BDSM not in Fifty Shades

BDSM not in Fifty Shades.

Is There a Difference?

Many people think that all car lots are created equal, especially ones that deal in the same brand of vehicle.

I can tell you this is not true and with this story there comes a lesson also. Six years ago I went out and bought my favorite car a Toyota. Now anyone who knows me knows that I love Toyota’s and next to them is my favorite American made car that doesn’t exist anymore. I loved AMC products and my first car was a Rambler. I had no problems with Ramblers and they went on forever until someone dismantled them in some manner.

My second car was a Toyota Corolla, I loved that car and drove it for a very long time. That was the beginning of my love affair with Toyota’s. I had many of them over the years including one that was seven different colours. The thing about Toyota’s was that they were always dependable no matter how ugly the body got.

Toyota suffered a few black eyes at the start 2010 due to mechanical issues. The reason it was such big news is because Toyota is consistently good and reliable. When Dodge and Ford have recalls there is no panic and that is because those vehicles have been consistently bad and unreliable for decades. I love Toyota’s and they will always remain my favorite.

Six years ago I decided that I wanted a new car for a change instead of second-hand cars. I found that if I was buying new I would by my favorite car, Toyota. I started calling dealerships first I tried “Heninger Toyota” in Calgary, because this is where I live. The old car I had, had broken down and when I called the massively non motived salesman told me to “take transit” to get there, that would be a two-hour ride from where I live.

The next place I tried was “Charlesglen Toyota” up in Crowfoot Centre. They came down and picked me up and I ended up leaving with a shiny red Toyota Echo. I loved my little echo it went like mad and was so great. I wanted the Matrix at that time but they had none in stock. I figured the Matrix would be better for hauling supplies for my business. I drove my perfect red Echo for three years. During that time the dealership was great they called when it was time to have it serviced and were very nice, treating me with respect.

Now the third year I owned the echo, my mother was the market for a new car. I took her up to “Charlesglen Toyota,” that day I traded in my perfect little candy apple red Echo for a brand new silver Matrix and my mother also bought a Matrix. The salesman was great and everything went fine.

The day came for my first servicing and no call came. I found out I was about six weeks past my first servicing so I took in my car. The service department was not only disrespectful but when I asked to speak with the service manager he was a total jerk. I then went to talk to the sales manager, well things went from bad to worse. He was a totally arrogant little twit. His rude and condescending attitude I did not care for especially; from someone not more than twenty-five years old. I continued on with three not so fun years with “Charlesglen Toyota.”

As this is the third year owning my Toyota Matrix and I had leased it for the last three years, this was the year the balloon payment came due. Charlesglen Toyota contacted me about financing that payment,t so I filled out the form after I sent it in I was told that the one person, the twenty-five year old manager was now in financing. Okay, you guessed it he got my papers and refused me in the rudest and most obnoxious manner. I found out from Toyota Canada that I did not have to go to them for the financing, I could go to any dealership.

I went off to “Stampede Toyota,” a long ways from where I live but from the minute I walked through the door they were courteous and treated me with respect. They had nothing to gain from helping me and they went out of their way to make sure I got the financing I needed. You can bet that the next Toyota I buy will be from them.

The difference in dealerships is vast even in their servicing. Charlesglen would do things and not ask you but you got the unpleasant surprise on your bill when you went to pay. Not only that but they never called to say the car was ready or even send the shuttle to come and get you.

When Stampede Toyota serviced my car they came out and asked about something that needed to be there before doing it and then they never charged for it. They explained what they did and although I waited for my car because all it took them was a half hour to service the car and for an oil change, Charlesglen, would take seven hours.

It doesn’t matter what vehicle you like check around at the dealerships. Then again your story could be just like mine, the dealership could be good for three years and then they could drop you on your head.

This brings me to purchasing insurance when you lease or buy a vehicle. This insurance is supposed to cover you if you become ill,  disabled,  or die. Don’t believe it they will kick you right in the teeth and you will never be covered and all that money will be down the drain for nothing and you will not have your car payments covered.

All car lots are not created equal, even ones that sell the same vehicles.

Let’s Discuss The Mistreatment of Veterans.

Let’s talk about the veterans or better still how disgustingly Canada’s Conservative Government treats them.

I can talk about this because I am a Canadian and although I don’t subscribe to war and the carnage it causes; I can empathize for those who go out to war. My parents and grand parents fought in the two great wars. War is disgusting and war is evil and personally I would love it if there was never war anywhere. However, I do believe we should honour those who do put their lives on the line for their country.

I can’t figure out why we are wasting peoples lives in a war that can never be won but we have people who are over there sticking their necks out. These men and women have gone over there and been killed or injured and will never return or be the same again.

How does the Canadian government honour and treat them upon their return? Can we say worse than they would treat criminals. Actually criminals receive considerably better  treatment and so do terrorists.

Recently a ship owned by the Tamil Tigers from Sri Lanka made port in Canada. It came laden down with so-called refugees, ones that could afford to pay $50K each to ride on it and are carrying TB and Tamil Tigers. What does the Canadian government do, why they open their arms and our wallets and let them land in our country. The USA tells such shiploads to sail home or meet Davey Jones. Australia, tells such boatloads to also sail on as they don’t want them. Canada will kick their veterans in the teeth, while letting these sneaky terrorists into the country.

The Conservatives think it is more admirable to be charitable to terrorists and others than their own citizens and especially the ones who put their lives on the line. Cutting benefits or depriving those who are coming from the war is the MO of the Harper government. The Conservative Government is ripe with cold-heartedness. Do I believe there is government malfeasance, you bet I do. I believe it is time we get some kind of politician insecticide and clean out the government.

It is time we take our politicians and let them prance about Afghanistan, maybe we will be lucky and they will get body parts blown off. When they return we will tell them to prove that their missing limbs, illness, or shell shock is due to going to war. Then we can tell them that they will receive no pension or benefits, after all we have to give their pensions and benefits to a boatload of so-called refugees. These people come here and it costs us 50k for each of them and not counting the money and lodgings they will set them up with. They get to land and stay in a place I would love to live but can’t afford to. It disgusts me that government is treating everyone better than their own citizens and their veterans.
Canada’s treatment of their own citizens while playing the caped crusader with those who sneak into the country is reprehensible. Conservative Government is embarrassing and it embarrasses me to be a Canadian. The government makes us all look like a bunch of stupid little sissies.

You wonder how betrayed all of those who fought in this war and previous wars feel. Their country has let them down and treated them worse than if they had been in a prisoner of war camp. I know that veterans left from WWII, feel very betrayed by this government of scoundrels.

The Canadian government does not believe that charity begins at home and neither do they believe in helping those that are doing something, that none of those sissy politicians would do.

I think we should go back to Medieval times where the ones who decide others should go to war have to lead them to war. They would see things differently and they would make sure that these people are cared for when they return.

Even pirates had a great health care system for their crews. If you lost an arm, leg, eye, you got paid. The Canadian government isn’t as good as the captain of a pirate ship or a Medieval king. Stephen Harper thinks he is king but he is nothing but the village idiot and his band of sissy blood suckers.

People it is time we stand with each other and behind our veterans for the service they have performed. The government doesn’t care for their citizens they just like to look good to foreign terrorists.

Pat Stogren, the veterans ombudsman has made it clear how disgusted he is in the Canadian government and now it is time the people are heard. He is going to lose his job but he is making sure that the veterans know he was fighting for them and how disgusting the government is. It is time that the politicians hit the front lines and take some sneaky terrorists with them.

Goodbye Phoenix

Recently I have been devastated over the death of a bald eagle eaglet named, Phoenix. I know many say; “how could you be attached to something you never touched or that never touched you.” The truth is she did touch me and I touched her even if it was just through the lens of a video camera at her nest.

A friend introduced me to http:// http://www.hornbyeagles.com and that is where I turned into a bald eagle junkie. I watch the two adult eagles “Mom and Dad Hornby” take care of the eggs. They were gentle, caring, and protected their eggs and by the time it the first egg was to hatch I could not tear myself away from the computer screen.

I remember April 29th so well, I had rushed home from an appointment so that I would not miss the hatching of the egg. Then with loud peeps and struggling out of the egg popped the most adorable fuzzy eaglet baby, she was called Phoenix. She was too adorable how could I not to fall in love with her.

As I watched her grow and greedily snatch bits of fish from her parents beaks. I realized that the eagles love their young maybe just as much and I would say more than most human parents do. The are gentle and caring with their young.

Unfortunately the second egg never hatched. The egg was given the name Dudley and stayed around the nest quite awhile. Little Phoenix used it as a security blanket and seemed very attached to it. However one day Dudley perished. Either dad or Phoenix accidently stepped on it. Then mom came by and ate what was left.

As Phoenix continued to grow she went from fuzzy baby, Phoenix, to brown teenage Phoenix. She was a beauty and everyday would do her wingersizes and hop about preparing for her impending fledgling.

There was a rainstorm and after that Phoenix would sneeze, she seemed to be okay. Then on July 14th her breathing was laboured and she didn’t look good . In canada in order to even approach a bald eagles nest the government had to issue permission.

MARS( Mountainaire Avian Rescue) quickly lined up an experienced tree climber who could climb a 120 ft tree and knew about rescuing eagles. The permits were granted and unfortunately they had to wait till July 15th to get a ferry to Hornby Island.

It tore my heart out as I saw Phoenix take her last breath, on July 14th, she died from pneumonia. MARs was there the next morning to take her body and have a necropsy performed to see what had killed our darling bird. It hurt even more to see the profound pain that “Mom Hornby” was in while keeping watch over her baby in from a nearby tree, until Mars removed Phoenix from the nest.
Her grief over her dead baby shredded my heart and if there was any doubt that  animals do not suffer when their young die it would have been washed away with video of her agony over her dead daughter. Animals  feel as much if not more than most humans.

Phoenix now soars above us not in the way we hoped but in an eternal way. Phoenix the bird who rose from the ashes to fly the skies is exactly what our little Phoenix is doing.

It would be fitting if everyone could just donate one dollar to the Hornby Eagle Group through http://www.hornbyeagles.com (support) or MARS through http://www.wingtips.org.
I have donated the proceeds from one of my miniature bald eagle paintings on EBay to HEG and soon I will auction off another to donate to MARS in Phoenix’s name.

It would be wonderful to continue the education and preservation of these beautiful birds. We can learn so much from animals and one is how to be kind to each other.

The Age of Ignorance

We are in the age of ignorance and lack of discontent. What happened to the days of protest songs, anti establishment protests, looking for clean solutions? It seems all of those who protested and did these things back in the 60’s and 70’s have become everything they were against.

They dropped out, smoked-up, and most of them copped out. They turned into everything they hated and turned into greedy oil executives and corrupt government officials. Everything they hated and were against they are today.

The ever continuing oil fiasco in the gulf coast is a prime example of big conglomerates controlling the governments. Governments could make a stand and say no drilling in the oceans and seas but the almighty dollar doesn’t talk but screams in their faces and the proceeds to kick them in the snout. Instead of fighting back they lie on the ground, face up and beg to be beaten by the thousand pound bully.

It is time people got off their apathetic and ignorant arses and stood up to these bullies. It will take more than a century to clean up the water from this oil spill and mean time they will proceed to drill and spill.

We live in a sad world, a world where the our children and their children will never get a chance to see what these animals look like except in a book. All because of government malfeasance and greedy corportaions. Soon we will have no blade of grass, no water and no fresh air. What happened to looking for alternative fuel sources?

In the 60’s and 70’s the movement for brown rice, healty eating, clean air, protesting corruption, war, and other evils was big. By this time we should have had alternative fuel sources in full effect, but we have digressed. Everyone slacks back and many people from then are now in charge of these greedy corrupt institutions.

People need to be informed instead of sitting on their fannies like spoiled brats and doing nothing. Let’s get back to the business of life and sustaining life, instead of destroying life.