General topics.

So very glad that I took my DH to Costco for a VERY long overdue eye exam earlier this week; he may have narrow angle glaucoma and has an ophthalmology appointment tomorrow.

I hear you, Cwillie. I have an eye exam this month -- I cancelled one last fall and then life happened. Never thought I'd be so happy to go to the doctor's. I can finally get some new glasses.

Yesterday I had 3 friends over for drinks and pizza, today I'm getting my hair cut (yay!!) and I have a dental appointment coming up soon - life is returning to normal here (or the new normal anyway, masks required at the salon and dentist).

Local officials are scolding people for crowding onto local beaches now that they've reopened, one mayor saying "I’m very disappointed in the number of people that showed up at the beach", especially going on about disrespectful outsiders flooding the area...... Uhm, it's a tourist town in a very lowly populated area, locals can not possibly save businesses that depend on tourists. And you cant' expect the people who travel 30 to 45 minutes or more to get there to shrug their shoulders and just go home again if they weren't one of the fortunate ones who got there first. Maybe local politicians need to think outside the box and come up with a way to move people in and around more efficiently - one way sidewalks?? masks when walking the strip?? - and to encourage beach goers to move along and give someone else a chance too - maximum two hour parking limits, maybe less during peak hours??

I've spent a week wearing them every other day trying to break them in, I don't think they're returnable. I might go back in though to let them know they aren't as supportive as they claimed - people who don't have my problem feet probably do think they are wonderful.

Cwillie, can you return them?

I've got wide feet and I pronate (plus I've noticed my tracks are a little duck footed on one side since I broke my ankle) so I'm fussy about my footwear. I forked over almost $200 (after tax) for some sandals that my local shoe store enthusiastically assured me were "wonderful". Yeah, no. Aside from the three blisters I've got hip and knee discomfort when I walk in them 😤🙁

I'm finding that avoiding crowded places like grocery stores is playing into my worst introverted tendencies (when does isolation become something more pathological?) so today I decided to go for a grocery run to the No Frills store in the next town. Wow, I'm very impressed at the way they have everything set up compared to my last shopping excursion, plus I was able to score almost everything on my list for way less than I would have paid at my local supermarket. I've topped it off by rewarding myself with a large dark roast double double (ahhh, I've missed that!) and a #nsstrong doughnut - I'll save that for later 😁

Earlier this year, two N95 masks were put into our emergency kits.
Now I am thinking of donating them to the health care workers because of the shortages, but it is such a small gesture.

For sure, I will not be wearing one out in public because people may riot, rip it off my face, and tar and feather me for having planned ahead.

Just sayin'.

Yes, schools are closed.
The school shootings have stopped.

Need, yep I am part Irish. And no one is going to make me miss my Irish American corned beef and cabbage!! Unless my work decided we have to hunker in place, like we do for winter storms.. I am repacking my overnight bag tomorrow,, with a few days of things in case.

Imagine being in the height of allergy season.

Everyone is coughing, sniffling and exhibiting what could be cold symptoms.

Ugh!

Not to mention that I'm scared to cough when I'm out in public now. Lord forbid I get a slight tickle in my throat. I said to a lady at a checkout at the grocery store that maybe they'll have a sharp shooter at grocery stores now aiming to shoot anyone who is seen wiping their nose. Yikes!

We just received an e-mail in our condo development about how we need to wipe down elevator buttons etc. The cleaning staff will be cleaning the public areas more often and we must try to restrict the number of people in the elevator to three people only. How do they propose to enforce that? I just said to hubs the next thing that will happen is brawls in the bldg. when people try to get on the elevator when there are three people already in it. People will be running to get on the elevator and shut the doors quickly. What next?

Sigh....................

Pam,

Are you Irish? I am on daddy’s side. Irish/Scottish. Our St. Patrick’s parades cancelled, boo hoo.

Need, maybe they are hoping the alcohol will help kill the virus,, or the people stuck home with their families from killing each other?
Cwillie our grocer was also crazy! I needed Windex for the river house, and it was almost all gone.. Windex?? WTH? But plenty of bleach.. maybe people have forgotten in the "old days" we diluted it and put it in a spray bottle to wipe things down,, now they are fixated on the wipes,, less messy I will agree, but it does the same job. Just use a scrub cloth and watch your clothes!
What was I buying? Dog and cat food!! And the stuff for St Patricks day dinner! You know where my priorities lie...

Hahaha,

Only in New Orleans moment just now on our television news! The mayor just said they are not going to limit the sale of alcohol. What??? Too funny!

She stated all important issues such as how many are infected in our city, closing of schools, etc. Then talks about no alcohol restrictions! Geeeeez!

So, everyone come get a drink here in New Orleans! Hahaha. Well, this is why our driving insurance is higher her. We have ‘drive through’ bars here!

Honestly, I am sort of surprised our St. Patty day parades were cancelled. This city loves parades!

Public safety must come first. They are trying to address the childcare issues with the closing of schools. Will be interesting...

Our city does rely on tourism. Upcoming festival cancellations are going to hurt.

I just started my income taxes, between that, covid 19 and the stock market my need for a chocolate bar became unbearable and my pledge to forgo junk food until after Easter went out the window. Coffee crisp. Mmmm.
🍷🍸🍡🍭🍨🥧🍰🍹😱

Gershun,
Do you have TP on your mind?

Too too funny. 🎒🔓
All my TP is on l o c k d o w n in an emergency backpack.
Ready to go.

Cwillie, LOL

I slept really well last night. 🍋🍒🍓🍍🥝🍌

I just got home from the grocery store😱😱

Shell,

My therapist told me something similar before. “Take your power back! Don’t give your power away. Remove toxic people from your life. Don’t allow anyone to steal your joy.”

It’s true. Your brother isn’t a part of your life. My brothers aren’t part of mine.

Hey, they screwed up! Not us. They brought their problems on themselves. If someone mistreats us, they made the wrong choice. It doesn’t mean we have to put up with their foolishness.

Karma! He will get egged in one way or another, right? It’s not that I purposely wish anyone any harm. It’s part of life. If not in this life, there is judgment in the afterlife.

I do pray that others will be forgiven and shown mercy. That took a long time for me to reach that point and sometimes it takes suffering on their end to show any remorse and ask for forgiveness.

You and I definitely don’t fall for their bait! People who constantly bully others are unstable and insecure. That isn’t an off day. Everyone has off days. Their whole lives are off!

My therapist is thinking some times you have to fight fire with fire. I am not sold that egging my brother's truck is the answer. I just wanted to see what others think.

Here we have a Victim Unit and they won't give me a Person Protection Order PPO because he hasn't beat me up or threaten me.

I just feel like he is abusing me (in a way) and is getting a way with it again.

I wouldn't egg his truck because that is not the answer...I know...heavy sigh!!

I do know that one day he will do something and get caught. It is just a matter of time.

Send,

Sometimes a restraining order is necessary. My daughter had to get one for an ex boyfriend. I know it’s not going to prevent an action of an unstable person but it is good in the sense of having a recorded document filed in court and it gives police permission to arrest an individual. So, yeah you have a good suggestion if it is needed down the line.

Here’s the thing though. You have to have significant proof of a real threat to get an order of protection. My daughter did. She had a great attorney as well and a wonderful judge who was extremely fair heard the case.

Shell,

It was insane of him to rob a bank. There is no defending that type of action. I have had a gun pointed at my heart. I know how terrifying it is to be robbed at gunpoint.

My summer job as a teen was working at a convenience store. I got robbed. Stupid me, I completely froze when I saw the gun pointing at my heart. I couldn’t move. Not a good time to panic and freeze but I was only 18 and very scared.

I stood there like a frozen dummy until the robber said to me that if I didn’t hand over the money he would shoot me in the heart and be dead.

When I heard the word ‘dead’ I snapped out of my panicked state and then went into begging mode. Oh my God, I went from shock to pleading for my life, saying that I was only 18 and wanted a chance to live my life.

It worked, because I saw his eyes soften. I heard compassion in his voice as he said, “If you do everything that I ask I will not hurt you.”

I was too young to realize that he could be lying to me and I believed him. I suppose I was naive being as young as I was. Anyway, I gave him all of the money in the register. Then he says to me, “I said, give me all of the money!”

I was confused and said to him, “That is all of the money. Can’t you see my empty cash drawer?” He says, “I want the money underneath the floorboards.”

I completely forgot about the change we kept under there so he obviously had inside info on the store. We kept the bags of quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies there. So I gave him that.

Then he told me to lie face down on the floor and give him 15 minutes to get away. That’s when I got scared thinking oh crap, he’s going to shoot me in the back. I remember staring at the clock for 15 minutes to pass before calling the cops.

I called the police and they were there in minutes. I looked through tons of mug shots. The police were kind and said that I did the right thing by following his instructions and waiting the 15 minutes to call. They told me the same as my boss told me, “Hand over the money in a robbery. Don’t risk my life over money.” The police asked me soon afterwards to go to a line up but I couldn’t make a positive identification.

It’s a horrible fear to be robbed at gun point. I begged my brother not to commit an armed robbery. His answer to me was completely selfish. He said, “I can’t think about others. I need money.” Blew my mind! Desperate people sometimes do desperate things.

My parents were crushed. What did my mom say afterwards? “Daddy and I are going to your brother’s court hearing to show support. Do you want to join us?” I told her, “He’s your son. Do what you feel that you have to do. I am not going!”

Most criminals are not able to pull it off. They get caught and serve a sentence. My brother later regretted doing what he did. He was different when he got out. Prison changes people. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes they become worse. I was even more afraid of him when he first came out. It’s hard to explain. They are different. Later on, he mellowed. Sometimes he was tolerable. Sometimes I wanted to love him completely like I did as a very young child before his drug usage but I never completely trusted him. Like you with your brother I always had my guard up, eventually cutting him out of my life until he was in the end of life hospice facility.

What a waste, right? Our lives are a gift. I can’t imagine how it would feel to waste my life. All of us have a purpose in life. The biggest purpose is that we show love and respect for each other and contribute to our world, not to cause harm and take away from others. We do have to remove toxic people from our lives. They will drain us if we don’t.

Sorry this message is so long. It’s emotional still to this day. He died in 2013.

You’re a good person, Shell. I know this is hard for you. I know it isn’t much to offer but I hope it’s a small comfort to know I stand behind you and your feelings and actions.

Take care, Shell. Many hugs!

A restraining order may be the way to go. That was one thought.
But how would a piece of paper protect you from your brother. He is out of control.

The story ends with everyone walking away, not throwing any
stones.

Oh Shell, "My therapist stated that I should egg my brother's truck,", that is very bad advice. That is an example of what I meant that it could turn into a civil case against you. Or even criminal!

From past therapy, I believe some therapists do not consider that some clients will take things literal, and go do it because they thought the therapist was "FOR" it or advised it even. Really, the therapist was pushing you for your thoughts, and maybe testing you if you would act violent towards your brother. You should ask the therapist to explain his "advice" to you that you go commit a crime. Check things out and ask him. I know you would not do it.

NHWM,

It really is unnerving to say at the least. I have a crazy dementia mother inside the house and a crazy brother outside the house.

You are not a bad or mean person because you felt relief when your brother went to jail. We all deserve to feel safe. I can't believe your brother robbed a bank that is insane!! Not judging...just can't wrap my head around it! I can't even image how you must of felt.

I too wonder if God is napping when my brother does things to me. I just can't understand how can this be part of God's plan. But I just have to do what I can and leave the rest up to the good Lord because I can not do it anymore!!

I know you get it NHWM and thank you for sharing that story about your brother. 😊

Well it says in the Bible "He who is without sin should cast the first stone" It doesn't say anything about eggs. Or people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Not eggs.

I think that is dumb advice your therapist gave you. No offense. I think if you did what he suggested your brother who sounds very unstable would take that as a sign to start a real war. No, definitely do not throw your own eggs.

I may be behind on this story but I think a restraining order is in order. Maybe you've tried this already. Maybe someone has suggested this already? I don't know Shell. It's a tricky situation.

Today I went to my therapy and told my therapist about my brother egging my jeep again (I go to therapy every other week). Either my therapist is nuts or a genus. I will let you be the judge.

My therapist stated that "I should egg my brother's truck, however, I should use 24 eggs vs my brother's 2 to 3 eggs." My therapist thinks this might be away for my brother to learn "if you do this (whatever it may be) then this is what happens." My brother loves his truck and the way he talks about it you would think it was made out of gold. It really isn't that great of a truck but to him it is. Anyways, my therapist thinks it is a good way for my brother to learn consequences, plus, as it turns out the Ring may not catch him because if my jeep is in the road as it always is and he drives by while throwing the eggs out his window as he drives by the Ring will only show that he drove by, but it will not prove that he threw eggs on my jeep. Now Send has posted a real good point (see Send's last post). I would love to hear any of your thoughts. Please don't tell me to find a new therapist because that won't happen seeing how he is helping me to get a food truck or a food trailer. Which now is making me realize what in the h3ll is my brother going to do with that?!!! Ugh:(

Thank you all!!!