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and he had a bunch of computer stuff, and, you know, I bought it all. It was two hundred bucks for everything he had. You got a buy. Well, some of it wasn't worth anything, you know. Sure. You know, a lot of the, uh, diskettes were just totally unusable. Melted, or Just wet or, Well, yeah , or wet Okay. But I did get out of there with, uh, Vermont Views, which is a huge, Okay, Cindy, you there? Yeah. Okay, what kind of dinner parties have you had? Well, I've had them, uh, where I've served up to twelve to sixteen people. Uh-huh.
Uh, and I had help with them. Uh, and part of them I did were like a buffet Uh-huh. and, uh, it, I had, uh, just different, uh, side dishes and appetizers and one of them that, that I'd remembered was, uh, some, uh, sausage hors d'oeuvres and, uh, anyhow, uh, you take, uh, a couple of, uh, cups of Bisquick and, uh, sausage, oh, like a, a Owens mild, Uh-huh. you can, I guess you could use the hot if you wanted to. Whatever you like, huh? Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, you put that in and then you get some real sharp cheddar cheese and put that in and a little bit of milk and make it all doughy Uh-huh. and then, like, I just put them in little balls and bake them for about fifteen minutes Um. and they are so good. Oh, that sounds delicious. Yeah.
Yeah. It's making me hungry for them right now. Yeah. You know, I've made like little Swedish meatballs, but they're just made out of the beef, you know. And, uh, with spices and things in them. But never anything mixed with Bisquick. Have you? Yeah. Uh-huh. I, I've used that quite a bit and it, and it seems to work real well. Uh-huh. Uh, Um. And, uh, uh, when I've had so many people, uh, to feed, like I try to do a ham and a turkey and and, Yeah, that's my, that's my parties mostly is at Christmas time and Thanksgiving time. Yeah. You know, I've, uh, I had an open house party here once when, after we moved in here, uh, which I had things like that, but I always cooked them ahead of time
and then I just sliced them. You know, and had macaroni salad with, uh, shrimp in it. Uh-huh. Have you ever had that? No. What, Put some fresh, little fresh shrimp and it's, in your macaroni salad that you make. Uh-huh. The shrimp just gives it a really good flavor. Oh, I'll bet. Yeah, I don't like the can, but the fresh. Yeah. You know. I'll have to try that. Yeah, that was really good. I like things that are easy and, and, uh, nutritious. Yeah, right,
right. But, uh, at, uh, Christmas time we just have a regular sit down dinner, you know. Which is kind of hard because you got so many people Uh-huh. and then by time you pass everything around, it seems like everything on your plate's cold. I know. I know So, Well, But anyhow, I, Thank God for microwaves, you know. Yeah, you can, always take your plate and just heat it up, you know. Yeah. But, uh, other than that, I, I don't have too many parties. Uh, you know, I have, like, maybe just a another couple over for dinner. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, uh, other than, than, than that I don't have, you know a whole bunch of people like except, except at Christmas Yeah.
and I have my family. Right, well I don't anymore. it's been a few years and, and, uh, I don't have, you know, over a couple either and and, uh, I try to, uh, have everything all ready Uh-huh. and, and it, it just makes it a lot nicer where a don't spend all my time in the kitchen. Yeah, right. And, uh, Spaghetti Right. and, Yeah, that's easy. I always like to have that, too. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody seems to like that, too. I know,
I don't think I've ever met anyone that didn't. No, everybody likes that. Yeah. And, then, uh, if you have a nice big roast that you can throw in the oven, then you can put your potatoes and carrots or whatever else all in there, you know. Especially if a pork roast. Oh, yeah. That's what I love, with my I like it, too. I do, too. And, uh, other than that, in fact, I'm just thinking of what next weekend when the Super Bowl's on Uh-huh. I've asked a couple people to come over and I just, uh, had been thinking what to have for that Yeah. Well, have you had any good ideas yet? No not yet Oh, okay. No, and I, you know, I don't want to have to come away from the T V.
I want something that I can just take them and serve them while they're sitting in front of the T V. Yeah. You know, so, I'll think of something, just that we can munch on over there, you know. Yeah. And they can just fill their plate up at intermission and then go back over there and sit down. And that's the way to do it, too. Yeah, yeah. I think it's, you know what's I think is so nice is that in this day and time that we can have good food that's good for you and you don't have to spend hours and hours and hours in the kitchen. Yeah. And, And it makes an awful lot of difference, doesn't it? Preparing it, right. Oh, it sure does. Well, Well, when I was brought up, you know, we didn't, Uh, go ahead, tell me what you think. Do we get our money's worth?
Hey, listen, if I had my way, I wouldn't pay my taxes. Not with the, not with some of the things that I hear that our tax money is going for some ludicrous things. Yeah, did you see SIXTY MINUTES last night? No, I did not. I, Well, they did a thing on the thirty-five billion dollars we waste every year just on storing stuff for the military we don't need. And, uh, it's staggering. Well, how does this grab you? How did this grab you? Uh, this, I, I mean, I'm, I'm a lady, but this, I heard this on a Christian program and it was, uh, about the N E A and, that's the National Endowment for Arts, and they fund, they funded this thing, this act on a stage and did a study on it between two lesbians and two homosexuals and wrote a report about that with our money. Well, there are a lot of things that people, I think general, And then it just frosts me terribly. Well, I think it's interesting to look at, uh, where the money goes, and it goes a lot of places where it probably ought not go
and and I don't think generally, I think what's interesting is that we probably represent the majority of people in this country in terms of their feelings about the government Absolutely. and how it serves us given the extraordinarily large sum of money the government has to operate with. I believe that's true, yes. And that, what I think is going to be really interesting is what we do about it. I mean, we are going to have to change the people who represent us. That's correct. I mean, and I think it's going to be real interesting to see and, and then force upon them, uh, Heavy involvement from the public. Yeah, right that's I think that's the only thing that's going to change it. Uh-huh. Yeah, heavy involvement from the public. Our anger is going to have to, to give rise to, to more activity on our part. Yeah. Uh, I've, I've said for years that there's full employment for the politically active and in our society, uh, there's very little full employment. Most people in this country are getting worse off, not better off.
Absolutely. Eighty percent of the public, according to Bill Moyers', uh, recent, uh, piece for, uh, Public Broadcasting, which, by the way is a very good use of government money. I think P B S is wonderful. But this special focused on the fact that eighty percent of the people in this country are, are seeing their real incomes, and thus, standards of living, decline. And twenty percent are seeing theirs improve. That's not a formula for a better society. No, it is not. It's lopsided, very much so. And the government really plays a role in this. Uh-huh, that's right, they pull the strings. I mean, well, they are the people whose strings are pulled and by I guess powerful Right, the,
yeah You know, and it's really interesting to see how that affects people because essentially more and more people in this country are not likely to revolt in the way that people used to think of, of the voter revolting. But people are pretty much getting the picture that some people get taken care of and others don't and they think it's unfair, and when they recognize that it's their tax money, they're going to do more about it. I I'll tell you one quick, uh, one thing very interesting. C B S, after the State of the Union address is going to open up a telephone line, an eight hundred number and people can call in and say what they think about what's going on in this country. Uh-huh. They expect, opening it for one hour, that they'll get three, hundred thousand telephone calls. I'm sure they will. And I've thought for years it would make a lot of sense to create an eight hundred number for voters to call and, and vent their frustration with government. Like one, eight hundred capitol or something like that. You know, just a number you could call from anywhere, anytime. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I think that's coming and I think once, once people really start to communicate how they feel, things are going to change. Until then, I think, you know, it's going to be really painful. So the question is, how soon are we going to start to get our money's worth and, as you said, it's how soon we get involved, and I think we need to create mechanisms to allow us to get involved, like allowing us to call a toll free number and say, hey, look, do it this way, not that way, or I like this, or I don't like that, or this is how I feel about your spending my money on art that I don't think is art.
Yes, I understand that, but hopefully that the people that are listening to what our comments are take some action on it. Well, that's the good thing about what is happening because I think more and more the news media, which takes a heck of a beating and, and deserves some of it, is telling us, you know, about the problems. So the more we communicate, hey, look, we want a change here, because, you know, as it turns out, we've wasted a tremendous amount of money on our defense spending in this country. Oh, absolutely. Over a very long period of time. Right, absolutely. Uh, and, uh, We only see the tip of the iceberg only. Right. You know, there's so much of it going on that it would really, you know, uh, set us into a deeper depression if we knew the whole picture. Yeah. Well, you may be right. What I think is really going to be interesting is to see how, uh, we as a society deal with it and I, and I think it is, what you say, it's, it's a, Well what do you think about the everyday occurrences that are, that are an invasion of your privacy? Well, the, uh, what I really, I don't like is the the constant calls, people selling things people telling me I want things. You know, people trying to solicit for different, you know, organizations.
Oh. Right. You know, that's what I really. Yeah, I think that's, that's the only thing I wrote down also, because that's just a, it's terrible today, I mean, my wife and I, seems like we get home at five thirty and the damn phone starts ringing and rings up until ten, eleven o'clock sometimes. Never stops ringing, right. That's right. Well, you know, the, the great, uh, thing for that, it's, uh, is, is an answering machine Yes, I know, that's true. I mean, this is, this is the, one of the best inventions ever, you know, you just switch that thing on, and, uh, Yeah, that's true. Yeah.
But, you know, people, it's like your name must be on a list or something, because I know at my office, I get calls, I mean, I must get at least, I probably average at least a call a day, and a lot of days I'll get two and three calls, from from people selling insurance you know, to the small business man Um, even in an office? Uh-huh. Right. and, uh, you know, I think Dunn and Bradstreet puts your, according to what I understand, Dunn and Bradstreet puts your names, your name out to people also, as far as brokers all, I get calls from brokers in New York, and, uh California, always trying to sell something, oil, oil investments or stock investments or whatever. Uh-huh. Right, right. And now I'm getting the same calls at at the house. Uh-huh, I know. And they get your, and they get your name from Dunn and Bradstreet, and, uh, credit card companies, they sell your name. Oh, yeah, uh, well, you know, these people, they sell your names, I mean
I know. Yes. you know, I, that's also an invasion of privacy. I think it the whole thing is, uh, American Express does that, by the way. Oh, they do? Yeah, I understand they sell it, you know, they sell names because it's quite profitable to them. Well, sure it is. And that is an invasion of privacy, you're right. That's right. Well, you know, if you've ever gotten anything, you know, in your life, your, your name is somewhere I know, that's true. I mean, one magazine, and boom, they got your name forever. Exactly, magazine companies, uh, uh, from, from subscriptions do the same thing Uh-huh. it's the way they make additional money.
That's right. But, it's, uh, you know, I guess, it, uh, you have to be a certain income holder to, uh, have an American Express card, so your name is valuable to, I guess, X amount of solicitors calling. Yeah, that's right. So, I don't know. What, what do you, where are you from? Oh, I'm from Texas. Oh, okay, well so, yeah, we live in the Dallas area, Richardson. Oh, we're in Plano. Okay Well, you know, the only call I really got that, well, was out of state, I got one from Oklahoma City, and one from California. Did you? And that was, uh, California, I was thrilled to death, because that's, you know, the furthest I'd gotten any call from, you know,
and, um, Yeah, I got, I've talked to people in Utah, people in New York Oh, really. and a lot of times I'll call eight or nine o'clock in the morning and I'll get people you know, from out of the, uh, out of the state. Oh. Yeah, see, well that's, uh, the, there was another call on Saturday, Saturday that was also from, uh, that was the one from California. I don't know why I ask people on the weekends from out of state, or, uh, I don't know, you know, but, I'll be darned. Where you from? Not from Texas. Uh, originally from New Jersey. New Jersey, right. Yeah. Yeah.
My wife's from New Jersey. Oh, really, what part? Yeah, from, uh, Saddle River. Oh, that's nice over there. She, Yeah, we're from more, uh, from sort of towards the shore, central New Jersey, you know, Okay. we're like, uh, Well, that's nice, too. Yeah, oh yeah, it was beautiful, that's why I, I really miss it. I, I don't really like it here at all Really, yes, my wife's been away for twenty-five years,
so she's been away for quite a while. Uh-huh. Her dad was from Little Rock, Arkansas, and her mother was from New York, so they just they over there in New Jersey. Yeah, so they, Yeah Uh, and anyway, this topic is, is a good topic, as far as invasion of your privacy, but that's the, the biggest one I can think of is just, just all the solicitors calling. Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah, and, then, of course they call, you know, before I got the answering machine, it was ridiculous I know. you know, I said, this is absurd, I, you know, I, the minute I get home the phone would be ringing. That's a, that's a good suggestion.
I might start using the answering machine more, because it's so hard to not pick up that phone when it rings. Oh, it's great, I mean. Well, you know, in fact, I've been missing calls from the T I switchboard, because I, I always have it on you know, Right. and I'll get that, that message that says, uh, to, uh, um, you know, uh, end this call, press three Sure. and I assumed I, you know, it was from the switchboard. You know Yeah, you're probably right. Yeah it is, because one day I listened, you know, and it was you know, but, um, I, I just got totally disgusted, and then, you know, people asking for, for money for everything, you know, I mean. Exactly, I understand. I mean, I, it's hard to believe there's that many deputy sheriffs associations
and, and, you know, the policeman's associations. I know, they call you one time to send three kids to the carnival or circus Oh, I used to do that. and, Yeah, I used to do that, I'd send, or three kids to the movies or something Right. There's always a and I, my, my pat answer now is, well, you just called me the other night, Okay, Gene So, it's nice to talk with you and, um, food is a very intriguing thing. Our lives are, are built around foods that we like and, nutritionally good for us. Yes, sir. What kind of dining out do you like? Well, there is two kinds.
One I guess I'd say is with my wife where we enjoy, uh oh, I guess we usually enjoy a good seafood restaurant. Oh. Uh, you know, something nice. Yeah. And the other is with my whole family whom we, uh, go somewhere that the kids will enjoy Uh, recently we have been hitting Pancho's up. It's a local Mexican restaurant. Uh-huh. because they have got a good rate on, you know, good prices and everything. Pancho's, that's, a new one. Yeah. Yeah, Uh-huh. it's, it's a chain down uh, it goes up into Colorado and down here. I don't know where else it is. What about you? We have one called Chi Chi's in in our area. Oh, yeah. And, uh, we had a restaurant called La Bamba
but it's just, it closed recently. But Chi Chi's is a national restaurant, I think. Isn't it Mexican? I think, think it might be. Do you have it there? I've I think I've seen it around. Yes, sir. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I love Mexican food myself. Oh, do you? Yeah. But you go ahead now Oh, we, we do too. We, uh, we enjoy Mexican food. I'm just not impressed with the quality of it. It's just primarily the price that's, uh, satisfying at this point. But the kids, seem to enjoy it. Is that right? Uh-huh.
Uh, and, uh, let's see. We've, uh, just recently discovered a super restaurant down here but it's, uh, not part of a chain it's just an individually owned seafood restaurant. But the first one we've been to that, uh, I don't think there was anything on the menu, that, that any of us had that was, uh, not just really super. It's nice to find a place like that. Oh, boy that is wonderful. Yeah. Well, I, I agree with you on that. And I was really a seafood addict myself. I, I love crab meat in particular. Um. I, uh, I can almost live on, on seafood and almost live on the crab meat if I had to. Oh, boy. Have you ever been to, uh, what is it, Original Book Binders in Philadelphia? I, uh, know the name but I haven't been there. Uh, that's an old established, uh, restaurant. I used to go there when I was in college.
Uh-huh. Where did you go to college? Uh, I went to the Naval Academy. Oh, the U S , Naval Academy? And we used to, we use to go up there on, uh, for football games sometimes. And have some liberty. Uh-huh. And, yeah, we would go over there to, uh, pretty sure it was original, Original Book Binders I think it was, yes. I'll be darn. I haven't been back there in years. Well, we're, we're supposed to be talking about dinning out, but I'll just make one comment that, uh, I just retired from Penn State, and, uh, all my work has been in research for the Navy Okay. What area? Underwater acoustics.
Is that right? Did you have any dealings with the, uh, underwater sound reference laboratory in Orlando, Florida? I have dealt with nearly all of the, all of the research laboratories that the country has. Yes, sir. My dad worked there for years, and years. Uh-huh. That's that's, uh, that's where I grew up was down in Orlando. So, Oh, you grew up in Orlando. Uh-huh. That's, uh, that's interesting, Well, I was in submarines. Uh, Well, that's what I worked on. Okay, yeah, must have had some interesting, uh, assignments for you there. when did you retire? The end of last month. Well, great. I'm sure you've seen some interesting developments in acoustics. I certainly have
Yeah. So, I hate to, uh, I wish I could talk to you about that, uh, but, uh, I guess we should continue on, uh, Okay. Okay. Right. Where's, How do you like Chinese food? Oh, we, we do enjoy that. Yes, sir. Uh, I don't know if we are particularly adventurous, we find something we like, uh, like cashew shrimp or something that's got a good, uh, at a particular restaurant and then we usually stick by it. But do you, What about you? Uh-huh. Well, I, uh, enjoy the Szechuan type of, uh, Chinese food. Hot? Yes. Uh-huh.
Yep, uh, it's, uh, I, I do a lot of Chinese cooking myself. I have in the past. I haven't done recently, but, uh, it's in the sweet and sour porks and things like are just really delicious meals. Um. Where did you learn how to do Chinese cooking? Uh, just at home. Uh-huh. I, I enjoyed the food and I bought a lot of, uh, good cookbooks, and I've been following through on that. When you find the right cookbook, why it works out. Uh-huh. What's a good reference cookbook for Chinese food? Okay, well, that one's a good question. Here it's right under my nose if I can find it Oh, boy. I guess one of the things we've, uh, started avoiding is the, uh, run of the mill chop suey and things like that.
Yeah, right. But we enjoy trying, uh, different kinds of chicken or, uh, you know, even, uh, shrimp, uh, dishes that are fixed in a Chinese restaurant. One of this book I have is called CHINESE COOKING MADE EASY. Uh, it's a paperback and I think it's by someone named Chang. Yeah, Isabelle Chang. Okay, thanks for that, uh, reference. Yeah, yeah. I think you will enjoy that. Okay, good. Yeah. Well, it certainly is nice talking with you Gene. And, uh, what is your phone at home? That's it. Yes.
What do you think are possible changes in the, uh, way trials are conducted these days? Do you like the way some people in there for instance, really take over and, uh, we have no way, uh, of knowing whether they are legitimately right or wrong and so forth. Yeah. What do you think about these things? Well, as I look at our trial systems, I think they've gotten to be quite a joke. The way the people can appeal and file for mistrials and they've taken a lot of the things that were set up to make it be a fair system and used it to their advantage. I think that a jury should listen to the courts, uh, to, to the hearings and to everything, but I think they should only weigh fifty percent of the decision. I think the judge should hold the, or maybe even forty-nine, and the judge should be able to rule one way or the other. so you're saying you think the judge should actually have the final say? I think he should. And I think that there should be more than one judge. There should be maybe two, at least that sit in and listen so that there's no way that you could have like a crooked judge. Huh. Do you know what I mean? Yes. I know what you mean. Um, and I think that there, it's important to have a jury, but I think the way that they go through so much time to get it a fair one.
That's okay too. As long as it's not used to delay the trial so much. They need to have a fair jury but they only you know, would cover forty-nine percent of the decision or fifty percent and then the two judges would go ahead and make the final decision. Well, I hadn't, uh, thought of it from that point of view before. How do you feel about that? I have been in a fairly important trial, and, uh, what bothers me is I was concerned of the ability of some of the people in the jury to adequately understand what was being presented so that they themselves could make a proper and, uh, accurate decision. Right. That's the part that bothered me about it. Um, I really think that the, the, the jury ought to have more say so in the selection or in the determination of whether they are guilty or not. But I also think that the jury should be, uh, very, very, uh, carefully, more carefully selected to make sure that they are entirely intelligent people and that they understand some of the details that are involved so that they can make accurate decisions. Right. I hate to see people brought in who basically have lived out in the country and don't know much about any of this stuff, and, and they just make a decision based on whether they like the dress she wore that day or whether that guy smiled or growled all the time. Right. That's no way to make a decision on some terrible problem. Right. Well, what if they used, you know,
I just had a thought come as you were talking. What if they used law students and had that be credit hours to sit in trials? That would be certainly nice let's say we, we would have fifty percent of them law students, anyway . Yeah. Yeah, at least. At least, on the jury. Yeah. And that would give them, experience in the courtroom, Uh-huh. and it could count as some aspect or hours going into their major. That's a very neat idea, and they would learn a lot about being lawyers later in life when they see what it is like to be in the jury side of a trial. Right. That's right. That would be a really good thing to do. That would be a, a really good thing to do. So it's I have a girlfriend that just went through a three year trial,
Huh. and what happened was her husband was, uh, involved in a motorcycle accident where a drunk driver ran the stoplight and he ran into the motorcycle. Huh. But the reason, the actual reason that the motorcycle person, her husband, was killed was because his brakes went out on his motorcycle. He was just taking it home from the place. It was brand new, and his brakes did not work. For goodness sakes. And this expensive, big company that owned these motorcycles, um, railroaded this into three years worth of trials for this lady and she had a son that was just only two years old when it happened Uh-huh. and they were following him home in the car. Saw the whole thing happen. Oh, they saw the husband, get, That's right. They were following him home from the motorcycle shop. Yeah. And they railroaded this whole trial into mistrials, um, this and that and the other. Every time she'd get a verdict that would be in her favor of her, of a settlement, Uh-huh.
They would find something wrong with it. Until finally they won and, said that it was the drunk driver's fault Did they really? Uh-huh. but I just felt like justice wasn't served because they had the money, the big lawyers, and she didn't, That is a shame. You'd think there would be enough, uh, people who saw the accident other than his wife, to, to also, uh, make statements, Right. and they have nothing to gain one way or the other. So if they say a certain way, then why not believe them. Right. And I don't know all the details on that, but I certainly think that we've come up with a good idea with the, the the students coming into the jury. Yeah. And I don't think that it would be such a bad idea even if the judge didn't have the final say. Uh-huh. Do you have any? Yes, we do have a pet. We have a, a dog that we got from the, uh,
well, we call it the S P C A. It's the, uh, from an animal shelter. Uh-huh. Uh, he'd come in there as a stray. All right. Uh, he's a Pomeranian and Sheltie cross. Yeah. Uh, well, he was very well trained when we got him. Uh, he's, Oh, that's good. You don't often find that, I don't think. No, uh, we suspect that he was hurt in an accident, you know, got away from somebody traveling through, and hurt in an accident because a dog that looks as good as he does and is trained as well is someone that has lost him and not have been able to locate him. Right. Uh-huh. And, uh, if they were local people, they would have been able to find him. Sure. There's a, okay, uh,
that's interesting. Yeah, the only pet that I've had, uh, I'm a, I'm a doctoral student right now Uh-huh. and in my, in my earlier days as a student I kind of time shared on a dog with a, a good friend of mine and, uh, it was an amazing dog, it really was. They had, he had gotten it from the pound and, uh, it, it's a Spanish Pointer named Domino. Kind of looks like a a Dalmatian Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. and we trained it from a pup, and basically it, right now it, it's fully trained and it can do a lot of things. It will get beer for you out of the fridge, and it will get the newspaper and do all kinds of stuff. So, it's really, it's, it's kind of a show piece and whenever anybody comes over, we all have to show him Domino you know . Oh, I think so.
Yeah, it's, uh, she's been a real good, a real good dog and, uh, just, it's kind of a shame that I'm, I'm I'm away from it now. I, I I actually live in Florida Uh-huh but I'm on an internship up here for a year and then I go back down, but, uh, yeah, Domino's a real good dog. Yeah. Uh, what, uh, possessed you to get the dog? Well, I guess, in one sense we felt that, it, it's nice to have a dog even though there are, you know, complications come with it. Yeah. And then with our children, uh, at the time they were, oh, grade five and, and grade eight, so it was an age where it was, uh, we thought it was be good for them to have the discipline that goes with, with having a pet. Uh-huh. Sure.
Uh, Sure learn a bit, learn a little bit of discipline and how to care for it and things like that. Yeah, right. That's good. That kind of builds some character a little bit. So , Well, that's the idea. I think the reality of it is, that they perhaps, uh, it depends on the, on everyone's discipline. Uh-huh. And, uh, from that aspect, I'm short on the discipline, because I don't, uh, enforce that the kids look after the dog and, uh, we've had him about four years now. Uh-huh. Uh, but I think it does, it, it, you know, it's necessary that individuals have the discipline to look after the animal properly, uh, Yeah, that's something that's important for sure. Yeah. I think, uh, do you live in a, in a, in a fairly rural part of the, uh
Uh, or, Actually no, we live in a, in an area that's, oh, probably about two and a half miles from the university. Oh, I see. Uh, we live right, might say we live right in, uh, in the middle of a residential area. Um. And, uh, so that is not as good, uh, you know, this dog, being a small dog it's, uh, more you, more acceptable Yeah but again, it's not that big of a problem. With Domino, she was full grown, I would estimate seventy pounds. Yeah. And, you know, we lived in Oviedo, which is a small town, it's a suburb of Orlando Uh-huh. but there's not, there wasn't a lot of room for her to run around, and she was a dog that loved to run,
so that was the biggest problem I saw, and I think that's one of the, uh, the issues people need to think about before they get a dog is, you know, do you have the room for this dog to run around, or, you know, I guess you can't really say for cats. Me and cats don't get along too well, uh but, you know, that whole space issue, I think, is real important. Yeah, it's, uh, that's one of the biggest concerns. It's like, uh, there's a lot to be gained from a relationship with an animal, but the same time, one has to recognize the reality of physical requirements of of the animal Right. Yeah, that, that, and the larger they are, the more room they need to exercise. Sure, and that's all part of of keeping your part of the relationship. You know, showing the maturity and responsibility to recognize those, uh, those issues. Right. Well , You know, and also, the whole, whole thing with noise. My mother, oh, she freaks out because she's got neighbors that have dogs, that don't train them
Uh-huh. and, you know, we we had a neighbor in Nebraska when we lived there that had, uh, Brittany Spaniels and they're very high strung animals to begin with, but, uh, Okay. How do you get your news mostly? Generally, I get most of my news from, uh, the radio. And then sometimes, uh, if I've got time, I'll be reading the front page of the newspaper and just fall off on the articles that I like. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, also, since my wife likes to watch T V, sometimes, uh, having just being there I get, uh, you know, I have to watch the news late at night with T V. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, uh-huh. How about you? Well, I can hardly wait for my morning paper to come. Uh-huh So that's the first thing I want is the headlines. It's really funny because because, uh, uh, my sister grabs the sports and I grab the headlines
Uh-huh. But, uh, and then when five o'clock comes around I just want to get in the house and turn the T V on to watch the news. Um. It's really weird. Uh, I don't stay up late to watch late news because my eyes won't stay up that long. But, uh, I love to watch the five o'clock news and I, makes me angry when my paper boy's not there on time where I can read my paper Um. Uh, I do have my radio going most of the day though, so about every hour it breaks in and gives me news too, you know. Okay. Do you get like one of the talk stations, the news stations? But, No. Uh-huh. *listen; mistranscribed 'uh-uh' I just have a channel that has music except for, like every hour, you know, say eight o'clock, nine o'clock, they come on for just a little bit of the news. Sure. Right. But as far as the actual news, I get that from like a call from the, can you hold on just for a second?
Sure. Just a minute. answers the other Hello sir comes back to speaker Yes. Yes, I'm sorry to keep you waiting Okay Uh, I was calling from work so and that was a call waiting. Right. it sounds like you, uh, like the news a lot more than I do. Me, I figure if it's something really important, somebody will tell me about it. But, uh, you know, I, the thing is if, if I catch the news all the time, it just makes me depressed because they tend to produce a lot of bad news. Or that's what comes on first. Yeah, That's true too. And, uh, you know, also late at night, you know, I don't like watching the news late at night but my wife is usually up then and so I can't go to sleep with the T V on. Uh-huh.
Uh-huh, uh-huh. I, uh, but, you know, I, I wish I had, uh, more news on things like, that I consider long range. Things like science and medicine Uh-huh. uh, I'm more, I guess I'm more into science and science fiction and, uh, there's, you know, not that the news is science fiction, but, uh, uh, I'm more interested in that. Things like, uh, is NASA ready for another space shot. Uh, you know, how hot are they on the trail of a cure for such and such cancer Uh-huh. and, uh, uh, you know, a lot of the news isn't that interesting to me. Yeah. Well, you're right. There is a lot of it that's, that's just garbage, as far as I'm concerned, you know. Uh-huh. But I just like the, more or less, the, the daily news, you know. Just, uh, especially the weather. Yeah. I like that Me, too.
Although they're usually wrong Yeah, Georgia here, they're usually wrong too. We have weird weather systems. Uh-huh. But, uh, like I say, as far as, as actually listening to the news, it's mostly T V, five o'clock to six thirty. Uh, that seems like a long time for news but that's how long it is. Yeah. And, uh, seems like they have the local news and they have the world news. Uh-huh. And then, uh, my morning paper. I can hardly wait for it to come. Yeah. I'm you know, I, I just, uh, I would, And, uh, I, I, I'm not a morning person so I would begrudge the time it takes me in the morning to catch my morning news. I get up just barely in time to get up, get ready and get off to work and then at work I have no time to read the news. Oh.
Yeah, right. Once you get to work, I wouldn't either, huh-uh. No But I've always been a morning person to get up, you know. Uh-huh. but I can't stay up late at night to watch the late news so I guess that's why I watch it at five o'clock Yeah. But anyhow. Well, listen, I guess that's about it then. Okay. It's been nice talking to you Tony. Nice talking to you. I'll probably talk to you again. I had a friend who was in this and he said that he got calls from the same caller sometimes. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, well that hasn't happened to me yet.
So, you never know, it might this time. That's right. Okay, Tony. Take it easy. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. Bye-bye All rightie. Okay. Do you have a budget that you go on? Yeah. I sure do. Uh, I have, it's pretty much a ledger sheet and I just write down all my bills, how much I'm going to have to pay and I do it per paycheck for me which is every other week. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I mean I include everything from groceries to insurance to car payments to credit card payments, you know, everything. Uh-huh.
And it tends to work out pretty well that way. I can anticipate, you know, a little better. I usually try to guesstimate and then when the bill actually comes in, I go ahead and fill in the actual amount. Uh-huh, uh-huh. That way I know how much pocket change I'm going to have left at the end of the month or at the end of the paycheck anyway. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh So that works okay for me. Uh-huh. Well, my bills I usually know approximately how much they're going to be. Right. Each month they are more or less just about the same, you know. Uh-huh, same here. Uh, very seldom are they any different. And then, uh, like for groceries and everything, we try to put, like, two hundred and fifty dollars in a little can in the kitchen Uh-huh.
and then that's what we use to buy the groceries with. Oh, okay. And then we put our receipts in there, you know, and usually that's enough. Uh-huh. And, uh, but I don't have any, you know, small children to have anything extra come up, you know, like, uh, running to the doctor or something like that with them. Right. Luckily I don't either. I mean, you know, maybe my cat would get sick but, I mean, usually that's not so much that it would throw me off Yeah, yeah, right. In fact, I did have to take my dog to the vet the other day But you so you know what I'm saying, yeah. Yeah. that, it's worse than having a kid, huh? I, sometimes it can be.
Yeah. Sometimes it can be. I guess the worst thing I've ever had come out is like car maintenance kinds of things. Uh-huh. But I do try to build in a little extra money each month to, to be able to do that type of thing so. Yeah, uh, I'm not working right now. I worked for P I E and then, uh, they went bankrupt so I just went ahead and took my early pension. Uh-huh. Oh, uh-huh. But I only get that once a month. Oh, that's tough. Yeah My roommate only gets paid once a month and that last week's pretty lean generally speaking Yeah. So,
so. Yeah. So, you know, I really have to try to budget, that I don't go over that amount, you know, each month. Right. I, for, for years got paid once a month and, and in ways I liked it because I could go ahead and pay all my bills at once. Uh-huh. There's always one or two stragglers that usually they were, for me it worked out that they were the smaller ones Uh-huh, uh-huh. but I would pay all of them at one sitting and I would know okay, you can go spend this much on groceries now and you get this much a week and that is it. Yeah, right. And, and it worked okay for me. Uh-huh. I don't know. And, Right now I, I'm in the mode of trying to dig out of debt, I think as everybody is
and so, Oh, yeah. Right now it's terrible isn't it? It's, yeah, it's really bad. Yeah. But, uh, it's going pretty well and I've got a real good plan mapped out here, so. Uh-huh. I also like long-term Christmas club you know. I used to belong to a Christmas club, last year I didn't. Uh-huh. Then, so then, naturally, Christmas comes along and that puts you behind too, you know. So this year, now I have them taking out fifty dollars a month out of my checking account for my Christmas club. Oh that's, Yeah. So I figure, you know, that's going to help some. That'll cover your gifts come Christmas time.
That'll, yeah, Yeah, right, you know. That'll be good, yeah most people are spending three or four months you know, at least, digging out after Christmas so. Right, right. And I'm Yeah, I, I was pretty fortunate this Christmas I didn't get in debt, so. Oh, that's good. I'm taking like, uh, sewing lessons to try to learn how to sew better than what I can Uh-huh. so I won't have to go out and buy the ready-made clothes anymore. Oh, uh-huh.
It's so rare you hear anybody doing that any longer I know. I even bought myself a Surgery , you know, and I just love it. I haven't learned everything to do on it yet but I figure that will help me save you know. Yeah. My, uh, roommate does sew some and, and, uh, she hasn't sewed anything in a long time but I, I'm sure that she could pick it up again. My mother always sewed. She tried to teach me when I was young but not interested Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, see, some people are, some aren't because I have some sisters, I have three sisters Yeah. and none of those are really interested in sewing. Yeah.
But that's a real good way to save money, though by doing that. Yeah, and then I can also, you know, do some crafts and sell those at garage sales. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So, which I've been doing. Well, that's a good way to, to make a little extra money. Uh-huh. Well, this is another way that I'm making a little extra money so that was, you know, nice that I tripped over this opportunity and you're actually my first call. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh. I had not, uh, done I, I guess today today's my first day that I could even do it. Well, have you called? Oh. Oh, it is? Yeah,
you beat me to the punch, here Oh, well, that, that's nice you know. I, I was about to call to get, to see if I could get on with somebody, so Uh-huh. so that was great. Yeah. Well I guess that's about all I can talk to about budgets. When I was working, I, uh, bought a bond a month out of my, you know, they automatically took it out of my out of my payroll. Yeah. Yeah. I take, have some money taken it and put in a Four Oh One K, So, what sort of car are you interested in getting next? Well, actually, I love the car I have. I have a Chrysler LeBaron convertible. And I love it. Ah. And I would get another one in a minute. Unless I could afford what I really like which would be a red Ferrari or, you know, a little Corvette or something like that.
And that's what would influence my decision to change because I like a really sporty car. And I'd love an expensive one but I probably, can never afford it so Uh, well I understand and can sympathize with that because I also enjoy driving performance automobiles. Uh, I currently have an eighty-seven, five liter Mustang G T that I've done a bunch of modifications to, to make it, uh, handle and perform better, Uh-huh. and I suspect if I were to be able to get another car where object was, uh, the best car I could get regardless of money, uh, I probably would be tempted by something along the lines of a Lotus or possibly a Ferrari. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, I'm a nurse here and we have a doctor at this hospital that has a beautiful new red Ferrari. A, a three twenty-eight G T S? And I couldn't tell you but it's just beautiful. And I go out and I love to touch it but I can't even do that because of the alarm. You just go hunting? So, I just look at it a lot
Go out and lust after it. Really Exactly. But it sure is a pretty thing So have you had the opportunity to drive a Ferrari? No. I'm working on it No, I really haven't, no, huh-uh I did test drive a Corvette last year. Maybe the year before. It was brand new, white, it was like a big marshmallow. When you sat in the seats, they adjusted to fit around you. uh. I mean they came in and up and out and I mean, they did whatever and, and we went for a test drive in that and I was able to open that up pretty good
and that was really fun. And I wanted it, but I had a choice of that or my house and I thought that I'd continue, to live in my house so. Yeah, there, there's something about having a place to live, I don't know. Yeah, you know, it's just necessary. And I did, I thought well a tent wouldn't be bad but probably not practical. Could sleep in the back of the 'vette. Yeah, right So, I find that, uh, that the Corvettes are, are becoming really, really nice cars. They are, they're pretty aren't they lately Yeah. And they, they've improved, the performance and the suspension such that they're actually a lot of fun to drive. They really are.
Really. It's not like driving a, a Winnebago or something. Oh, no No, no. See, I'm not into station wagons and vans and things that people are really buying now and they go isn't that a nice van and I go, um. Not really, you know. How about a Greyhound bus Nice. Yeah. Nice isn't the word I'd choose. Maybe practical. Yeah. I mean that, you know. Isn't that a practical van. There's some that are prettier than others and yeah,
the new type is prettier than what their, they used to look like but I sure don't think it's attractive, you know. It's not like, like driving a little sports car. Yeah. It, it's very hard to find something practical that's also attractive. Yeah. I don't think that happens so, but I, I love mine, so, and I, I bought it because I drove a friend's in Hawaii and I just went home and I walked in and I picked it out and he said take it home and bring it back if you want to, and I never did. I just went back and signed the papers and I knew nothing about my car when I got it. Nothing. I didn't know how anything worked. Well, so it was a completely new experience for you. And I'm sure you enjoyed every minute of it.
Yeah. And I've had it, it's almost three years actually. And I've, I still love it. I put the top down everywhere I go. I timed it when I first got it and it took twenty I mean twenty seconds and so, I figured there was nowhere I was to late to go that I didn't have twenty more seconds. Right. So. And, and you couldn't get, how long does it take to go back up? About the same time. Twenty seconds, yeah. That's all it takes. I mean, it's just a button, that's it. You release it right at the top, Yeah, so so you don't have to get out or anything.
So you won't get, Yeah and twenty seconds you probably won't get caught in anything too substantial. Well I did, actually. Last week going to the airport, I just hit a downpour and I was on a highway going like eighty. So I really did. I mean I was soaking wet. I thought I would drown in the seconds that it took me to pull over Whoops. But it all dried out, you know. Didn't take long when the sun came out Yeah. but it was kind of funny. I'm sure people around me really enjoyed it but, Oh. No I was just down in Austin last week and the weather was pretty nice too. So, Oh
and wasn't it pretty last week with the Bluebonnets and everything, yeah, yeah. With the Bluebonnets out, yeah. It really was. Yeah I decided that Austin is certainly someplace that I could handle living. is Yeah. A lot of people say that and it's pretty far from where I live I'm ready if you are. Okay. Um, where do you stand, uh, on, Well, I think that people should be allowed to have them. Especially if they go hunting, Oh. which my son goes hunting. He goes deer hunting. He goes duck hunting.
Uh, he's read books about guns since he was like probably eleven or twelve years old. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I just think that, uh, as far as that's concerned, he should be able to have them to go hunting with, you know. As far as just having handguns around to, to have them, I don't believe that you should have handguns around. Right, right. Right. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I agree too. I, uh, it's, it's, as far as the ban goes and everything, I don't think it's possible, uh, to completely ban guns. There's just too many. Well, no. There's too many sports people out there that, that do do these things. Right, and I, yeah,
right, I mean, yeah, that, that's true. And I mean the, the technology's not that hard. I mean, you could make a gun, you know, from simple, you know, you know. Yeah, well I suppose you could. Uh, You know, if, if you really wanted a gun, you, you could make one. Uh, Uh-huh. And I think if they want one, they're going to get one. Oh, you know You know. true. That's true. The bad guys are, you know, like I say, if they want a gun they're going to find out somehow to get one. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah,
it's, yeah, I mean, yeah there's, there's no way to stop, uh, stop anybody from getting a gun. Uh, I think there should be more control as, like, uh, like maybe waiting periods and things like that, you know, uh, Well I agree with you on that because I know, uh, in fact I had bought my son a rifle like for a Christmas present one time. Uh-huh. And for a rifle there's no waiting. There wasn't anyhow. Now there might be now. Yeah. But there wasn't anything for, you know, rifles and things like that. Uh-huh. I guess it was just handguns that there was a, some kind of a waiting, you know, two weeks while they checked you out or something. Sure. Yeah. Right. But, uh, most of these people that's got these guns that's going around, you know, robbing people and shooting people,
Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, I, I know my friend is, uh, really into guns and, uh, uh, I went a couple of times with him to gun shows, you know, that come through town and everything Uh-huh. and, I mean, they just have, I mean they have anything you'd want, I mean Uh-huh. you know, you know, anywhere from rifles and semiautomatic weapons and there's, I mean, there's nothing. You can just go buy one and take it home and it's easier than getting a, like a video membership card at, you know, a video store. I, see now, I know they were having a gun show about a month ago and I was just wondering how that did work, if somebody wanted to buy a gun at a gun show. Uh, yeah, yeah. You just go and, uh, buy the gun and, uh, There's no restriction though. You don't have to wait or nothing then huh? No.
Well, except for the, the pistols and I'm not sure how they do that. I know they, Yeah, I was just curious, you know, because, uh Uh-huh. I know at, at the regular gun show, you know, gun shop that you, that you do have to wait for pistols, like a couple of weeks Uh-huh. Right. and then they check you out, then they call you up and you go pick it up. Yeah. I think that's, Which I think they have to do on rifles and things now too. I think there is some, something like that. Uh-huh Anyhow, here, out here in California, I think there is now. Yeah. Yeah
But, I'm not sure, I'm not really sure but, what uh, the gun laws in Pennsylvania are like. Uh-huh. Now we don't have guns because we don't go hunting or anything like that. No. Uh-huh. But like I say, my son, he's, he's always had a, like, I think his first little rifle that we got him was like he twelve or thirteen years old. Uh-huh. But he's always, he went to the, to the school to learn how to shoot it. He goes to the pistol range and and the rifle range to shoot them. He likes to go to that, uh, shotgun thing where you shoot at those, uh Oh, yeah. The skeets, you mean? yeah, right He likes to do that you know Uh-huh.
But, uh I don't know. Yeah. I think they should try to control it and everything, you know. But as far as just banning it completely, there, that's not going to happen. I don't, yeah, I, I don't think it can happen either. Uh-huh. I just don't, I don't see, and, then, I, I think, uh, hadn't thought about this before but if you do that, if they would, uh, uh, decide to ban guns, it would just open up a, a market, you know, a black market for them. Yeah, right, right. And so, you know, they, they would just, all the profits would go to, you know, Now I do believe though, like in California, if a little kid gets a hold of a gun that someone has I think they're liable now for, Yeah. they can be, you know, put in jail and everything. The, whoever owned the gun. Oh, Oh , yeah, the owner's responsibility? You know, now when they have kids around, you'd think that they would be locking them up
Yeah. or, you know. Yeah, yeah, you know, that's, that's true. Uh, you know, I, I had a friend who was a, uh, a policeman in a, in a local borough just a small, uh, one of the little neighborhoods, you know, one of the small towns, uh near Pittsburgh. Uh-huh. And, uh, she said that, that, uh, you know, he used to always keep his guns locked up and everything like that but, I mean, you know, you're, you know, people make, you know, they forget or, you know, you know, kids get in, the way kids, the way kids are, you know, I mean, they can, you know. Well they can get into almost anything anymore Right. Okay Uh, let me see. Unfortunately, we are not much into recycling. Uh-huh. We don't, we don't do enough. I know we don't so
Uh, although lately I've been, uh, a friend of mine that I spend a lot of time with does recycle quite a bit and it's, it's, it's, uh, interesting to watch some of the things that she does and then she's almost had an impact on me, uh, where she doesn't say anything to me when she comes to my house but I can kind of tell it bothers her so, just unconsciously I've, I've stopped buying a lot of, uh, uh, paper plates and paper cups and I don't do that anymore. I don't know why, I just don't I just, just from socializing with her so. How do you, how, uh, is recycling done in your community? Is, It really, it, there's not a whole lot, there really isn't. Uh, I know in my mother's neighborhood in San Antonio, each, each house has, they're, they're given three baskets Uh-huh. and they put them out on a certain day of the week Right. and each, uh, home does participate but we really don't have anything, uh, close in this area that, that do anything. And, and some of the communities that do, the residents are having to pay to participate in it. Which really doesn't make sense.
Oh. Right. Over here, they, uh, have several private companies that you can take, uh, recycled, materials to. But, uh, if you want to take them all to one place, they have, uh, the first Saturday of every month, they have certain places that you can drop them off. That's what I do. Uh, and I, I recycle aluminum, glass, uh, newspapers. Yeah, that's good. So it's nice to have, you know, one place that you can take them all to instead of driving the glass to one place Yeah, yeah. That's another thing. You have to go to different places to do that. Right. So it's, so that's nice. It would be, it would be really nice if they, uh, came to the house to pick it up and they just were talking about a bill in Tucson about that, but, uh, uh, it didn't go through. Uh-huh. But I heard that most homes that do participate in that are having to pay a monthly fee to do that. Which, uh,
I don't know, it just doesn't make sense to me. Right. I guess what they, what they were talking about here was, uh, was reducing the garbage collection in order to make that up or something, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so I guess that's one option. Yeah. That's good, that's good. I guess one thing they're working on now is recycling plastics too. Like, uh Uh-huh. have you noticed that on the bottom of plastic goods, they have this little number now that tells what kind of plastic it is? Huh. No. Yeah, I guess the problem with plastic is there's so many different kinds that you can't recycle, you can't just throw all plastic into one recycler. Oh, I didn't know that.
Yeah. So now they're like marking, uh, they're, I don't know, there's six, seven, eight different kind of plastics and they, they mark on the bottom what kind it is. Yeah. So I guess that makes it easy to recycle and then they're, they're, uh, trying to make plastic goods that don't have a bunch of different plastics in them, you know, that are, that are only made out of one kind of plastic so that that makes it easier I guess. Uh-huh. Well, that's good. I, I'm, you know, unfortunately Garland doesn't have, doesn't, they don't, I don't know, they don't do anything like that or I, you know, I read those little slips that come in to your, utility bills or your, uh, garbage collection Right. and they haven't, you know, talked about doing something like that Where does your friend go to to recycle? She lives in Garland
and I'm not sure where, what she does. But she's, uh, oh she's very heavy in that and she takes her own bags to the grocery store Uh-huh. Uh, she has, I, I really don't think she has any paper products in her house. Yeah. Uh, and just a lot of things I've learned off of her that, to start doing. And she does make a lot of sense. Yeah. Just her whole house is like wow. I guess that's how it gets passed on. You know, when one person, you hear from another person Yeah. and then, uh, and then you, and then you pass it on. Yeah. It seems to be catching on, uh, slowly but surely, I guess Yeah. And, uh, my little boy has, watches a program that was really neat. I sat and watched him. You know the Barney? You know the little, I don't know if you know the little character Barney.
Uh-huh. They had one, uh, on that kind of, type of thing and how children can, can do that and how to save water when you brush your teeth in water and it's really caught on and he's only four and he's really caught on. Uh-huh. Wow, that's cute. That's neat, yeah. When you, And keep the refrigerator door closed and that kind of thing. He's really caught on so that's really neat Well, when you start early, I guess, Hi. How are you doing? What,
I couldn't hear you? I said, how are you doing? I'm doing fine. I'm, uh, just editing a spreadsheet right now. I'm trying to figure out how I can retire without having to work until I'm ninety-five. Yeah. We've been doing that too We're trying to retire in our fifties. Yeah. This is a very appropriate topic for our, uh, conversation today because what I'm figuring out is that I'm going to have to put in a lot more money than what I'm making Good luck on that one, then. What is that? I said good luck on that one, then. Well, we've got a pretty good situation, my wife and I, since our property is already paid for. You know, the main things that I like about the uh, in the job benefits would be the, uh, the availability of the health insurance and the availability of, uh, you know, being able to transfer around, inside the organization without having, you know, when they cut off a system and they don't just can everybody that is working on it, like some companies I know of. Huh-uh. You know, they give you an opportunity to either transfer into an on going, on going project. So you work for it T I then You can't say? Yeah.
Yeah. What? Yes, you do. Well, I work for D I S D and I don't know what your talking about when you say health insurance, but Dallas doesn't pay. It pays most of mine, you know, now, after you work I think five years, they begin to pay most of it. But then, for the, the family, you know, I put my kids on my policy. It's like two hundred dollars Huh-uh. and it's gone up quite a bit and they predict, you know, of course, it's going to keep going up. I wish they could go on and pay for all of our coverage, at some point. And benefits, you know, I'd like to see child care paid for or on-site child care sometime. I think that would be a , Huh-uh. and it would make women go to work sometime if they knew their kids were being taken care of.
They could go visit them during the day. What? Yeah that's uh, something I hadn't really thought about because we don't have children. But, I can see how it would be a a real benefit. Yes I do. Well, we keep a shelter, also monies that we're going to pay in for child care too. You know, go on and pay a lump sum and as long as you pay that amount you're okay. But if you paid in more than you actually used, and the same thing for insurance, what you predict your going to be paying for insurance, as long as you pay, actually pay out that amount of money, you're okay. But if you pay out less, then you lose that money. Um. I don't like that part, but you don't have to do that option if you don't want to. Well, that could be, I could see where that would be important. And then we got that cafeteria plan, do you have that? No. No.
I don't know what it's about . You can, uh, well you, let's see, it, it shelters you're money that you pay for, for insurance. It takes it out of your salary before taxes. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah we got that. Okay. Pretax insurance? Yeah. Yeah. But we call it the cafeteria plan, I wonder why. Um? I said, I wonder why. Oh, it's probably what the first guy who did it, called it. Cafeteria? Yeah.
He was probably in the cafeteria when he thought of it Maybe so. Let's see what else can we do? Changes, I'll tell you what we could do. What? We could prohibit people from being hired that are historically going to cost the company money. You know, do a little bit better research on who gets hired Uh-huh. Because you know, You mean, like for health insurance? Well, not only just health insurance, I mean for the whole benefit of the company. See, I look at it this way. If the company folds, I got to go find a job. Yeah. Okay. Now, if we got somebody in a position to affect the way the company performs, just about anybody in the company, and they're not doing their job or they're not capable of doing their job, then we should find a place to put them or you know, boot them out. Well, that's easier done in a company than it is in, uh, school teaching. Well, frankly, I think school teachers ought to get about ten times what they're getting paid. Thank you What? I said, thank you.
Oh. We're both school teachers. Oh, I'm, I'm, But it's hard to get rid of a teacher if they're not good. I know. It's almost impossible. Well, there's two schools of thought on that. You know, I, I'm looking at trying to get into a university job position as a a professor Huh-uh. I got about eight years of education ahead of me before I can do that Um. but, once you get that job with the university, you've got ten years of probation. Huh-uh. Then you have tenure. And they can't fire you. Huh-uh. Well, you know, in a situation like that, I don't know if that's good or bad. I do know that I've had tenured professors that were just sorry. Right. And I've also had tenured professors that were the best things on two legs.
Well, they did away with tenure in teaching along time ago, you know, in the public schools. But in addition. It makes you more at ease. You know, you knew you weren't going to lose your job unless you really did something horrendous. Well, they, they really can't fire you without cause, you know the governments taken care of that, but, um, what I'm looking at is, you know, there are a lot of teachers that aren't getting paid what they need to be getting paid, and there are some teachers out there that aren't worth having around as janitors. Right. You know, and I could see a point protecting someone's position, but, on the other hand, I don't think it, you know, that someone that teaches, uh, say shop, for instance, should have to have degree at all. Well they don't. Well. In some places they don't. In some places that don't. Do they? But, you know, you, you get specialized education now, for instance, take computer science. We've got kids twenty years old, right now, that could beat any computer professor at micro computer applications. I know we could. And these people can't even get jobs doing anything besides digging ditches, because there's no comprehensive test that they can take, that would allow them to, to step into that position without having to go through the rigamarole of college.
Yeah. You know, I went to college late on in life and I realize that hey, it's nothing but four years of endurance and you might be teachable, you know what I mean? Yeah. I mean, my agree is absolutely worthless. *listen; agree is probably degree It's my experience and, and my knowledge that, that is beneficial, but then, you know, like I said, I came in backwards. What did you get your degree at? Industrial Marketing. And what's your job now? Well, actually I'm selling computer software. But, the two are mutually exclusive. Because, the, the experience that got me the job that I got now, was my experience in the construction field, prior to going to college not my degree, which is I think kind of bizarre. Huh-uh. Maybe. All right, what else could we change? Oh, I'd like to see flexible hours. And teaching, shared, job sharing, more of that. Well uh, We've, we've, we've already got that.
Well, see, we've got a little bit of it, but not much. It would be nice if you had full insurance coverage if you were doing job sharing. What else. I'd like to be able to, to evaluate your boss and it really carry some weight, and you get to choose your boss. Well, yeah. Supervisor evaluations have always been a tough one. Especially in my line, because, you know, my supervisor has nothing to with my job, except to make sure I get my check. Huh-uh. Well, so you get to evaluate him though? Well, not really. You know, I mean, there's, what's to evaluate about him, you know, I mean, my, my, supervisor level is like practically zero. I run the whole show. And when I need something, I tell my boss and he gets it for me, because he knows, that I know, what I'm doing. Yeah. You know, and uh, that, that is something that I think needs to be expanded on, specially in the large market place. You know, the major corporation, because so often, you know, you get a guy who's got eight or nine or ten people working for him in separate areas so to speak. Yeah.
You know, it's, it's hard for me to, you know, especially since I'm in marketing sales, you know, I make more than my boss. Because he's salary and I'm not. I make as much as I earn. You know, if I don't make a sale, I don't make anything Huh-uh. Yeah. Well it's tough, but, uh, you know, there are requirements, and quotas, what not, for me to make, but, um, the bottom line on, on that kind of thing is, you know, we have a lot of people, especially in major corporations, who aren't doing a damn thing. They're just there. You know, the work they do could be totally eliminated, and not that they aren't worth or not that they aren't trying or anything. But, it's just that their jobs are useless. Take, for instance, um, a large construction company I used to work for. Ed Swampers. Swampers is a guy, who's in the union. He's a laborer. And he's assigned to, Yes, I saw HOME ALONE with some friends just a couple days ago. I wanted to see it, uh, because there was, uh, much recommended, for months and months and months and it was a, a genre that I wasn't in the least bit interested in,
and I usually, when I hear about a movie that's supposed to be very good even if it's in a genre I don't like, Uh-huh. I figure, well, I should go see it, because if this is, you know, the best of the genre and I should know about it, or something like that Yeah, right, uh-huh. and I usually come away thinking, no I really don't like this show Yeah, I, I, I, I feel that way when movies are like blown up, out of proportion, you know Yeah. usually people tell you how good they are, and you always, you know, end up with expectations too high or whatever, Yeah, yeah. Right. Well, the, the problem I had with the movie was the problem I've had with a lot of, uh, I guess, Hollywood movies which is they are, it's a formula movie, Uh-huh. and they're making the movie according to certain formula that's a good formula Uh-huh. but they seem to fall short of, of being really creative with a lot of things, I mean here's the situation of this kid at home, you know,
Yeah, uh-huh. it's a classic slapstick situation with these bungling burglars trying to get in Right. and, you know, he did some clever things, but given the size of the house and how clever the kid was, it seems to me they could have done a lot more, I mean, you know, basically stepping on things and yelling in pain Yeah and it seems to me they could have been a lot more creative stuff used. Yeah. I was very surprised that did do a slapstick movie, because that's, uh, not really the way comedies are right now Uh-huh. you know, all the comedies are more like jokes and, you know, gags and stuff like that Uh-huh, uh-huh. there's not as much slapstick anymore. Well, I guess it was a, uh, a very successful movie financially, so we may see more slapstick. Uh-huh. Yeah, well, that's true,
it's very cheap to make a slapstick movie. Yeah, it is, it is, and I guess you don't have to, but, you know, if you look at oh, have you ever seen any of the movies? Excuse me? The French movies that . No, not really, the last movie I saw I guess, uh, was, uh, uh, the one about the French, the Frenchman that leaves and comes back, and he's someone different. Um, he's, uh, well, it's about a man, uh, that, uh, leaves his home and comes back to his wife, and his wife's all excited but the guy that comes back is not her original husband, but, um. O'Gear um, I'm sure you've heard of it, Um. it was a very famous, uh, popular movie. Norman Gray, Norman Gear. No,
I'm not with you so far, Oh, shoot, I'm going to hit myself after I hang up. I'll remember the name. But, uh, anyway, that was a French movie Uh-huh. it was, um, that was the last one I saw downtown, but I live in D C well, actually Falls Church, Virginia, outside the city Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, uh, so a lot of times they have the, the, the, international films downtown Oh, yeah. but, uh, so this, uh, French I guess are into the I guess they would like Jerry Lewis, too. They have, they have a Yes they like your Lewis much to the chagrin of sophisticated of sophisticated American everywhere. Right. But they have this one guy who does slapstick comedy, and there's something about it that's so innovative, you know, he'll have trouble picking up his hat, or catching his umbrella blowing in the wind, or something, but there's something about it that just, it isn't just slapstick,
there's something about the human character in it Oh, uh-huh. and that's what I find lacking in a lot of, you know, like HOME ALONE. There was a lot of the human character when he was home alone and he was trying Right. and there was a lot of human character there, but when it was, the real slapstick moments, him versus the criminals kind of thing, it just sort of lost the human element and became purely a caricature Uh-huh. Right. does that make since to you? Yeah, uh-huh, yeah, I see what you're saying, there's less character development, rather just the, the, the funniness of the gag, rather than Yeah, yeah. Did you go with kids though? and how it fits with the character , right. Did you go with kids?
Excuse me? Did you take kids along? No, we went, uh, without the kids, it's was a night out, away from the children. Oh, I would have liked to have a kid with me, I think, preferably someone seven or eight just, just to get a sense for, you know, how, how it affected them. especially to come home Oh. and, you know, I would have gotten in trouble the next day, I'm sure. Uh-huh, yeah, that, that's true. I, I was thinking about that too, I saw that, um, that's why I watched another silly movie, um, um, with my cousin, was uh, uh, the one about the, um, the turtles, Oh, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. Right Uh-huh. yeah, I saw that with my cousin, just to see what, you know, what the kids are into
And your cousin's a kid, and that is, yeah, he's a little Uh-huh. yeah, he's, anyway, and that was just excessively violent. I was worried Yeah, isn't it amazing. it's like golly, if kids start imitating that they'll knock each others blocks off, Yeah. Yeah, it was all bloodless Uh-huh. and the good guys can get hit all day long Uh-huh. and they have to shake it off
Yeah. they don't, they don't, you know, get, uh, epileptics, that sort of thing from getting hit on their head Right. you know, it's a little disturbing the violence in these films, partly it's supposed to be a little bit more okay because it's comic book on the other hand it makes it seem like, Uh-huh. I read an article one time talking about even the quote unquote realistic movies, don't have very realistic upsets of the violence. The violence can seem very realistic, but the aftermath is usually not there. Right. So you see people who are severely injured, very, very badly, lose control of body functions Uh-huh. they thrash around, they scream, you know, uh, it's just a very, very bad thing, and they never present that, even the movies that want to show violence as real, they don't really show you what happens with that real violence Uh-huh. and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Uh-huh.
Uh, on the one hand I'd like it to be a warning, on the other hand I wouldn't want people who currently get sort of enjoy their violence fixes from these movies to start thinking gee, now we want to see the aftermath all the time either. You're right, uh-huh, yeah, it's true. But yeah, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES was sort of the same way, they, I guess they figured, I mean, they know what they're doing, and they make the movies good enough, I guess I'm a bit of a snob, they make the movies good enough to be successful Uh-huh. and then they don't, and they, but they could make them better, you know Uh-huh. they could try to make, I mean, as far as I was concerned, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES could have been a classic of world theater Really. , it could have been, you know, it was, it was innovative, uh, a completely new approach to making a movie in a lot of ways, and yet it ended up not being anything particularly memorable, because the, the story was stupid, and, and then things like that,
and they built up, I remember feeling annoyed, again, I didn't have a kid with me, and I remember feeling annoyed that they had this whole thing about the Master and the passing of wisdom, the, from older to younger generation, it was, it was a classic Greek, you know, you know, a sort of, European mess going back three thousand years that they're playing with Uh-huh. um, and he had to , and he told them, remember , remember, you were united, you can succeed, individually you will fail Yeah, right, right. and then there was a big climactic fight scene, and they didn't remember that, they didn't fight together, they fought individually, and they failed individually, and then that was it, then they had to have the Master beat him Right. and the Master should, according to the classic myth, the sort of Joseph Campbell type myth, he, the Master should have died at the end because the, the lesson was passed to the young generation Right. and the older generation is not needed
and is reborn to the younger generation, and on and on and on, and all this wonderful mess Uh-huh. and it still would have been every bit as accessible a movie for the kids if they had included all this stuff that, I, anyway as an intellectual adult would appreciate, it wouldn't have hurt the movie to do that, and it would have make it, uh, broadened the audience that it could have been targeted for, I thought Uh-huh. but, I, uh, I'm truly enough, you know, I'm truly an intellectual snob, to be going to these kinds of movies, I realize that. I mean, to go to these movies and expect them to be, you know, other than just, just good entertainment kind of thing. Right. That's true. Yeah, there's not too many that are, uh, that are good just on their, you know, that, that you wouldn't want to change something, and there's always something that, uh, Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. I, I, I, I'm very, I'm very critical, I, I, I'm actually originally from Hollywood, and then, then, then