 pm we decided to call them. They stated they were on route 17 south and were coming up on a large bridge. I thought it was the Talmadge Memorial Bridge as they were coming into Savannah. That was not the case as shortly after crossing the bridge they said one of the signs told them they were close to Jekyll Island. That would put them nearly an hour south of Savannah. We got them turned around and headed back toward Savannah with instructions to call when they got near I-16 so I could get them out here to Tybee. Well they called when they were on I-16 and they had taken it west toward Macon. We got them turned around again and headed east toward Savannah and Tybee. I tried to keep them on the phone but when they changed cell towers the call would be dropped. When I tried to call back I pushed the wrong button and called James' home number. His wife Betty answered and I told her I had the wrong number. I tried again. Got Betty again. I tried again. Got Betty again. They couldn't follow directions and I couldn't use a telephone. I finally got them back on the line and got them through Savannah and safely out to Tybee. When they left I gave them an old GPS unit I had in the trunk of the motorcycle. It worked well enough to get them home. It was the GPS Carol used to hold while I drove and she told me where to turn. She got me a new one that is hooked to the handlebars so that one became excess. Hopefully James and Roger will use it to find their way.
After they left my attentions were turned to my annual molestation by Uncle Sam. It was time to concentrate my thoughts on my taxes. It is never easy when you live in two states and have income from a third state. Lots of forms. Lots of things that can go wrong. So far Uncle Sam has been willing to take my money and then leave me alone. I'm not sure how that works exactly or how to refer to what happens. If it was prostitution I would pay Uncle Sam while I screwed him. As it is now I'm paying him and he is screwing me out of my money. I suppose that is why I refer to it as my annual molestation. I understand that taxes are the cost of having things like roads and schools. Most things that tax money is spent on is not a problem for me. Where I have a problem is when we can afford the weapons of war but not education for our youth. Bombs but not food for the less fortunate. Prison for too many and not enough job training. Too much welfare with too little encouragement to work. Too much corporate welfare and not enough jobs for American workers. Our candidates for the 2016 presidential election are lining up and so far I am completely unimpressed. Do we really need another Bush or Clinton in the White House. Ted Cruz, really? Rubio, not impressed. Huckabee, too religious for my liking. Still looking to see if anyone will run who may change the way things are. Somehow I doubt that persons exists and if they do I suspect they are too smart to run.
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