Coopernundrums

I didn’t have a fantasy, storybook childhood.  I know lots of folks had a tough early family life but damn it this is my blog so I am the important one.  Well, right now I am anyway.  One of the best memories I have as a child are of when my grandparents would come down from Indiana and visit for a week.

My grandfather, Harry Cooper, was a train buff.  He would sit and talk with us for hours about all the types of trains and which were famous and what they all did for the country.  Originally it was my younger brother that found a real love for trains especially model electric ones, but as the years have gone by its been a way for me to connect with a man that in many ways was the only father I ever knew.  I have developed a deep love for trains and their history.  Hell who doesn’t like a train.  Its a big machine and lets face it people are fascinated by huge machines.

I thank my grandfather for introducing me to trains.  He took me on my first train ride. My grandpa has been dead now about 11 years now. I still love trains.  I am always on the lookout for a great train to take photos of.  We went to Chattanooga a while back and i got some great shots of some cool old trains.  I hope one day to take a long scenic train ride through the mountains.  Maybe Ill get there one day.

The Oscars last night were a JOKE!  I feel they were so out of touch with reality on so many levels.  My friend Mike warned me to stop watching award shows.  Mike I think I will now buddy.  Here are just a few of my gripes this year.

I feel some large glaring mistakes were made. First, The Dark Knight SHOULD have been at leastnominated for best pic. Secondly its a shame that Grand Torino wasn’t nominated for anything not even best director. Clint Eastwood was VERY powerful in that flick. On top of all that, somehow, Milk beat Frost/Nixon. Penelope Cruz managed to beat ALL of the other supporting actress nominees, who in my opinion ALL dwarfed her performance in both power and depth.

Oh and don’t even get me started on that crud fest they call slumdog millionaire..what a joke. So yea, I feel the Oscars are getting further and further out of touch (with reality).

I have been standing on a soapbox for years screaming out to all that would listen how stupid it is to live above your means.  Too many of my friends are in over their heads and now that times seem to be getting pretty tough they seem to be cracking under the pressure.  Is it me or did people get dumber last year than in years past?

In the world where image means more than integrity I laugh and laugh at all the news stories about people loosing their houses in the “housing credit crunch”.  I don’t doubt that there were MANY unscrupulous bankers and lenders that lead the sheep oof the world down the wrong paths.  But PLEASE people can we be realists for just one moment? In the end we all have no one to blame for our financial mess but ourselves.  If your house note is as much or more than one of your two monthly paychecks and you don’t find that a problem then you fall into the morons-r-us club.  Every member of the morons-r-us club shares in the blame for this ass backwards money problem we seem to have wriggled our selves into.

I am sick to death of hearing all the sob stories.  The bottom line is this: when you live above your means, and image means more than your long term happiness then you don’t deserve a house or a car or even to be considered a part of the human race.  You belong to the morons-r-us club.