Yes, I watched. The ceremony, the crowds, the former US Presidents, the US Supreme Court Justices. The speeches, too, and all the accompanying pomp and circumstance.

So, we have a new President. President Obama. Not to cast aspersions, but it really does sound like the top official in a third-world country somewhere on the globe.

He seems like a nice guy. Young, although he’s a bit older than I. I did not campaign for him, I did not vote for him. I was, and am, opposed to Barack Obama being our president.

Too bad, you say? Yes, it’s done. But I will not sink to the level of many who condemned our most recent president, who were hateful, and used horrible names to describe him. Any president deserves our backing and our respect.

My objections to President Barack Obama still stand: he is an idealist; this is not a bad thing, unless one believes, without question, in his own idealism and his abilities to deliver. He has many wonderful ideas – but many of the people who voted him into office are absolutely convinced that he can make a huge differenc, almost immediately. They believe in Obama, but not in this country; they do not believe in themselves.

I think that many Obama supporters have always been so based on their feelings – and feelings will not turn this country around, feelings will not raise up the economy or create jobs or fix our healthcare system.

I saw a lot of feelings today, during the inauguration festivies for our 44th president, Barack Obama. They were good feelings. But are they enough to make a change? I don’t think so. I think the majority watching today, those who believe in the man, have only that to hold on to. And when things don’t turn out they way they hope, and as quickly as they dream – things may become quite ugly.

I hope not. But hope can be fallible.

When it rains, it pours! In the last week, well, less than a week, my truck died, my son drank a spiked slushie, and a great deal of my time has been spent waiting to reach people who should be able to dial a phone and pass along information without being hounded to the ends of the earth!

And if that wasn’t a run-on sentence, I don’t what it would be called.

Forget the truck, it will make it – it’s been in surgery for several days now. My son, too, will survive and hopefully experienced enough negative effects to avoid alcohol for the time being.

The question of the day, however, is what does it take to ensure people do their jobs?

Is it so difficult to pick up the telephone and push a few buttons? Is it so difficult to give a straight answer? Is it hard to pass along information?

Case in point:
Lawyers. Yes, I’m revisiting this topic. What does “early in the week” mean to the average person? Monday, Tuesday, possibly Wednesday, right? Oh wait – I get it. They didn’t say WHICH week!

What about hitting the “reply” button on email – does that take so very long? Perhaps waiting a few seconds for the new mail page to load – how long does it take to type a few words, or to answer a question? I’m guessing that, most of the time, it can be done in less than five minutes.

And how many days off does a person need? I don’t get any. My husband gets one week a year. Sure seems like lawyers take off at least one day a week or, failing that, take a week-long vacation at least every quarter.

I understand most attorneys have more than one case going on at a time, but seriously – when all parties have agreed, repeatedly, for a couple of years, how long does it take to actually write the agreement and have it signed? Oh, wait – I can answer that question: years.

And, meanwhile, the billable hours increase. Interesting corrolary.

Case #2:
Nearly 48 hours ago, my son drank a spiked drink; he’s 16, not 21. A local gas station sold him the drink. On Sunday, the same station sold another spiked drink. It’s still open for business.

Why? Perhaps because the town in which this store is located has exactly TWO detectives who only work Monday through Friday. Apparently no one is concerned that other kids have access to these drinks, or that any number of lawsuits could be filed.

Bars and clubs get shut down almost immediately if they serve minors – what’s the deal with this particular establishment? And nothing in the news – the power of the press seems to be quite dead in this town.

No outcry, little investigation, zero results. Probably has to do with someone being “unable” to pick up a telephone or not having email. Or just being a complete moron. Or maybe just not caring a whit about our kids.