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Uh-huh, that's right. and so neat. Yeah, ours is kind of a little ranch style with a great big, oh, I guess, it's twenty-eight by fifteen front porch. Oh. Next door, we've got an Austin stone. Across the street, the guy, it was burnt out about two years ago and, and the guy moved in and completely redid it's got, oh, it's got a rounded front on it. It's all brick, and he's, he's landscaped his yard and he's about ready to put in a pool and things like that. So, yeah, there's a variety, you just don't see it anywhere else, as far as the different styles in the houses and whatnot. Now, why couldn't your wife run around the golf course? Is that not good? Oh, she could, a little bit.
We, I tell you what, we got into the fitness center at Methodist and they have a quarter mile track there. So she has started doing that rather than uh, rather than take off. The problem is she's a school teacher and for her, she can't run in the morning. For her to get home and try to run at six o'clock in the night, in the winter time, it's starting to get dark and, you know, you don't want to, she doesn't want to be out by herself anywhere in Dallas. Regardless whether it's north Dallas or whatnot, when she goes over to this fitness center, it's fenced in, and there's somebody in the building, watching her and all that, so there's a lot of consideration. Yes, I, I really hear that, you know, I think, you know, you're in Oak Cliff. Uh-huh. But, I'm in Plano. In west Plano. Yeah.
And we live on one of those blocks that it's a neighborhood watch block. Uh-huh. We all know each other, and the street doesn't go anywhere. Right. If you are on the street, you better belong there. Because it's not a through street. That's right. That's right. And, still, I want to get up early in the morning and walk. Before this knee business. Uh-huh. And my husband had a lot of heartburn with that. Yeah. I mean, it looked darker to him, because he, he was in the house with the lights on. Right. When I was out walking, it, was more of a predawn type, pretty, but, huh-huh, he didn't think it looked predawn to him. Yeah. It looked dark.
Yeah. And even he was real concerned about that. So, it's not just because you are in Oak Cliff, it's just because you're smart. That's true. That you don't do things like that. It only takes one time. That's right. It's a hard lesson to learn. There's only one crazy out there, you know, to make any difference. Yeah, yeah, you know, it goes all over well, you got the. Ready to talk? I guess so Okay. Okay. Uh, I want to talk about, um, our family budget, and the times that it's worked and the times that it hasn't worked and, give you a general description of it Okay.
Yeah. bit. Tell me how yours works. Well, at the I introduced you a little bit to it, a few minutes ago, when I said that we are, uh, we're on the east coast now. Uh-huh. My husband quit a perfectly wonderful job and decided that, well, we both decided we wanted to move to North Carolina. Uh-huh. And so naturally we put ourselves, we looked at our budget, Yeah. and so, what we did was draw up a budget that we thought, uh, was realistic. Uh-huh. And, uh, so, we had to make some adjustments because we really are kind of looking for something that we want to do and he wants to do that's satisfactory, and we've been here seven months and he's still hasn't hit up on anything permanently. Oh, no. So, you see,
That throws the budget out of whack real fast. Well, we actually planned for about one year. Oh, good. Uh, that God because, *listen it never occurred to it never occurred to us that it would take seven months. Really. That was smart. Yeah. And, uh, what we did was just, uh, decide how we had been spending our money before, Uh-huh. and then we put that on the computer and then we took about three months and, uh, and adjusted, where we could come down and where we didn't want to come down, Oh, uh-huh. Yeah. and we really, uh, lessened it, uh, our living expenses, uh, more than what we thought we would. Wow, that's great. But, Did you have a special program on your computer to do that or was this just your own design of, Oh, just our own design. Uh-huh.
Uh-huh. Gosh. And the, so, but we've had budgets that didn't work when our, uh, you know, of our first fifteen years or eighteen years of being married nothing worked Yeah We spent too much money, until our children went to college, so. So, tell me about, Yeah. do you all, uh, have a budget? Well, we've been married for five and a half years and we started out without kids, of course, and found it much easier to save and used to do a lot more fun kinds of of things and, uh, did really, um, you know, have a real strict but, budget but, uh, the about and to our, when we first got married we were in graduate school and we were just, you know, dirt poor. Then when we got our first jobs after about a year of marriage we decided we'd bank my salary so we could buy a house. So, we virtually did that for about two years, which worked real well, and then moved from California where we realized we could never buy a house anyway no matter how much we saved, and moved to Texas, bought a house immediately, you know, which, of course, is now devalued with the housing market,
Wonderful. Yes. so, I don't know if we, we did a good thing to buy a house or not but at least we've got a place to live. Um, so, now, since, uh, we have a three year old and a two year old now, um, Three and a two year old. Uh-huh. Bang, *one utt?? bang. That's, that's, that threw our budget really out of whack too. An we, um, have been just forced to budget much more because I quit working to be home with the kids. And, um, we just really have, uh, I don't know, we, we've tried different times, we've done like a survey of like taking, you know, the past three months of where all the money went. Uh-huh. And we really don't spend on anything much of a luxury or anything at all, but it seems like there's, um, times when we just have to get out where we'll go and like get a baby-sitter and we'll go and we'll blow, you know, fifty, sixty dollars in one night going out to eat, going to a show or doing something, you know. Well, I think that's important for your budget to be for it to work though, you have to do something.
Yeah, that's the hard part because when we sit down to make it, we try to make it real spartan and real narrow so we can put a certain amount in savings every week and then it's not really that realistic because we do find that we want to go and do something or splurge for, you know, birthday for somebody or, you know, even we, we even do things real frugally for the kids, we get a lot of toys and clothes and stuff at garage sales or from friends because they don't know the difference at this age, you know, whether they're JORDACHE new or whether they're *listen; "because" may start new utt unit you know, something Of course not. and they're both boys so they just one year after the other in each other's clothes, so. But, um, that's the hardest part for us is that it's really, um, you know, budgeting and some extra things, you know, that are more, you know, nonessential items. Well, I found, uh, that, in the place that it was harder for me to stick to a budget was not where we were concerned, but where maybe our friends were concerned and our relatives and parents. Uh-huh. Uh, we, we tended to want to keep on giving lavish, gifts as, we had done before. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. And I really believe that if you're going to cut down on yourself, you need to cut down somewhat on your friends. On your friends, that's true, that's true.
Well, we have so many unexpected things come up so often it seems with, we both have older cars and something will come up and wind up having to spend a thousand dollars, you know, on the car in two months or something, Yes. and, you know, a lot of things like that that really are hard to plan for. And, uh, Well, I really do, I think you have to budget those things though. Yeah, kind of put in a certain amount per year, *82 and 84 same utt? Yes. you're going to have on extra expenses for car. Exactly, although so much per month anyway. Yeah, yeah. And, uh, that really should be in your but if you don't spend it, it should be in your bank account at the end of the month Yeah our biggest way of saving money is then to stop all these deductions, um, you know, is to,
let's see, now, I forget which way we do it. We don't list all the deductions and then we get more money back, you know, at the end of the year, Oh, no, no, no, no. so, that's not a good way to You don't want the government to spend your money. You want to be able, that's what my husband said, so this last year he changed it, of course, we didn't get hardly and then nearly as much back and it was like oh, no. Better find another way of saving money Well, uh, but I do realize that, that is realistic for some people, Yeah. and it was for us many years, for many years. Yeah.
Yeah. Uh, and if, and if that's the only way that will, it will make you save and have a little nest egg at the end of the, the year then doggone it that's what you should do. Yeah, because we don't miss it, we really don't, when it's just taking out of the paycheck and stuff, so. But we're trying to put a little money away for the kids because we can envision the, uh, expenses for college already, you know, eighteen years away or whatever. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, I was just reading an article in, uh, a North Carolina paper today where a high school student obtained over two hundred thousand dollars worth of scholarships for herself by sitting up at night and typing at, uh, letters of applications to universities. Gosh. She was she was third out of a class of two hundred and twenty, so, it can be done. I guess, Where there's a will, where there's a will, there's a way, right? that's fantastic. Yeah Well, I have enjoyed talking to you. Well, I enjoyed talking to you too, good luck and don't spend any money this weekend
Oh, I know we'll have to stay home and mow the yard Oh, boy. Bye-bye. Bye. Okay? Sure, go ahead. What kind of books do you like to read? Oh , I like all kinds of books. Yeah. Mostly, uh, something, I like like true life, not, uh , you know, documentaries or real stories about real people and that kind of stuff or dramas in real life. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I also like romantic novels. I like, uh, I like READERS DIGEST, believe it or not. Yeah, so do I. I usually read that from cover to cover. Yeah.
I like it because there's a little bit of everything in it. Right. You know, that kind of a thing. Uh, as far as like real novels, I haven't gotten into Shakespeare or any of that type of thing. Uh-huh. I wish I had in, in some senses but I don't have time really as much as I would like to, to get into that kind of thing. How about you? Um, well, I like, like you said, real life, um, I like biographies of people's lives, like, especially like athletes, Uh-huh. for some reason it seems to interest me, like people that make a big comeback or, you know, Orel Hershiser, things like that. Sure. Uh-huh. And, um, I like to read books on improve, like family, marriage, you know, things that are written by like Christian authors or, um, doctors about family and, you know, how to improve your home and all that kind of thing. Um, I like to the magazines I to I like to read , I read a lot of bicycling magazines.
They're, I mainly look at the pictures and stuff, but they usually have some good articles in it. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know I haven't really found any romance type stuff I like to read. I, I'm more true, you know, uh, nonfiction. Yeah, yeah. I haven't found a lot of, uh, fiction books that I really like but, uh, not to say I wouldn't, Yeah. eventually I mean. *one utt or two with a.29? What was the last book you read? Uh, jeez, let me think, it, I tell you I haven't read a book in a long time. And it, I can't even really remember.
Uh, I think it was a romantic novel by Danielle Steel or one of those. Really? You know yeah, honestly. Um, I don't do as much reading, like I say, as I would like to. Yeah. working a lot of hours at work and, Really? Yeah, and then, of course, we have a home I know. so it's, you know, a lot time is spent doing things as far as the yard work or housework or, you know, that type of thing. Yeah. I, I set a goal for myself to read a book a month this year which is like about eleven more books than I would have read last year, but so far I've only read like two books and so I'm not doing very well but, But see I do crafts too,
Yeah. so it's hard, I, if I have a minute that's what I, I do. Yeah, I find it's real hard, I let papers, newspapers stack up and magazines stack up, if I don't really set aside a time to look or read them. That's the, and, and that's like myself I've, I've, I miss it, because I really find it a very relaxing hobby too. Yeah. I really do and, um, I don't know it seems like you can get lost in a book, you know, it, it, it's like an escape for me. Uh-huh. I don't know about you. Yeah. It's, if I'm really interested in what I'm reading, I mean, hours can go by and I, I look up at the clock and say, oh, my word, you know.
Uh-huh. In fact, I'd rather read sometimes than watch T V. Yeah, oh, I would too. Kind of train your mind. *sv^2 But I think you get out of the habit, like you say, you have to like kind of set yourself, Yep. Have you ever read, uh, or heard of the book THIS PRESENT DARKNESS? No. That was one of the books I read this year, and it's really fast paced and intense. It was a nonfiction book or is a fiction book but it was it was one of the best I read, I mean, it was real good, and it was, um, it was one of the few books that like it, you know, just hurry up and go through without putting down, you know. Yeah, right.
See that's the other problem I have. If I start into something and I really enjoy what I'm reading, then I have a terrible time getting away from it too. Uh-huh. I'll stay up until two or three o'clock in the morning, you know, because I'm so engrossed in it and then before you know it, it's time to get up and go to work. You know, that type of thing. Yeah. That's why I, I don't know I'm, I'm kind of a nut when it comes to stuff like that. Even if I'm, uh, doing something like an afghan, if I'm close to the end, sometimes I'll do the same thing. Uh-huh. I don't know what you would call it, maybe I have a problem No, I'm sure it's fast or something. It's terrible, I, I really like books that, that you can get into and that's that. Uh-huh.
I know what you mean. I like reading late at night right before I go to bed sometimes I just sleep better or something. Oh, yeah, you do you kind of get relaxed, that's true. But, uh, I have a lot of craft books that I have too and, uh, magazines. I like PEOPLE, you know, those things that are about real people. Uh-huh. And, um, I, I like to, uh, read about people who have been a successful, you know, who, who made a success of their lives. To, to give you specific titles I, I can't. *sd Yeah. Which, what book have you read that is along those lines, that was really good? Well, how about who, Like I say, haven't done it in, in such a long time. Do you know who it was about? Um, well, I went to, uh, seminar on, uh, it was for, by American business and some of the people, uh,
what the heck was his name, I'm trying to think. He's one of the, uh, Paroe, *spelling: Perot and um, it was more like, oh, it was tapes and things that they had about him, too. Uh-huh. How he started out as just a salesman and now he's, you know, multimillionaire and that type of thing, and how you have to, uh, be aggressive and, you know, really want something for yourself and that type of stuff. It's like up to you, in other words, whatever happens in your life. Yeah. It's not up, it's not someone else, you have to do it. Yeah. And then do it. Do it. I can't, I'm not that focused on something. I, I'm off in all directions.
Um, and I'm not, uh, uh, a planner which I wish I was. Uh-huh. You know, kind of off the wall. If someone says, do you want to do this tonight, uh, and I got a mountain of things to do, it's okay, you know, we do it. Uh-huh, huh. Well, that's all right. I know, I know, but I wish I was more the other way. You're more fun though, see. You're not ridged right? *spelling: rigid Yeah, right *listen: sarcastic or not? I, I, that's see , I like it that way though. I, I, I would, I don't want to change that part of me. That's good. That's funny, even though I admire someone who isn't, like I am, you know, and, and I wish I could be more that way
Yeah. but, There may be some schools you could read about and learn. That's true, that's true. How many people do you supervise? Uh, about twenty. Oh, that's not bad. No. That's not bad at all. No. Do you like your job? Sometimes. Sometimes more than others. But, yeah, I do. Oh, that's, oh, that's important. I've been there about three years. Do you have a family? Yeah,
I just got married last year and, um, most of my family's in Indiana. Oh, uh-huh. So, I've only been in Texas three years. Do you like it? Yeah, I do. I love the weather down here. I, I loved, I loved Abilene too. That's what I liked, too, is the weather. Yeah, I know. Except for tornados Boy they, they have storms here I've, Yes they do. And it, it, it's so surprising how it just happens, you know. Hail and thunder and, Yeah.
Unpredictable. Were you here during the hailstorm two years ago? Uh, no. Oh, I've been up here about three. Uh, we were down there, uh, from eighty-six to, eighty-five to eighty-six, no, uh, well, part of eighty-four to eighty-six I should say. Yeah, boy I had thirty-three hundred dollars damage done on my car, a lot of people had their cars totaled just from hail. Oh, wow. I think State Farm went bankrupt. Just about Oh, jeez. But, uh, I know the whole situation is bad up here, we're having a terrible time with the recession. Really? Yeah, yeah. It's not good at all.
Huh. I know things are pretty booming down there. I heard they sold Johnson City though . Yeah, and Colorado Springs. And Colorado Springs? Yeah, I talked to a guy on the phone on this the other day and he was telling me about it. Oh, wow. They just sold it. Amazing. Closed up and moved down to McKinney. Oh, well, that's good. At least they kept the business part of it. Yeah. It's scary though I'm telling you. I know . I don't know, and, well, you know, with the other part of this thing was, how do you feel that this influences family.
How do I feel what? That, that books influence, do you know how to use them in your life or to influence, Uh-huh. I, I feel like it's important for young children to read too. And what you read to them. Yeah. When my children were younger, of course, they were all married and grown and I have grandchildren now, they were, uh, I, I read to them a lot. That's good. And, uh, I think they've all developed kind of an interest in reading also. That's yeah. I'm not saying they read all the right things but they do read. Uh, where a lot of people don't have any interest in it at all, and I think it's important, Oh, yeah. because, uh, even today where people are so illiterate and they go off to school and really nothing happens, I mean, they don't learn anything.
It's because they can't read. Yeah, it's really surprising how many people graduate from high school, and that I work with Yeah. and people, I mean, I get memos all the time across my desk and things are misspelled and, it's really, It's pretty sad. Oh, it's unbelievable, isn't it? Yeah. A lot of people that work for me that can't even spell or read, you know. Exactly, and I think that that's why reading is so important, Yeah. because, uh, I think even mentally when you can do some, I don't, guess we got our first, uh, credit card, oh, back in the seventies, early seventies when, I first got married Uh-huh. was a Visa card. Uh, issued out of a Liberty Bank in Oklahoma City,
Uh-huh because my sister worked at the, uh, the Visa some Bank Americard center there. *one utt with a.3 utt2? Uh-huh. So, we were still in college and had she not worked there I'm not sure that I would have qualified. They've come in handy over the years. Yeah. Uh, and they have become, or, also a, a real bother sometimes. Oh, tell me about it Especially, you know, if you catch yourself short on cash or if you're on vacation, it's just easier to put everything on a card. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And, uh, I find if you're not careful you wind up, uh, a month or so, staring those bills in the face and you go I don't remember doing all that stuff and it adds up. Yeah, they add up quick So, sometimes, uh, especially traveling with T I, you know, everything goes on American Express, Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
and it makes it a whole lot easier for bookkeeping. Yeah. But, uh, as far as personal life goes, I guess, I really try to use them as little as possible, uh, I kind of like having them for, uh, gasoline purchases. Yeah, we like to keep one on hand just for emergencies, you know. But, Yeah. But other than that, uh, I, I guess over the years tried to avoid the national credit card syndrome, of just putting everything on there day after day after day Uh-huh. and then, then you really get socked to it, if you don't watch it. Yeah. How, how do you look at counting credit cards? We just, uh, quit using them Well, that's, And they got us in trouble, we took a loan and paid them all off. We keep them, uh, we keep, uh, one gas card and, uh, and, uh, Visa just, you know, in case there's an emergency or, something Right. but other than that we don't use them anymore
Well, that's kind of the way we were doing it's, uh, Uh-huh. I guess for that very reason that, that, uh, if you're not real conscious of what you're doing, it's just too much by the time you get, Uh-huh. well, if you got a bunch of cards, you get a bunch of bills every month Uh-huh. and for some strange reason those people think they need to get paid. I know, isn't that funny? Yeah. And I give them, maybe not, maybe they're not really concerned about getting paid because they're, know if you don't, then they're adding on, what, eighteen, nineteen, twenty percent. Sometimes, it's twenty-two percent interest. Yeah. Yeah, and then some of them add late fees on it, if they don't get paid Yeah.
and, I guess that's one of the motivations behind the, the, uh, the, uh, American Express card with T I, Uh-huh. Huh. there's no, Huh? with the American Express card from T I, there's no, um, late fee, Uh-huh . there's no, uh, interest rate, Oh, really? you you either pay the thing off or they come get it. And it's turned into personnel and they come get you So, they've got quite a bit more motivation I think to get paid then, some of the others do. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But that's the one that your call center manager sees every month, Uh-huh. so, you're a little bit more careful about what you put on that, even though you can use it however you want to.
Oh, yeah. Oh, you can? You can use it like any other card, Uh-huh. and, uh, but, it, you know, you kind of, you know that somebody every month, Oh, I see, huh. and who knows how many people, are looking at those, uh, bills that come in, and those statements, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. you're not the only one. Yeah. So, uh, you want to make sure that, uh, is that okay, is that okay, that those people see what it is that you are buying, Yeah. and most of the time it is. But, most of the others I've sent back, I mean, all you get is card offers, *two utts I've got three card offers now, uh, from gas companies and, uh, Visa Gold and, uh, some, other bank, uh, Uh-huh. Citibank I think is always sending the Visa stuff out. And I usually just throw them away because I, I don't want another one,
Oh, I do too, I don't even open them much, I throw them out. I don't want to have to mess with it. You know you carry around a wallet full of credit cards, Uh-huh. and, uh, one of these days it's going to all be full. A girlfriend of mine found a, it was a Visa or MasterCard, she found an ad for one in like a GOOD HOUSEKEEPING magazine for eleven percent. Oh, that's not bad. shoot I need one of those Yeah. No, if they don't say, no annual membership on them, I'll throw them away. years ago, well, I had my Visa card through this bank in Oklahoma City for, *sd oh, probably fifteen years, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and then they started charging, uh, annual membership fees, and I said, adios, I'm, you know, I'm not paying you,
Why do they do that? It's just another way to make money, as far as I can tell. I mean, I mean they get enough, you know, on the interest I mean, they've been, Well, sure. And they, I guess, they figure they've got enough people out there with cards, they're going to get cards at the , twenty bucks a pop. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. There's going to be that much more. Uh-huh. Uh, so, then a couple years ago I found, uh, a bank here in Plano that if you kept a minimum balance in any kind of account whether it was a savings account or what it was, you can get a Visa card through them and no annual membership. Uh-huh. So, I went over and just stuck three hundred dollars in my son's savings account, in his name, and got my Visa card, so, as long as they have no annual membership fee, I, it would be okay, Uh-huh. Huh. but I can't see paying someone to use their card. No, I can't either.
Be charged their eighteen percent interest, Yeah, Yeah. I think you're right. The best philosophy is have them if you need them, but otherwise leave them tucked away somewhere. Yeah, really. Yeah. gets a lot of people in, in trouble Yeah, it sure does. Maybe they're counting on that, I don't know. Well, I guess that's it. Okay. Thanks for talking. Nice talking to you. Bye. Bye-bye. Do you have any particular thoughts about the school system? or Well, um, I, I think that in, in, uh,
recently with the, I'm not sure if it's more a problem with American families or a problem with the school system. They seem to be burdening the school system more and more with problems, any problems that a child might have, whether it's actually a school related thing or not and, I. I say agree with you a hundred percent there Yeah, and, and, well, it's gotten to a point where the schools are expected to take care of everything. Yeah. If, uh, you've some kid who doesn't have, uh, who's from a broken family, the schools are supposed to fill that void. uh, you know, teaching classes and maybe providing extracurricular sports activities or something like, oh, were kind of traditionally the school's roles. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting because, uh, we're just having conversation on this, uh, with a couple of people yesterday. And I was expressing my frustrations that, uh, some of the, so many problems, I work in a high school, are that kids don't have a, a degree of self-discipline which may be reflected in society at large. Uh, and you can't expect in a classroom for a particular course an hour a day to counteract, uh, sixteen or seventeen years of influence at home. Right. Um, and, it's seen more so because when you call parents up, many parents won't even recognize that there is a problem and I'll say, they'll say, oh, well, our kids, my kid, I've never heard anything about this before. This is the first time there have been problems.
And, and, you wonder, don't these parents know that teachers talk, and, you know, we do check with other teachers, and other teachers find the same things in this child. Right. And, you know, how do you tell your parent's, the parent, hey, wake up, and smell the coffee Right. But, um, it, it is a problem, and I'm not sure just, uh, how, how the school system could operate in a vacuum on it. Yeah. Whether maybe through a commitment of the P T A, uh, and the parents being informed better, that in fact that the problems that are nationwide are problems, um, of society, and that, that the school can only do so much on it. Yeah. Well, then, then again when you have, uh, a society where a certain percentage of the parents are, uh, doing drugs in the home uh, either unemployed and don't care about a, uh, just a have their own problems how, how do you expect the school to, um, or how do you expect the, Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. you can't really expect that parent who's, quite frankly a loser in life, as it is to, to care about the, the situation with their child, That's right. Uh-huh. and, water You know what scares me too, is that we have yet to see other, the biggest effect of the crack children uh, in the school system.
Right. These are children that are born with low deficit, attention deficit Right. and, gosh, what's going to happen when these kids start coming into the school system. That's really scary water Yeah. But there are, I think there are a couple of areas where the school system can improve, and this is something that I see. Too many times students get diagnosed as slow learners, and in fact they're not. They're behavior problems. Right. And so, they get put in, in, in our school system, in a class that's limited for skills children that have, really have to master skills. Uh-huh. And that's not their problem. Um, at the same time, I've seen, we, we have a, an international population. There's no bridge area for students coming out of the E S O L, which is English for Speakers of Other Languages program. Uh-huh. The, once they're past E S O L, they get out,
they got thrown right into the total mainstream Right. and, uh, there really needs to be a bridge, some sort of transition for that. Right. So the school systems can improve, both in standing up for splitting classes, you know, having learning learning, slow, slow children in slow classes, but not mixing them with behavior problems. Right. And then, you know, the case where they put the behavior problems in the average classes, you get these kids that are average students but highly motivated. Right. And then you throw in kids that are not motivated, maybe bright, but they're discipline problems. And you sometimes the average classes really are problems because you've got such a mixed bag there. Uh-huh. Right. You know, the gifted and talented are fast classes. There's really not that much of a problem with. But it's, Well, I, I've seen more, uh, incredibly intelligent underachievers than, than, uh, Uh-huh. I personally I will, I would take a person who's motivated and a little, uh, less intelligent than the person who, uh, is one of these very intelligent people who just kind of, isn't motivated to do anything.
That's, yeah. I remember I had a college professor who once said that genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Yeah. Well, I, not to toot my own horn here or anything, but I, I was graduated from my high school, I was the valedictorian, and I know that there were a lot of kids that were an awful lot smarter than me, Uh-huh. and they proved out late when it came time to take the S A T Mine were good, Uh-huh. but they weren't great. Uh-huh. And, uh, when I got into college I struggled, I struggled just to, uh, get my degree in the, in the field that I was in. Yeah. Whereas I knew people that in high school were kind of lazy and all, but they got motivated in college and they did a lot better than I did. And when it, Yeah.
I guess kids do mature at different ages too. Right. That's, and, you know, as a teacher you, you try to make, be understanding that, you know, there are different ages, kids are, is this a, got a kid that just a question of maturity, or is he a problem child. Uh-huh. But teachers are asked to diagnose so much. Um, there, I mean, I mean we're, have to be, we're alerted Right. there's all sorts of systems where suicide, uh, predisposition. I mean, we're alerted to what the moment we see something. If we see a child that we have any reason, that's on drugs, such as if he's got a beeper or if they're, if they're flashing lots of money around. We've, there are certain things to do. I mean, so the school system's asked to do so much, but you can't operate in a vacuum. You actually have students with, with beepers? This is a, we're in a rather wealthy suburb of Washington.
Uh-huh. And a student with a beeper immediately gets sent down to the, uh, principal. I mean, where, what are the, what could they possibly be thinking. I mean how. It's for drug use. They can't imagine for anything else. Yeah Yeah. You know, it's, it's amazing, but uh, you get all sorts, you get all, all sorts of things, uh, in the schools, uh, uh, and it's, and you know, as a teacher you're alert, you're alert for the kid who's very drowsy. You're alert to the kid who suddenly has a, um, behavioral change, and you refer them to the nurse. Right. And, so, I mean, you have to find out whether there's a legitimate reason, or whether this is a warning signal. Yeah, can you, how can you, how can you expect to,
Oh yeah, I, I, I was, uh, sitting in the barber shop. I'm an officer in the Air Force, and I was having my hair cut Uh-huh. and the barber got a call while I was there, uh, from his son's school. His son's in high school. And his son was failing gym and, uh, and having trouble, with a few other things. But, you know, it's like, uh, this guy was like, why now, there's no problem with my kid. My kid's a great kid and all this. The kid had missed all these classes, and basically he, his answer was, Oh, I gave him permission to, to miss. Uh-huh. Yeah, the denial mechanism is really strong and so many parents are facilitators. Yeah. I mean, they're manipulated by their children. Right. I've been fortunate.
I have, uh, a son who's a sophomore in college up in Massachusetts at, uh, Amherst, Uh-huh. and my other son is a senior in high school, and he's going on to Williams. And I mean, they're really super. They're both national level swimmers, Sure. and where we've been very fortunate, but, you know, they had to be held accountable too. Right. I mean, you know, at some point a parent does help their kid, but in, in some ways, but, but you have to say at what point isn't the help becoming negative. Sure. And I think this is where the school system at, is suffering, and not through any fault of the effort of the school system. Right. But gee it was good talking with you. It was good talking to you too. Yeah, so there are people throughout the country that feel the same ways that you do, and, and are connected with the schools. Yeah.
Yeah, I've had interesting conversations on several subjects not, uh, not just this but different, the different things. Uh-huh. It's amazing how the, you know, people you talk to have some interesting conversations and, uh, it's too bad that all this stuff is just being thrown into a data base, and that none of the ideas or thoughts are being used at all Well, we are, though Yeah, that's true. Listen, good luck. Take care, Yep. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Okay, well what movies do you like? Gosh, I like just about anything. We, I think the last one we saw was, uh, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES PART TWO. Oh, now, I I like the turtles.
My little boy's four and he loves them. Well, we don't have any kids but we like them anyway. Oh, that's okay. How old are you all? Um, we're late twenties. Oh, and you just don't have any yet, okay. No. Well I've got two. Oh, gosh. Yeah, my little girl is three months old and my little boy just turned four. I had his birthday party yesterday. Oh. But he's a turtle fanatic. He even had turtle cake yesterday But I've been wanting to see TURTLE TWO.
Is it as good as they say it is? It was, it was actually better than the first one, I thought. Good. What's the last movie you saw? GHOST. Oh we were just, when, when the topic came up, we, I was asking my husband right quick, what's the last movies we saw. He said well GHOST and TURTLES. I really liked it. Now GHOST, yeah, I love tearjerker movies. But that wasn't too bad on tearjerker but, It was, oh, it was good movie, Not too awful bad. Yeah. Because that was just so good. And I like Demi Moore. Did you see PRETTY WOMAN?
No, but I've been hearing a lot about it. I we don't get to the video store very often and we don't have cable. Oh, gosh. Well we don't really want cable, it's just, you know, glued to the T V all the time anyway. Yeah. So we get two channels down here. I'm from Kentucky originally, Uh-huh. and we used to get five channels without cable. Yeah. You know, forty, well I don't think you all have the same channels, but here in Texas we only get two channels, and that's, um, do you watch soap operas? Uh, once in a while, when I'm home. Okay,
you work then? Yeah. Okay, well we get the channel with YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS on it. Okay. And then, uh, I think GENERAL HOSPITAL and that comes on different channel. Yeah, it does. But that's all we get, and that's no cartoons for my little boy. But we've got a V C R and a lot of tapes. Yeah. And, uh, my husband is a movie fanatic. I think you would really like PRETTY WOMAN, it was, it was really a, it made you feel really good. It was just a happy movie. Oh, what about TOTAL RECALL, have you seen that.
Yeah, I saw that one. That's good. I, I was disappointed in it just because of how violent it was. Yeah, it was violent. I try to get away from that. My little boy, oh, he loves ROBO COP. And that movie, I have to, I'll fast forward it every time they come to the part where there is, have you seen it? Yeah. The part where they're shooting mercy . I don't like that. That, oh, that's horrible, that is horrible and their, their, the language on that's filthy. I don't see why they have to do that, I mean, I mean everybody knows that it, that the, the language is there so they could just ignore it and, you know, use different words instead, I think. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I know. But I, I think lately PRETTY WOMAN'S been my favorite. I went and bought the video. I've probably seen it about fifteen or twenty times. Um, my husband bought me, like, um, uh, I think PRETTY IN PINK for my birthday. With, a, wait a second, I will in a minute Kyle, to child in the Sorry. That's okay. Uh, he bought me PRETTY IN PINK. Just a second. the phone and talks to Sorry, now, you're glad you ain't got a four year old. That's okay Now, Now I haven't seen PRETTY IN PINK, Molly Ringwald? *br It this is the first time he's interrupted my phone calls. Molly Ringwald.
Yeah. It was cute, but, it wasn't, I like the, um, SIXTEEN CANDLES, or sixteenth birthday or, I think, I think SIXTEEN CANDLES was the name of it. Yeah, oh, that was so good. Of course I was a teenager when I seen that and I loved it. I haven't seen it either. Oh, well if you like love stories, it's sweet. I do. Oh, it's sweet, it really is And that's a tearjerker it gets you, I mean it makes you feel really sorry for her. Oh, gosh. But it's hilarious too, especially with that, uh, little guy in it. Oh he looks like little, I don't know, he looks like a little boy next door,
Oh. but he's sixteen. Oh, it's a cute movie. I can't remember his name. He kind of looks like DOOGIE HOWSER. Huh, I don't know. Don't know either. He's got curly blonde hair, he just a little freckly, little boy. Probably know him if I saw him. Yeah, if I could remember the name, I know you'd know his name, because he's played in a few movies. But, uh, I was just thinking another good one I saw not too long ago was, um, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. Okay, I've heard about that but I can't remember it. That, that's, that's Julia Roberts' new movie. Okay, yeah,
Julia Roberts is good. Yeah she's, this one, you know PRETTY WOMAN was kind of a light comedy and a romance, Uh-huh. and, and this one was a lot more dramatic. Wasn't it a murder mystery? well, Like, sort of it was like, uh, it was a, it was a mystery. She disappeared from her uh, husband who was abusing her. Oh, okay, the, yeah, that's the one I wanted to see where he was on, she was on a carnival, at a carnival on a Ferris wheel or something. Yeah, yeah. Well did that come on T V or did it come out in the, No, it came out in the theater.
Oh. And I think, you know, around here, it's all ready quit playing. But I don't, I don't know if it's still playing any where else. Well I, I think, But it was, it was, it was one of those that kept you on the edge of your seat. Real good. I want to see that. Yeah, I seen the, uh, previews for it on T V down here, but it's just been down here a couple weeks, I think. Oh, okay, Yeah. because we saw it, probably, four or five months ago. A month Well I know it hasn't been that long since I've seen the previews for it, but yeah, I wanted to see it. Her husband was a, dark haired guy with a beard and moustache, or no
he shaved the beard off. Yeah, he's, uh, he was a real psycho in the movie. Yeah. It was, it was scary. Oh, I'd like to see that. What about, oh, there was a, we got one back here a while, I want to see WAR OF THE ROSES too, have you seen that? Oh yeah, boy I, I didn't like it. You didn't? No, it was, I didn't like the way it ended. I know, well the only reason I know why it ended is on ARSENIO HALL one night, Christopher Reeves told, that, you know, Uh-huh.
I can't believe they killed them. Or, or who was it Christopher Reeve or Mike Douglas. Might have been Michael Douglas. Oh, that starred in it. *listen Yeah. Yeah, it was Michael Douglas. Christopher Reeve wasn't in it at all? Huh-uh. Okay. Well Arsenio Hall is the one that jumped up and said that I can't believe they killed them and Christopher Reeve, or, Mike Douglas went after his throat, you dummy So I know that they die, but I haven't told my husband. We've both been wanting to see it. It was, I, I, it was, it was weird. It was a different movie from anything I've ever seen. well we was, uh, teasing, about, you know, splitting our house down the middle Yeah They did that didn't they
and they marked off routes that they could go or something Yeah, that would be kind of hard for us, we've only got one bathroom, I don't know We've got two bathrooms but, well actually, if he takes, my house kind of looks like two trailers put together. And one bathroom is at the end of one side and one's in the middle of the other, so we could do it. That wouldn't be too bad. No, and he could climb out the window and we, our whole house has, you know, every room leads to three rooms, so we can, you know Get around. yeah,
you can get around You just can't go out the front door honey, sorry. Well did you see FATAL ATTRACTION? Yeah, that's coming back, on too I know it's going to be on, on the, on C B S Tuesday night an, and that's kind of what, in a way, you know, how it kind of bothered you, the way it ended and stuff. Uh-huh. That's kind of how WAR OF THE ROSES was. Huh, I, Parts of, parts of WAR OF THE ROSES was funny but then other times it was like it was just deadly serious, and it just left you with this kind of uneasy feeling, you know. Eerie feeling, or, I want to see it though. I'd like to see that and, uh, THE NEVER ENDING STORY, came out on Disney this month, I think. I I've heard about that I wanted to see that. but I don't know what it's about.
THE NEVER ENDING STORY? Yeah. It's a child's movie, but, oh, it's good, I enjoyed it. I love Disney movies. Yeah, I do too Yeah, I mean, they're some of the best of, that are made. yeah. And, uh, well it's about this little boy who, uh, I think he's up in a attic, or some part of school. He got locked in the school and he got scared, but he starts dreaming and then, uh, he's saving the land of, uh, oh, it's been so long since I've seen it. All I know, all's I can really remember is him flying this great big dog, this great big huge sheep dog sort of looking thing, Oh it flies through the air.
And he's trying to save the land from some, ooze But it's really good, I mean it sounds it, it had, uh, Fred Savage in it. No, no, no, no, no. Did you see that movie with Fred Savage in it, though, I don't think so. with, uh, oh, he had, uh, uh, oh it was THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Nope, I didn't see that. You didn't see that, that was cute, that was real, that was a good one. I, I like, I like slapstick comedy.
So do I and a lot of times we'll go to rent a movie or something and, and you're not sure whether it will be any good or not so sometimes we stick with the stuff we've heard more about than, Yeah, well I heard, a friend of mine told me she got NAKED GUN last night and she said that was hilarious. Yeah, now, we saw that, and and they're coming out with a sequel to it. Two and a half *is this a title?? It was funny. It yeah, I want to see that. She said she rented it last night and said it was real good an, And, and WORKING GIRL is really good.
Now, I seen that, That was good. was that with that blonde, she pretended to be the boss or something. Yeah. Yeah, I rented that one night by myself. I was home alone. Did you see HOME ALONE? Yes, I did, that, that just reminded me of that. Did you like it? There you go. First question, do you own your house? Uh, right, well, we try. I mean it's a big mortgage in the sky and someday, maybe, we might even own it,
but, um, for all practical purposes, I guess we hold the mortgage Our name is on the till, Yeah, right. so that implies ownership. No one else has offered to pay for it. That's right. I would not object if anybody did. Yeah, really they could move right into the spare room Yeah. Well, we have, we have had this one for five years now. Before that we lived in Garland, uh, probably about, you know, four blocks away. Uh-huh. Liked the area, chose to stay inside of Spring Park. It's a, uh, I don't know if you have been up here, but it is a residential homeowners, association. Right, yeah,
So, there's a lot of, you know, activities, a lot of pluses and common land. But, uh, we thought we were buying at the bottom of the market, you know, it could not possibly have gone any lower and so we were wrong Oh, five years ago. Yeah. Yeah, I think, what, it bottom out about a year later. Yeah, it, well, I mean just recently, I would say, I would give it two years back, when it was, I think, bottomed out. Oddly enough, two years, you know, I, uh, I think that, But, maybe not in your area, see, it was just different areas, not in, in, uh, this area. Cause this is about like the, That's a really nice area.
Yeah. Besides, it's, you know, it's not, it's not Richardson. Is it? It's still considered Garland. No, it's, it's Richardson. Oh, ok, yeah. It's, Richardson and, hold on a second. to someone in Paul, I can hear you perfectly, perfectly well, I don't want to hear you. You are being rude. Whatever you ask or scream when I'm on the phone, the answer is no. Do you understand? to talking on How does that sound? There you go. Write that one down. Yeah, there I go. It sounded good to me
Yeah, well, I hate to say how long that will last too. No, this area up here is, uh, all custom homes, and, it's, Right. I don't think that many by the builder that built this house. And, we were not the first people, the first owners, I think we are the third owners. Uh, okay. It was built by the architect for himself, who never moved into it. Who sold it to a couple who had no idea that homes ever needed upkeep. Oh, no. Oh, yeah, caulking windows was a great mystery to them. Oh, gee. So, they just watched the water pour in on the carpet. But, it's a Sharif Myneer Homes, if that means anything, it did not really mean anything to me except, I liked it. I, I, kept thinking of Omar Sharif every time I saw that name somewhere, so,
He builds eight hundred thousand dollar houses now. I think he got out of the lower end market. And decided, Uh. but, the houses here in, in this class of housing never dropped below two hundred. Oh, wow. Yeah, well but, still I know that this one was built for two ninety nine, which is nowhere near what we paid for it. Right. And I think somebody told me it's also on a creek side lot, heavily wooded off the golf course. Oh, great. Yeah, and the guy around the corner is being transferred so he said, uh, well, he did comparables that it's about eighty dollars, let's see what, I don't remember if he said it was sixty dollars a square foot off the creek and eighty on the creek, or, if it was eighty and a hundred. Well Yeah. Probably eighty. I think it was sixty, eighty. Sixty, eighty. I think.
Well because, I know our, our little house over here stuck in the middle of, you know, the subdivision is, I think fifty five, so, I think the high end is definitely, you know somewhere there Well, try and think if it was a hundred dollars a square foot No, it could not be, because this house has around thirty four hundred square feet, and it would never sell for three hundred forty thousand dollars. Yeah. Just never. Well Now, maybe, you know, that's pretty close to what it would have sold for, uh, brand new, or that's pretty much what it was built for. It's got an awful lot of nice things in it but, you know, I don't think, I think it's going to be a long time, if ever, when nice things and really quality construction and all the other additional amenities are really, uh, desirable. It's seems like people go for square footage only now Yeah. and, uh, cause. Have you been back to the Perry Homes, back here? Um, the ones that look like brick houses The one that looks like Monopoly apartments. Right.
Yeah, I think those are awful. I'm sorry, I just don't see the designer's, I just see him as trying to squish as much space, you know, as much house into the space as possible. They are huge when you are inside them. Yeah. They are very spacious. They are, you know, I was, I was in one today. It was forty two hundred square feet. Uh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well see that's, the house that we got is small enough so my husband and I, because there's just the two of us and the two cats, um, can yell at each other from one end to the other and be heard. And we thought that was important instead of getting swallowed up in something that you know. See, when you have kids, you like to be able to, send them some place where they can yell and you won't hear them.
Yeah, that's true. But, I have been watching these houses go up and I, I don't, well, somebody was telling me, I know somebody who lives back there, I have always questioned the quality of construction and I, I don't think they exceed more than twelve nails per house. Oh. When you watch them go up, you are just amazed that they do not fall over. Yeah. And it takes them something like, thirty days to complete a house. Oh, that's amazing. Right now, in fact, even as we speak, we are having a deck put on in back, and these guys are phenomenal. They just, they, they are doing such a terrific job back there, I mean, you know, you pay for it too, but it's, it's like, really worth it. They are putting in a deck, a redwood deck, Uh-huh.
and it's just, they are doing such a fine, fine job. We have got three different levels of decking, because, this lot slopes way back down I'm really excited about it, Uh-huh. and, uh, the house is built around the trees. Great. And with these decking that a corporation and a large area for the trees to come up so, it's real, real shady. But, that's one of the few things that really, uh, immediately pays back on return. But, what I was going to tell you, these Perry Homes back there, Yeah. when the people from M C I come down and they are, you know, they are used to the Virginia area, metropolitan D C. Uh. My God, they come down here and those houses, that, that look the colonial look what the, Looks like the George Town brownstone Right, Yeah. And, uh, the idea of ever owning anything that has four thousand square feet in it, for less than two hundred twenty thousand dollars, which is probably about what their equity is, that they got out of selling their house. Must be a dream.
Yeah. Because those things are selling like hot cakes. But, one of the people that was living back there was telling me that there is his air conditioning bill, per month, last summer was in excess of five hundred dollars a month. Oh. And I thought, I can't , and he was talking about how you keep up with the utilities here. And I was thinking, well, you know, I know why your God damn bill is so high, He has no insulation, probably. it's because there's not a there's no insulation, insulation in those things. Oh, my. Yeah. Gosh. What a trap. Huh. Any yet, you know, they, they show very well they show very well unless you have, you know, lived in a lot of houses around the area, or looked at a lot of houses around here. And you ask the right questions and can research, yeah. Yeah. And I think that makes a big difference.
But, I like, I like this area and everything that I have been saying, says that it's, Oh, I do too. I think if we had to sell now, we could come close to breaking even But, still, um, it's worth it for the area and for the school and things like that You're in, you're in the, Yes, um, I, I think that Plano has really done a fantastic job. I mean, at least their plans have, are good. Um, however, I was, maybe you saw in the paper this morning that, um, they've had some problems with, the recycling on plastic, With the plastic. uh-huh. I thought that was most interesting. Well, I just, I thought it was sad that they, it started out as a good program. *two utts? But then people started dumping trash. and the wrong objects in there, Yeah. Yes. and I, and that concerned me, that people were using it as a way to get rid of things they just didn't want to set at the curb or take to the dump, Yeah. That's right.
and, and, uh, I, it's too bad that people have to ruin, a good part thing. Yeah. I guess that's going to happen. Yeah, a really good effort, that's right, yeah. But, uh, Well, I was thinking about the other day, um, when I, when Dick and I were, oh, many, many years ago when we were first married and he was in graduate school in Missouri, um, I went, oh, I was probably, this was probably, see, it have been like nineteen sixty-seven or sixty-eight, um, we, I went to a meeting, and, uh, one of the, the speakers at the meeting was a woman who was recycling and, um, she was from Saint Louis, Um. and she had this fantastic, um, family effort in, in recycling, and she was dividing her colored glass and her plastics, and her aluminum, Oh. and I thought wow, I mean, how, one person is doing that, you know, but my, my thought was it's a shame,
I mean, it's wonderful that she's doing it and it, but wouldn't it be much nicer if we all did it, because her effort would have really, um, really, uh, been a good example for all of us. And yet, you know, and we were just sort of talking about it at the time. And here we are, you know, now we're doing it on a, city wide basis in, in communities. Doing it So it's wonderful that we've come that far, I think but, *slash error Um. What did she do with, if, if she, was she like a group that was doing it, or was she doing it on her own, and, what did she do with the, I think she was, I was trying to remember, it seems to me that she was doing it on her own, and living in Saint Louis, there were places where she could actually take her, uh, things herself, uh, Uh-huh. and so it wasn't, you know, something that was being picked up
or, um, and I think she was encouraging other people to do it if they would. But I remember her saying yes, I have a trash can for this and a trash can for that, and a trash can for the other thing, and I thought wow, that's, that is wonderful, that somebody does that. You, you have to really want to do it, though. Yeah. This is, even, even what you recycle, because we, we do the, the, plastics and the, and the aluminum, and the glass and the paper. Uh-huh. Right. Yes. And, um, and, of course, then, you know, you try to buy right too, Um, a lot of our neighbors say, well, what , you have to rinse out this and you have to make sure it's that, *sd and you have to, Sure you do, uh-huh. Yeah. it's, uh, we, we had neighbors that complained when we got the new garbage cans. Uh-huh. Isn't that amazing? And I thought what are you complaining about, when you're only going to get picked up once a month, you know, or once a week Well, you know,
Yes. and, People, I don't know, they find fault in everything, rather than say this is a good effort. Rather than work with it. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. It's, it's, I I know what you're saying, kind of people like that Well, sure it is. *ba Well, it's for everybody's benefit. I mean, it's, it's not, so maybe we don't realize it in our lifetime, but we, you have to think grandchildren, and great grandchildren Yep. and, what kind of quality of life are you leaving them? Yeah, it's on down the line. Right. And, and the, and I have a real concern about that.
Yes. Yeah, Uh. I agree. When, We've never had much trash, because while I was raised in a big family, and, and Gene's family wasn't big, Uh-huh. but they weren't rich Yeah. and they had to, to recycle. Sure. And, and, you know, the well, they didn't, they just used things, they didn't, throw things away, before they were used up Yeah. Right.
and, Yeah. Well, I know, um, I guess I got a good example from my mother, because she was always very, very conscientious about recycling things, and she is to this day, and, you know, I mean, she'll even, Uh-huh. um, if she, for instance, she, she would take the waxed paper out of a cereal box and use that for, you know, when she made cookies, it would go on that or, if she needed to wrap something for, needed, uh, sandwich paper or something, she'd use that. Yeah. Right. She just, she recycles everything. And I have done the same thing. I recycle like zip lock bags and, things like that. Right. My kids get the biggest kick out of that. Although, they do the same thing
I mean, they I think they give me a hard time, Right. but I think they know that that's, it's the right way They've picked up the Well, they do, and when they actually get out away from the home, and have to do their own buying of things, and then they say, well, hey, you know, mom used to do this and dad used to do that, But, *% Uh-huh. Yes, and they appreciate how much it costs to do that. Yeah. That's right. Well, I don't know, you know. I, I wonder how, how you instill in people the necessity for doing just a little bit extra to, to make this whole thing work. I mean, the extra like washing out bottles and jars, or the extra of actually, uh, making sure that, uh, you take stuff over to, you know, some people are now are complaining because the stuff isn't picked up at the curbside, you know, and I think golly Moses, you just do your part. You know, people are not, you, you, you can't be waited on all your life and expect things to always work out. Right. Well, see, this, this is what concerns me. You,
over in Europe they don't have the kind of waste we do here. No, that's right. You, you've got to be in a country, even in, in Mexico, you don't see things thrown away, like we do here. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah, yeah. I mean, what we throw away is, is a ransom, a king's, ransom to most people, Yes. Uh-huh. and I, and even to people in our country, who scavenge for food Yeah. and, and, and I, I think you have to get into a period of need, Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. you can't tell a person that lives in a hundred, two hundred, three hundred thousand dollar house that have all that they need, and all that they could want that they've got to be careful.
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. No. Uh-huh. This is, uh, I, this is why I thought Jimmy Carter was never very very you know, people didn't like him. Because he tried to say, turn off the lights conserve this, do that. Yeah. Yeah, right, do those little things, yeah, And, and, uh, the I, nobody wanted to hear it. that make a lot of difference, uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, it's, I, you know, and, I think you're right, though. It's, I think that it has to really hit home before, the message sometimes.
Uh-huh. Or you have to grow up with it being important in your life, um, oh, oh, um, before the message really takes hold sometimes. Uh-huh. And, um, I don't know, it's, uh it's just really interesting to me how now more aware of things I am than I, even myself, than I used to be, a few years ago. Right. I mean, like I, I'd go to the, um, to the U T D, um, cafeteria for lunch sometimes Uh-huh. and they use styrofoam plates, when they wouldn't, need to use styrofoam plates. Um. Right. You know, and I think to myself that's, that's crazy. I wonder if, you know, maybe I need to bring that to someone's attention, you know, Uh-huh, uh-huh. and, and, uh, I'm seeing more and more of that, and, and I think it's, uh, just McDonald's effort to reduce the number of, of styrofoam, uh, boxes that they use, for hamburgers and stuff, Right. I think is a good, good example, you know, that even, industry is willing to do it. Huh.
I, I think the big question too we're looking at is, would you be willing to pay more for a product, so it can be recycled. Yeah. Well, I think that may, that's kind of what it's coming to, I'm sure. That's, that's right and, and, uh, do we have to wait until all the landfills, are full and there is nowhere else to put our garbage. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's right, yeah. Or, and I don't, with the mind set of the American public, I think what they will do is start paying Mexico That isn't, that isn't harmful. *sv Uh-huh. Wow. That doesn't , wouldn't surprise me. Uh-huh. Or they will go dump it out in the middle of some ocean. Yeah, yeah. I know it, That's the way we solve problems. and unfortunately.
And it's sad. Well, Hal, what's, uh, what's crime like in Dallas? Well, it depends where in Dallas you are. Uh-huh. There are certainly parts of town I would not want to live in. Yeah. Because it's the situation it is very location dependent Uh-huh. and there are parts of town here where, when they talk about the nightly gunfire. Oh, yeah. Yeah, in Baltimore we have similar. Uh, I live on the outskirts of Baltimore and, uh, we live right outside the city and our neighborhood is pretty much working class people, though I'm in graduate school, uh, I live here because it's close to the university. Uh-huh. But, you know, we have, uh, it, it's really funny,
the only crime we really see is, uh, just the kids being malicious. Uh-huh. You know, and I think most of that is because their parents aren't around. That make sense? Yeah. Yeah. That, uh, the, what they call the latchkey children. Yeah, something like that. No one's, you know, or, or fathers are just missing, you know, so there's no, uh, no consistency there in the home or whatever. There's no one to tell them what's right and what's wrong, you know. Yeah. The sort of on my end is more of the upper middle class so I think our, uh, Uh-huh. not that we don't have a certain amount of local problems Uh-huh but on the other hand, uh, we get the, uh, affect of the, uh, the city
and, uh, the main crimes within the suburb here are the, the theft crimes. A small number of assaults, Uh-huh. uh, well, if we have one murder a year that's probably as many, Yeah. but then, you know, you go into Dallas and they are, unfortunately uh, having murders at a rate greater than one a day. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's, we're about the same in Baltimore. Though, uh, Washington, I think is, uh, close by and, you know, they experience a lot more. Uh-huh. I think they definitely have more problems that, uh, in, in the area. What, what do you think can prevent crime? Well, the thing is, I don't, it's one of those things where, if you're a grad student you can appreciate the statistics on Uh-huh. Unfortunately there are often these correlations that are inverse of what they should be like, uh, wherever there are more, uh, criminals, there are more policemen Yeah. but that's which came first.
Yeah But, on the other side of it is it's, it's basically the, the problem is within the, in the society and the society's views Uh-huh. and, well, uh, since now I'm in my mid-forties, when I was in grad school or when I was an undergraduate growing up in a more rural area I thought, you know, crime was, was reasonably unknown and just the situation that's developed with the, the drug *new slash unit? aspect of, uh uh, the pushers, the dealers and the addicts, uh, Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, Uh-huh. Yeah, I, I, I think, I agree with you there. Because it just was not, uh, something back in the sixties that uh, I even had to worry about. Uh-huh. But I think, you know, that there is a lot in the society where things have changed, uh, so it's effected all of us. Uh-huh. Yeah, I think they, the drug culture definitely has, uh, is one of the main problems. Yeah, Because it would eliminate the, uh, the violence and the, uh, the the, the market, I guess, the, the hidden market of the drugs and everything that goes along with it. *sv Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
That make sense? He's one of the big proponents of that. He gets on national television and, and says that, you know. So it's, uh and he was a a District Attorney before, and a prosecutor before becoming, becoming mayor. So that's a really you know, it's a different viewpoint. I, uh, You know, in a sense I don't, I'm I have real mixed feelings on that Yeah. because it comes a bit from the angle that the, uh, uh, it would certainly be an interesting test Uh-huh. but the other side of it, to me, What happens if we lose worse. Uh, well, the other side is that unfortunately some of the down side, and I think if I look back fifty or a hundred years I'd say, you know, back then there were the opium dens Right. but the thing is, if somebody ruined their life, uh, society didn't try to then save themselves from it,
they let this person who had ruined it uh, become, well, die or whatever. Uh-huh. I mean they probably became weakened physically and other things to the point that their life expectancy was real short, Right, yeah. but now we tend to believe somewhere in the health care system otherwise, we need to take care of people even if they have, you know, physically ruined themselves. Yeah, they have induced it themselves. Yeah Yeah, that's true. and so, to me that's, I, uh, I would certainly like to see a real test of, of making drugs real cheap to see if when you make them available people then don't use them. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well I think you know, they did that in Alaska. That, that actually, Alaska just recently legalized marijuana. *two utts But I never, I never heard results or anything like that, so I never, you know, plus, that's such a, that's not a true, uh, you know, it really couldn't be a good test because Alaska's so different than every other part of the country.
Uh-huh. You know, so that, but that was interesting, you know, I, I don't, crime is one of those things that's, uh, I, I don't know, you know, the drug culture, the, uh, the, uh, you know, I, I see it with the kids in the neighborhood just stealing things, not thinking anything wrong with it. Yeah, well, some of that, and, of course, I'm a baby of the old school Yeah. but, it, it bothers me from the fifties on, not that I'd remember that much from the fifties Uh-huh. but, but basically we have so much more of the something for nothing mentality. Yeah, that's true. That's true. We worked hard for everything.
That's very true. And so they Uh-huh. in the, there were the sixty-four thousand dollar question shows in the fifties, but nowadays, there's so much on TV where, where people seem to have the idea they can get something for nothing. Of course uh, I work for lawyers a lot Uh-huh. and I see, unfortunately, we have this whole mentality that somehow there are these pots of money out there that you can sue somebody and, you know, there's a million dollars you can have uh, for mental duress or whatever. Uh-huh. Yeah But, you know, the other thing that bothers me in the crime is the, uh, in Europe, they seem to have mentality, and drunk driving is a good one, is that people are well indoctrinated in their society that drunken driving is unacceptable. Right. And, yeah, if you're going to drink, and you may drink, you better have your designated driver. And we mean it. Uh-huh. Yeah.
Yeah. That, I think that, uh, the drunk driving has just actually, just caught on. Uh, and I, I, I really, uh, Uh-huh. my father was hit by a drunk driver when I was in high school Uh-huh. and, uh, that was a very, uh, that, that was an awful three years afterwards. You know, of recovery and the difficulties and, uh, everything we did Uh-huh. and, you know, the guy went free because this was twelve years ago thirteen years ago, Uh-huh. there was no, his father was even, the, uh, police chief of the town. Uh-huh. So there was no repercussion at all. You know, other than insurance, but he was uninsured. Yeah. So, uh, our insurance paid for everything, but it was a very difficult time and, and then later, this was actually funny, my brother and I were picked up by the police for questioning because this fellow had bought a, a new car and somebody had taken like a baseball bat to it and broke all his windows and his lights and his, dented it everywhere,
Uh-huh. and they came and questioned us. Yeah. You know, and, But, that kind of shows how our attitude toward drinking and driving was, uh, misplaced for years Right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. that, you know, it was an acceptable social behavior. Yeah, very much so. Yeah, that, those are some important points. Yeah, I, that's, those are, What are, what does your city have for gun control if anything? Well, see Maryland is one of the most, we just voted in, uh, gun control, strong gun control here in the state of Maryland. I, I think, Well, the weather has been, certainly has been hot
and it's been humid. I don't remember a year in a long time that the humidity has stayed up this high for, uh, this late into, uh, well, it's not really late into the summer, but the, the humidity has hung around all of June. Yeah. Are you native to this area? No, I grew up in Michigan, But I've been, I've been in Texas for fifteen years. *sd Oh, okay. Uh-huh. So, uh, but, you know, I know the summers get hot but it certainly, uh, Uh-huh. this humidity has just really hung on there. Yeah. Yeah, it seemed like, well, you know, last year was so strange having all those heavy, heavy rains in April and this year we really didn't have heavy rains until May. Kind of like pushed the season back a little farther and now it's kind of lingering with kind of still a bit of humidity
and it just tried to rain, I mean, I was coming in from my car just a few minutes ago and it was trying to rain which seems strange to have it raining in July. Yes. Normally we don't have too much, uh, humidity or, or, uh, rainy time when it's past June. Oh, that's right, that's right. I can remember it not, it's really August that it happens. You get those great big cracks in the ground where it's been so dry Right. and it just gets so dry and, the earth opens up. I can remember the first year I moved here Uh-huh. and it didn't rain, I moved here like in late August and it didn't rain from August until December and, I went home and told it just doesn't rain in Texas. I mean it was great after growing up in Michigan and not, and you know, every day was cloudy,
almost every day was cloudy and I, you sort of forget how much it did rain and coming here and then it didn't rain, it was just wonderful. Well, yeah, see I, I lived in, uh, Ohio mainly. I lived in, uh, Pontiac just a little while before I came down here Oh, yeah. and, you know, so many times when you were trying to schedule outdoor activities, you just never knew if it was going to be a go or not because of the weather. It might rain on your little parade. That's right, that's right. You know, and here it was like, pretty much you could schedule some activity outside anytime and you really didn't have too much of a chance of it getting rained out. Yeah. You could pretty much do whatever you wanted to do. That's right. What part of Michigan were you living in? Oh, I grew up in Dearborn which is a suburb of, of Detroit. Okay.
Yeah, yeah. You probably know where that is because I know where Pontiac is, Anyway, yeah. What brought you down here? Oh, a teaching job. So you teach in Plano schools? Yeah, I did, I did for a while, uh-huh. So, I'm home with, home with two children, So, Oh. Okay New career. New career Okay. but, uh, anyway, so that kind of, uh, well, I had been down here to visit so I school and said hey, let's, you know, find a place that has a nice job and, uh, that's how it worked out.