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Maybe he drinks but he never drives a car either, you know, it's not the same with Johnny Carson. No, I think my, seriously my classification of, of invasion of privacy is trying to get personal information, and putting it falsely out or just bombarding me for the answers. Uh-huh. Without your, and without your permission. Right. Uh-huh. This to me is, is my invasion of privacy. Right. Anytime I can honestly say no, or, throw the paper away, or, but you can always write to, uh, oh I forgot the name of it and stop the junk mail. That I've done. Because I don't want junk mail anyway, so I wrote to them when it came on the air, so I don't get any of that bull, it works by the way. Oh, good. But, uh, the telephone doesn't bother me because I leave it half the time, on, uh, you know, answering service anyway, unless I'm home, Uh-huh.
so I figure I can turn it off one way or the other, but I think that's the only bottom line thing that I dislike. Because it does, other than the U S Census, um, what was it. Oh the, the carpet place that called me three times, Uh-huh. that I felt was invasion because it was the same carpet place, and called me three times. I mean one should be sufficient. That's right. But, if people don't use the telephone, it's like I don't know when the police has their project going and I don't know when the other ones have their project going and when they want to pick up down my street for things. That's the only way I know. Uh-huh. And, uh, that's Well you have to have the telephone, but you can't, you know, and, and it's, sometimes it's hard to screen out all the calls that you don't want. Well see there's no way of knowing,
Uh-huh. that's, you know, that's the problem. Like the product I sell, uh, I sell mostly to older people which can't get it in a normal public situation. The only way we'd get to them is by telephone. Um. And, uh, most of them like it because the company I work for is nationwide, and, uh, reputable and they know that hey, we're backing it, one hundred percent. uh-huh. But, if we were denied the right to call people up, these people would never be able to get it. Because your normal companies that offer it, do not offer it in the amounts that we do and they'd never have it then, at that point. Uh-huh. Because we offer it in a very low, you know, quantity. So I mean, I, I don't know what to do as far as that's concerned. But it is nerve racking. I mean it is nerve racking to have the telephone, but at least, as I said, you can always say no thank you Right, uh-huh. I gather you get a lot of telephone calls.
Sometimes, yeah, some days it just rings off the wall. Yes, yes, yes. In other words you own your own home. No, no. I think that's where they hit most of us. Like I own my own home. Uh-huh. And you just know about what time, like some days I hate staying home because the phone rings all the time, but, uh, I don't know, I haven't been able to figure that out. Something else to do about it. When they call up and want to say, well tell me this, this, this, this and I'll give you a free something or other, My answer is no thank you, I don't need it. Uh-huh. And they say, well don't you want to know what's free,
and I no If I have to give them so much to answer the questions to get fifty rolls of film or something like that, they're taking something away from me and I don't like that. Right. Yeah even if, I guess it's for coupons, they, they have a survey they run and it, I guess it, one of them is supposed to be a smokers survey but the questions go a lot farther than having to do anything with smoking. Uh-huh. And they ask, you know, they start out and they ask you even, even to your income level. I think that's, you know, whether you buy a T V dinner or not, I don't think it has anything to do with, Are you ready to start? Yes. Okay Have you recently bought a new car Catherine? Well, I just found out that my car like an old was thirty months old, and it doesn't seem like it's that old. Oh.
Seems like I just bought it. Oh, wow. It's an eighty-nine and I bought it, uh, in, uh, eighty-eight so, yeah. Well, I really, the last car we got was a, was a used car. I really don't prefer buying a new car. I like to let somebody else pay for that I know, I really will do that the next time, I buy it too. But, uh mine was a year old, Uh-huh. and we bought it for very functional purposes, Uh-huh. and that was we bought a station wagon. We wanted an economical car to operate, Uh-huh. but we wanted one that could carry a lot of equipment. So, we chose a Nissan Stanza wagon. Uh-huh.
And I've never been sorry, Oh, that's wonderful. however the need for that kind of car has changed now, Uh-huh. Oh, okay. and, uh, while it is still good, and it's quite serviceable, and I'll drive it until it no longer is reliable. Uh-huh. Huh. And probably then some I'll spend a lot of time praying over it before I give it up. Sure. I think that I would like to, if you know, we all say, if I could have the car I always wanted I would either buy a Nissan Maxima, uh, Right. I'm sold on Nissans. Uh-huh. I a or, or foreign cars actually. Uh, But do you feel though, uh, craftsmanship is much superior to the American abilities? Uh,
Is that how you, I have never, its reliability. Its Its reliability. And, uh, I, you know, I've read all the CONSUMER REPORTS and things, and they just run head and shoulders above the American made cars. If Ford was a head and the shoulders above it, I'd buy a Ford. Isn't that a shame. But I had, uh, had a Ford Escort that absolutely needed taps the day we got it. My word isn't that sorry. That's sorry. Uh, you know, I mean it was ready for the graveyard. My word. And I spent as much on that car in twelve months as I spent for the car. Oh, mercy. So, You, and that was just trying to hold us, getting out of that was a used car.
Huh. And it was an older car, Huh. but, you know, Escort is supposed to have a great track record as far as sales. Huh. Uh-huh. But it's just, it just was not and you get stung a time or two, Sure. and you say, no thanks. No thanks. That's right. So, I just trusted the CONSUMER REPORTS and the auto, uh, reports Uh-huh, uh-huh. had my son who knows a lot about that, study them thoroughly, and he gave me four choices of cars to buy Uh-huh. An Escort definitely was not among them. In fact, there wasn't an American car in there.
Wow. Uh, the Nissan came and, and we bought the Nissan for functional purposes not what the CONSUMER REPORTS said we should get. Uh-huh. But it served our needs. Uh, later on his reports, the reports that he studied showed that, uh, Nissan was head and shoulders above the rest in the in the class that we were looking for. And that, and I'd rather have a Maxima than a Cadillac. I really would. It's not necessarily prestige, Uh-huh. but it's comfort. Uh, there's a lot of features on there that are desirable if you're going to pay that kind of money for a car. Uh, Who makes that car? Nissan. I mean but where are they, where are they, what, what is their location, is it, uh, Asian or is it European or who,
No. No, no. Nissan is Japanese. Oh, it is Japanese. Uh-huh, uh-huh, Okay, uh-huh. I didn't know. Yeah. And, uh, if I couldn't have my luxury Maxima then I'd buy me a fancy little red C R X sports car Uh-huh. Okay I mean, you know, every every one of us have two sides Yeah, I guess so that's true. Yeah. Yeah.
Now what about you, if you could have the car that you wanted what would you get If, if, if I had the car I wanted. and why? Gee. Uh-huh. Probably, um, uh, let's see, I like the looks of the Lincoln Town car Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. See there, But I, I don't know the performance of it. That's a, Ford product, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and, you know, I would get hung up by my boot straps if I if I ever mentioned the Ford product in my family. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I tell you that's sad too because there one time Ford was the best, that was made.
Yeah, yeah. Really was. Uh-huh. And, uh, I, I really have not seen, now a lot of the American cars actually are, are, parts are produced in foreign countries and assembled here or vice versa. Can I put you on hold for one minute? Of course. Thank you. Well, that was one minute. They hung up. Okay Uh, at any rate do you have color preferences or what would be the features that you would be looking for? Um, well, the comfort of a large car that the security of a large car. Um, and the luxuries of a large car. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, now color preferences, I think I would opt to go with a bronze. Which is probably closest to gold that you can get Uh-huh,
uh-huh. Yeah. Oh, wow. We like the stuff that glitters Yeah. Good. There's nothing wrong with that. Actually I think probably if I were going to get if I were going to be practical, which doesn't mean I would be, I would prefer white. Because, simply because it's more visible at night. Right, well, practical yes that's, Uh-huh. Right and it's cooler I believe, too, when you're driving in, And, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Now the interior, okay,
I don't care about the interior just as long as it's not black or red. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But if I had the little red C R X , I guess the interior would have to be black leather and I'd have to live with that. And if I got the C R X it would have to have a real good sound system in it because I'd want that too. Oh. I'd just go back to my teenage years and just throw all my experience to the wind Um, can you, uh, hang on again Uh-huh. Thanks I've got the phones for lunch hour. Uh-huh. So. Just don't mind me if I bounce back and forth. That's okay. Um, so you like to listen to, uh, a lot of music, or do, is it talk shows. No, no,
no. I generally would uh, prefer to listen to, uh, well, I listen to K C B I a lot but I will listen to the news and the, and the traffic and those things at work. Uh-huh, uh-huh. But if I'm going to be traveling in that car for any period of time, I want some real good classical music. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I love classical music, and you just can't enjoy it unless you've got a good sound system to produce all the, all the characteristics of the instruments. All the, yeah. Uh-huh. That's true. So I do love classical music or it or, or, uh, contemporary classical. Do you listen Do you listen to W R R? Uh-huh. Huh. Sure do.
Yeah. W R R and the Oasis are the two that I listen to, more than anything else. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And I do like them. And I'd like to have a compact disc player in the car. That would be, something that I would really like. Those are nice, aren't they? Yes, those are nice. Those compact discs, really are good for cars because they don't melt, Uh-huh. they don't warp. Uh-huh. You know, there's nothing in there that can wrap around the, the, uh, rollers or anything. It seems like a really good answer to portable music, that you can choose. Huh. Okay. Okay, I, I do a fair amount of cooking.
Uh-huh. And, and I love having guests to dinner. I probably do that about once a month. And, uh, I usually prepare something, depending upon the guests, you know, it, it, I like to prepare chicken, that seems to please everybody, pasta or a casserole. Uh-huh. How about you? Yeah, those are things I like the most. I like fish and chicken the most. Um. And, uh, most of the cooking I do just comes out of a can. Uh. Unless it is, unless it is, I catch a fish and I prepare it. And then I just, uh, you know, I just broil it and put lemon on it. Uh-huh. Well, that's about the way I prepare most fish. Uh-huh. Uh, I made scallops the other night, that was unusual,
and, uh, basically, uh, I found a recipe to make it in the microwave and you sprinkled, uh, you swished around a little melted butter and do, uh, oh I do not know, microwaved them for about nine minutes. No, no, four and a half to five minutes and you had to add sesame seeds and bread crumbs on top, very simple, but very nice. So, if you are looking for a French recipe, that was good. Sesame seeds and bread crumbs. Sesame seeds and bread crumbs. Uh-huh. And, uh, my husband liked it. Yeah. And, uh, no unfortunately scallops are one of the more expensive, uh, fish items. Right, uh-huh. But, you know, I, I look for them to go on sale at the grocery store Uh, one of the things I love to do, eat out. How about you?
Oh, yeah, uh-huh. Do you have any particular places you like going? Oh, there's a restaurant called String Bean on Spring Valley and Central. Uh-huh. I like that, it's just, it's just home cooking. Yes. I have been there. Uh-huh. And, uh, it's kind of, kind of like Black Eye Pea, but I do not think it's a chain. Right, exactly, uh-huh, and that's, that's the other restaurant Black Eye Pea. Oh. So, I do not really like, uh, you know, uh, uh, chili places or, what is it, Judge Roy Bean's, or I do not like greasy places. Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I, I do not feel like they are very healthy, and I always, feel like the home cooking places, are, are the healthiest meals. Yeah. You know, I tend to have chicken fried steak when I go, go to them. Right, and I, and I got, uh, chicken marinara the last two times. Oh, how was it? It was, uh, it was great. Um. Because that's, that's what I like, I do not like it, you know. I just like a baked, you know, a piece of chicken and then I get like green beans and mashed potatoes. Uh-huh. You know. Yeah. I, I tend to, uh, I get teased by my family a lot, because, uh, I like experimenting on, on food and sometimes I go for fairly exotic things. And my father teases me about gourmet cooking. Which is not always true, Uh-huh.
but and the thing about experimenting with cooking or anything else, is that some of the experiments fail. Yeah, that's true. Uh, the last time we had some, uh, friends over for dinner, I tried a dessert that sounded wonderful in the recipe and it was just a total bust. I was, sorry I did not have ice cream to fall back on. Yeah. Yeah. My, uh, my brother tried to make, uh, a bunch of things, uh, way back. He tried to make bagels one time. Oh my that's ambitious. Yeah, and, uh, we took some and then we had, uh, German Shepherds at the time, and we took some and gave it to the dogs, and the dog never, you know, he treated it like a milk bone and he never did finish it. Um. He just barely made a dent in it. Yeah.
Uh, and, uh, then he tried to made grapefruit citron one time. Uh-huh. It's, uh, supposed to be candy. Yeah. And, uh, it, it did not turn out very well, it was, you know. It like made concentrated all the acid of the grapefruit into, uh, into a kind of a candy stick, Uh-huh. so, uh. Huh, see I am not, that's interesting. One of the things I do not make is dessert. Uh-huh. And, uh, my husband accuses me of putting him through dessert depravation, because, uh, you know, we have ice cream, or something like that. And that's why when I took, did this experiment for the company we had about three weeks ago, it was just a total fiasco. Uh-huh. Huh. Uh, everything else was fine, but that was a fiasco. Well, you have to put eggs and everything, don't you. Or,
Uh, yeah. Yeah, just about. Yeah. And I, I also don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I can live without, live without dessert for the most part. Uh-huh. Use about half the sugar, or make everything diet. Yeah. Uh, do you cook for yourself or do you cook for others? Mostly, I just cook for myself. Yeah. Well, when I was single, I used to, uh, I think my favorite meal was a, a baked potato. Uh-huh. And, It's easy, that's for sure. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. And, I mean, I never put anything other than a little butter on it, if I had, or if I had a little cheddar cheese, sometimes I would grate that up. Yeah, I always put cheese on them. And, uh, it's amazingly satisfying. Uh-huh. Yeah, but, you know, there's hardly any, I guess there's hardly any protein, it's mostly starch. So, it fills you up and then the cheese has to make up for whatever the protein you get. Yeah. I I did not say it was nourishing, but it was satisfying. Oh, yeah, it really is. And, Then you have to make a salad
or, Yeah, yeah but, you know, I never really enjoyed cooking for myself, so I ate very simply. Uh-huh. And I was, that's why, I think that's one reason I like having people over, because I could try things. I mean, I must be a frustrated chemist or something like that. Right. Cause cooking is a little bit like, like being in a chemistry lab. Uh-huh. And, uh, Except you get to taste the product instead . Yes, and have an explosion. Fill them up or blow up. Sometimes it blows up anyway. Yeah. I, I once had a, an old boy friend over to, to dinner when I was recently staying with my parents.
And, uh, I had this wonderful recipe and you were supposed to make a, a toffee like substance for a pie by, uh, boiling evaporated milk three hours, and it does turn to toffee inside the can. Oh, yeah And, uh, the only problem was, when I opened the can, it just flew all over the place. It was on the ceiling, on the walls and me. And, and the boy friend thought, it was, he was supposed to be there at six o'clock, not seven o'clock, so just at the time all this happened, the door bell rang and there he was. And I had to have my, my, my, my dad sort of entertain him for a, for for awhile while my mother and I scrambled to clean everything up. Right. Uh-huh. Did you let the can cool off? Uh, I really do not remember, that was about ten years ago, I just remember how embarrassing it was. Yeah. And I have made, I have made it since, I've, I, and several times before and I never had that problem,
just that one time. Huh. Yeah. And, uh, he, he was a gourmet cook, he was kind of pushy too. Acted like, he came from San Francisco and he had a very sophisticated taste. I, I really wanted to impress the heck out of him and, and well, it was a memorable evening anyway. Right. Uh, as far as, I, I do enjoy cooking so, I was awfully glad I was given this, Are you ready? Uh-huh. She didn't announce that to you? Oh, I didn't, I didn't quite hear all of it. Oh, I see. That's fine. Um, I think, uh, that's pleasurable for all of us, if we choose the right restaurant Right
So, what are your thoughts on dining out? Well, I, I really choose restaurants more for the quality of food than anything else. Not for the price? Well, a little bit for the price, Okay. but, uh, I think that as far as quality of food goes the some of the most expensive places I've been had the the, really the, the worst quality of food. Uh-huh. The Really? Okay. Really. Um, a lot of places that even don't look, don't look like much. Uh-huh. Some of the, some of the best food I have ever had was out of a, outside or inside of a place that we drove up and I was like, I'm not eating in there Are you nuts? And, uh, we went in and it was the it was the most wonderful food. My word, it's like mama in the back kitchen, huh?
Yeah. Oh. I'm serious. Yeah. Um, a lot of, uh, one place that we went just recently uh, was to Atchafalaya. Uh-huh. No, that's not right. That's not right. That's not right. Okay. someone in the What's the name of that restaurant? in the background Where at? . someone in the background The Hari Krishna. in the background relies Oh. Kalachandji's . Kalachandji's. It's all vegetarian, and it, it was just fabulous. I mean, my husband was aghast because I ate turnip greens and liked it. Wow.
And where was that at, near your, Um, Kalachandji's. It's, uh, it's a Hari Krishna run restaurant. Where, is it in Dallas? Yes. Is it in the phone book? Uh, I think so. It should be. Do you know how to spell it? Uh, it starts with a K. Okay. So K A L A, I think, C H A N D. Kalli , K A L L I? Okay. That should get you close enough to, to be able to find it. I think it's, uh, probably listed in the restaurants, you know. Uh-huh, section, yes,
uh-huh. But it's, uh, it's just fabulous food. What about fast foods? Do you have a preference if you were going to, eat a fast food? Well, we like Arby's. As far as, fast food goes. You do, like Arby's? See I don't like Arby's. Oh, really? Why? No, because they use everything they can and make this into pressed whatever. They use the, they use the insides of the animals, heart and liver and they, they form it, and they make it look like roast beef, and I said, no, thank you. Oh, no, no, no. Someone has been lying to you.
What they use is roast beef. Well, that's not what I heard, from one of, somebody that was supposed to know what they were talking about. That's what, Oh, my goodness. Uh-huh. I'm surprised. My dad worked for Arby's for several years. Really? Yeah. Unless somebody is trying to blackball them. Well, that's happened before. Uh-huh. But we like good uh, we're, we like Mexican food. Okay. And stuff like that. And so, um, How about the health food, uh, restaurants? Well, like this one but it's probably not advertised as such, is it? Or, A health food?
Uh-huh. Health food, uh, restaurants that, Like, like, name one Well well, like, um, well, I can't really think of any off the top of my head right now because there's so few and far between. I'm not sure what you're talking about. But they ought, there are restaurants that cater to the people that are very health conscious. You know, as far as their cholesterol levels and their, their fat content and, you know, the amount of calcium and so forth that are in each product and they list them. Now there's one restaurant that does that and it's called Rodolfo's over on Preston Road and Royal Lane I believe. Huh. And they have very good food over there. I don't guess I've ever been to anything like that so, I really don't have anything to compare it to. Uh-huh, uh-huh. They do list, um, you know, list the fat, It would be good I think, Uh-huh,
uh-huh. uh, I don't know how expensive they are. It sounds like that it would probably, Well, it was pretty reasonable. I, it was around ten dollars for lunch. Okay, which is kind of high for lunch I guess. For one person? Yes. Oh Yes, uh-huh. A bit Yeah. Uh, but, um, you were served by maitre d's and, and, uh, um, men waiters. Yeah, I, I won't really be interested in going to, in going there. Because, I feel like I'm, I'm paying, you know, five dollars for the food probably and five dollars for something that I could get along quite well without Well, if you're looking for a nice, Uh-huh. Well, I guess if you were having, if you were trying to impress somebody like taking somebody that you hadn't seen for a long time and wanted to show them a good restaurant. It's a special occasion, type thing. Yeah.
Maybe, maybe that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I could see that, then maybe. Uh-huh. And now the Red Lobster I found is very nice at lunchtime. Yeah, I like the, the seafood that they, when they had it, you know, the broiled, Because they're, Well, they have lunch specials that you can't, you can't beat that price, uh, if you went to a cafeteria. Yeah. Probably that's true. But I know a lot of their, a lot of their specials sometimes are fried things, that you can't really get away from the fried, Well, I had the, I had a broiled chicken breast and it was excellent. It was a marinated, broiled chicken breast and it was Now why would you go to a seafood restaurant to eat chicken?
Oh, it was, That's one of my husband's pet peeves. He doesn't understand why somebody would go to a seafood place and eat either chicken or steak, you know. Well, I've never had catfish either in a restaurant because I'm from the north and that was a no no. Oh, really? And I haven't gotten over that from the north. Oh, catfish is wonderful. I know they say that, that is, Oh, really. but I'm, but they've got all these caution signs now on fish Really. and so I kind of stay Why? Because of all the pollution in the lakes and the, everywhere. I mean there isn't any safe haven anymore for fish. Oh. Huh. and especially, uh, in Wisconsin and Michigan they say, no, buying of our fish. That's too bad, because I'm probably not going to stop eating it I,
Well, yeah. So I am, and the, the best brand of chicken to buy is the, uh, Pilgrim Pride because they don't use all these hormones to remote , uh, unnatural growth in their products. Uh-huh. Yeah. So I mean, we have to be on the lookout if we want to stay healthy. That's true. So I'm, I, you know, I, Oh, on one hand I see that and on the other hand, uh, my older sister remembers when, uh, at one point they were taking radioactive wastes and storing them in tin barrels which I guess, had a half-life of, oh, five years if they sit empty on dry land. Uh-huh. Yeah. Corrode. Huh. So they're putting radioactive waste in it which reduces it dramatically. Uh-huh. And then they take these things that will rust and they throw them in the ocean which is going to speedup the process even more. Well, I'd like to get ahold of some engineers and knock their heads together if it would do any good. Oh.
And then they wouldn't think. They were floating around so they shot holes in them to sink them. Oh, dear. And this is before I was born. Wow. So, I mean we're taking thirty years ago, this happened, Sure. Yeah. and, and who's, you know, the tuna is radioactive to a certain extent. That's right. Everything we eat. Everything, everything we eat should have a label on it You can't get away from it so I think, To some point, Yeah. yeah, you know. So there's, you know, there's some things I think we can we, you know we can't avoid for health purposes and some things that we just need to like, you know, this is not in my control. Well, you know,
So I'm either going to be, I'm either going to starve to death or I'm going to get over it and just go ahead and eat as healthily as I possibly can, you know. Well, Becky, you know, even if you lived off your own land, that you would have to put caution signs, Do you use credit cards a good bit? I do, and I wish I didn't Uh. Before I got married, uh, about the only credit cards I used were gas cards, because I didn't like carrying, you know the cash with me all the time, Uh-huh. but I just never wanted to get into the hang-up of using credit cards and having all those bills hanging over my head. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. In fact, I remember getting my first MasterCard, and the only reason I got it was, you know, there was a while years ago when you couldn't cash a check without like a MasterCard or VISA. Okay. Absolutely. Right. And so that's why I went ahead and got one. Uh-huh. It was a mistake
Yeah. Well, actually, I, I have a whole wallet full of credit cards. Yeah. I don't use them very often. Um, oh, I may use, I try to use at least one gasoline credit card a week, and try to use a different one, so that, you know, I have, keep those active. Yeah. I have a half a dozen department store credit cards, and I, I'll use those if I need to run in and buy a dozen pair hose right quick or something like that, Yeah. just enough to keep them active. My biggies are the VISA, MasterCard and Discover. Yeah. And for the most part, I had used those for like, uh, charging airline tickets, where I can pay for those, you know, you could make the transaction over the telephone, Yeah. or I fly Southwest a good little bit, which means I can just run that card through the machine. That's right. Uh, and it saves a lot time. And that's what I was using it for. However, we had a, had a, a very pressing financial family crisis, which said you have no alternative, you must have the money to do this with,
and you do not have any other options Uh-huh. so I charged all three of those cards up, and right now I am paying and praying. I know how that goes But, uh, and that's exactly what we've, I mean I have to say I have been thankful for them, because there were times when it was just like that when we had to have the money Uh-huh. Uh-huh Uh-huh. Uh-huh. we had no way around it Uh-huh. and the only way to do it is go get, you know, an advance on a card Uh-huh. Uh-huh and so like you were paying for it, but it's one of those I'm glad it was there. Well, I never did, Right. I never did use it for an advance.
Most of my charges were, uh, medications. Oh, I see. Didn't have cash for the medications or it was, uh, the doctor would accept MasterCard or VISA. Oh. And, uh, a lot of times you can get by using those for, uh, uh, different labs will use those charge accounts for, What, Do you find now, though, that even some doctors won't? I've found some doctors that say, you know, I was so used to doctors or medical care places taking credit cards, and so many of them don't anymore. Uh-huh So, Well, I have not, like I said, that was just one period in my life where that was critical. Yeah. I don't generally charge. I say well, I need a checkup in six months, and I kind of set that aside and just pay for it.
Right. I'm reimbursed on insurance anyway, and I can handle, you know, paying for it and waiting two or three weeks. Right. Getting into a credit card fiasco is easy. Oh, it is It is easy, and it's very difficult to get out. I just cringe every month when I see those interest charges. I know. I say wow, I, I ought to go to the credit union and borrow the money and pay this off. Big deal, I'm saving two percent. Right. But, you know, the interest, even though it bothered me, it didn't used to bother me so much, because, of course, you could list it on a Schedule A and you got all your interest, you know towards your tax deductions, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and now they've messed that up to where it really is a financial burden to have to pay it.
Right. And but it, but it is easy to get into a credit card problem, and I, I think about young people that think, you know, there's kind of that feeling of hey, it's so neat, I have my first credit card Uh-huh. and, and they just don't understand that you still have to be able to make the payments. Oh, yeah, and it's not just paying back what you've charged, You know. it's paying that and half again. That's right. That's right. Uh, you send in, uh, uh, fifty dollars, you're going to pay twenty, twenty-five in interest charges. That's right. You only get half of that paid for the principal, so I'm looking at three or four years before my balances are cleared on those charge accounts. Right. Now, as the monthly payment, uh, I mean as the monthly payment amount goes down, that will free up more cash where I can continue to make the larger payments.
Right. Uh, as long as I don't have a major disaster where I have to use it again, I can, I can do that. Right. Meantime, though, I'm not building any reserves. No, and that's frightening to me. Anything that I could be put aside into savings is going for interest on those cards. That's right. That's frightening, too. Uh-huh. Uh, I, I just, I, my husband is in business for himself Uh-huh. I work for T I but he doesn't Uh-huh. and, uh, we're, uh, I, I've kind of got my fingers crossed. I've learned when you're in business for yourself, that, that you don't count on something until it's happened you know, Uh-huh. but he's got some, you know, it's those once in a lifetime cases, and after ten years he's got two of them
Uh-huh. and they should pay through next month, and, and we're both just looking at each other every night going man, that will pay off like both of our MasterCards, you know. Oh, right, right. And, you know, just in one lump, because that's the only way you can do it, is to have a big chunk of money Uh-huh, uh-huh. or it's like you say, you pay forever. Uh-huh, uh-huh. And so I'm really looking forward to that. Well, you either need a big chunk of money or you need a large reserve so that if you do charge on that account, you can make a single lump sum payment. That's right. Now, those are very handy Right. if you have the reserves and you can make lump sum payments, sharp, good no problem
Sure, yeah. I agree. because you're living on the other guy's money for a while. That's right But I can promise you that those credit card companies are going to ride high on my money I know and, And it just irks me. I say my gosh, I had to work three hours just to pay the interest on this, and I've got three cards. I've lost a whole day of my life to interest. I know. You're like what am I working for today Yeah, yeah. And that just blows my mind. I, my house is paid for, my car is paid for, I've got some home improvements,
but even the payment on that doesn't equal the payment on one of those credit cards. It's incredible. Uh-huh. Boy, I wish I could say that my house and, well, my car is paid for now. It was wrecked three weeks ago, but, but you see again the credit cards came in handy. Uh-huh. I had to have the money to pay rental car, pay this, pay that till the insurance company pays back. That's right. I think that is a good, healthy, safe use of credit cards. And, uh, Yeah. Because you know that's coming back to pay it off. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh, I went to a seminar, they said don't ever use your credit card for consumable items. You only use credit cards for investments. Right.
I said for crying out loud, if I had the money to you know, if I could do some investing, you'd have to invest at better than twenty percent earnings in order to pay for the payments on the credit card. It's, Sure. That's right. That doesn't make a bit of sense to me. I thought God dang, where is his pencil? That's right. Well, the smart half was don't pay it for consumables, don't, you know, if you can't afford to go to a restaurant and eat out and pay cash, don't put it on a credit card you know, That's right. and, and so that, that is the smart half. Uh-huh. But, uh, and I can remember before we had kids, we did that a lot, but it was no biggie you know, because we could pay it off, Uh-huh. while after kids, and you're paying child care and other things, all of a sudden it's not so easy to pay off, so we cut that out real quick Uh-huh, uh-huh. And, uh, but I, I do like having them there.
There is a bit of security in having the credit cards and knowing that in times of crisis, they are there to use Uh-huh. but you have to have a very good sense of saving, and or common sense not, not to get yourself in trouble. Uh-huh. Uh-huh You also have to have that willingness to commit to that because you're committing a good portion of your life and income when you do it. Uh-huh. Well, well, Pat, did you vote in the last election? Most assuredly. Oh, you did? Yes ma'am. I've voted in every major election since I turned twenty-one. Oh, that's great. Well, why do you think, people don't. Don't always vote for somebody. I sometimes vote against somebody That makes sense too. I think that a lot of it is, uh, I know that my late husband was simply indifferent. He didn't feel like he had any say.
There was too many people, too many other votes. For example, you know, he'd say, Well, look, you and I see different sides of the fence. If I go vote you'll cancel my vote. I said, I sure will. And, He said, So, I just won't vote. I said, Then mine counts, because you could cancel mine too. Then does, Yeah, I think, I think, that's a lot of people, just indifferent I know that I've moved around a lot. Uh-huh. In the past, um, three years I've had three different addresses. Uh-huh. Each time I change jurisdictions or whatever. Sure. So I just haven't, because, I mean, graduate school or whatever, so I haven't kept track of it.
I did, when I lived steadily in one community, I always, I voted. Uh-huh. But this past time I didn't. Well, actually I voted it for the presidential election, but then I didn't vote uh, I guess, in the two year for, uh, some legislators and things Uh-huh. and, Well characteristically, in some, in the local elections typically those people who vote are those who feel very strongly about an issue. Uh-huh. Right, uh-huh. If I do not feel very strongly about an issue, then I see no reason to go vote. Right, yeah, and that's probably one reason why I voted in the the last election, but not really this one Uh-huh. Uh-huh. because this one really didn't matter that much. Uh-huh. Yeah,
it's probably true. Well, of course, of course listening to government, the instructors, you'll find out that everything matters, but then you could go crazy worrying about everything. Well, you know, they also say that most people vote their local politics, that, that local is far, much more important than, uh, national issues. Well that's the way you get to national Uh-huh. and that's the way you make changes about your neighborhood, Right. Oh, I definitely think so. Uh, I know that I have been involved in preparing and in, in, uh, carrying out a lot of the local petitions that take place. Uh-huh. Even something so simple as getting a street light in between lights on the end of the block. Right. Uh-huh. But it makes a big difference when it's the difference in having a child run over in the dark. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. And, uh, it took a close call to wake us up and cause us to take that kind of action, Uh-huh.
and that's completely unnecessary. In another particular case they were trying to put in a, um, senior citizen's home in, in an area very near our neighborhood, Uh-huh. but if you just cross that major street, the character of the neighborhood changes, and it's less savory. Uh-huh. Okay. And that, I was just very, I felt very strongly about that, those people simply did not have access to safety, to security and they were at risk. Uh-huh. And it was for elderly people who lived alone, and they were going to put a cluster of, of houses there for them. But even clustering together for the elderly does not ensure safety. No, most now, that's true, And all it, all it did was to, in my judgment, make them, easier targets Prepare them to be, victims, yes.
Uh-huh, yeah, easier targets, and so we, we did get a petition together and we very strongly resisted it, and it was placed in a actually, it was placed clear, closer to my neighborhood Uh-huh. but it was on the, right side of the street. Right side, of the tracks, yeah. And, uh, it, it, I think that they're, they're much more comfortable there. Uh-huh. Did they, Uh, I haven't seen too much crime in my neighborhood, although we have a good crime watch program Uh-huh. but it's, it's very serious just across the street. Yeah. Did, um, did you think, I know that Texas's last gubernatorial, uh, election probably brought out a lot of voters.
Well. Did that, did that seem to, because that that got national attention, national attention, I guess, having a woman governor running against a man and whatever. Well. No, I don't think it had to do to with woman running against man. I think it had to do with dirt running against dirtier. Uh-huh. And that's it Yeah. it was a dirty election. People were calling each other, uh, names and every bit of the trash, it was a, it was a dirty campaign. It was a dirty, mud slinging campaign. Well, you know, what's funny, up here, uh, I live, I see a lot of Virginia news Uh-huh. and I guess, uh, Senator Robb and Governor Wilder are active right here, Uh-huh. and they have some type of wire tapping problem going on, Uh-huh.
and the people in Virginia are complaining, see Robb is married to Lynda Bird Johnson Uh-huh. and the people in Virginia are complaining that he is, he's using Texas politics in Virginia Uh-huh. and they're really complaining big time, because they said that We don't have that type of trashy politics up here like they do in Texas all the time. Well, of course, now, that's not all the time. So you, you guys were getting yeah, We've had some pretty We were having some pretty healthy uh, campaigns that were based on issues there for two or three of the gubernatorial races you were getting slandered, I think, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. but, I, historically, Texas has had mud and muddier campaigns Yeah. I mean, it's just, I think that eventually, you know, the better people have sensibilities and they vote on those people who are least likely to do damage. Unfortunately, that's not always the way it should be. Uh-huh. You don't want to vote for the person who is least likely to do damage.
You want to do the one who can do the most good. Do the most good, yeah, that's true. And, uh, I guess that's why, I know that, um, I'm previously from Pennsylvania Uh-huh. and Dick Thornburg who's now the attorney general is going to run for senator because, uh, John Heinz, a senator from Pennsylvania, died in an airplane crash Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I know that they're expecting a gigantic turn out to landslide Dick Thornburg into, as, into the senate because they don't like the the governor's political appointee, or whatever Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and they're almost expecting landslide out, uh, turn out, right now for for that election. Uh-huh. Okay, so you So, you see, that's very negative motivation isn't it
Uh-huh. Yeah. isn't that too bad. We really could use a little positive motivation Uh-huh. hey, we think this guy can really make some changes and we're going to support him. Yeah. That was true in a lot of cases in, in a couple of the older sixties campaigns. Uh-huh. Uh. What, in Texas, was that when, you, No, I'm talking about national campaigns. That's, that's true. Yeah. Uh, even when John Kennedy was elected, there were so many strikes against him, but there were people who believed he could make a difference.
Right. Now, that's not to say what has transpired or what really was, I'm saying that's how it was perceived. Uh-huh. that's, right, that's perception, that's true. And, uh, Because the, those were big political, that was a big, um, turn out election. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Uh-huh. And, and it was people going to vote for, I think, more than those who voted against. Uh-huh. I know, I know that in my own, uh, area of people, whom I knew and how they were going to vote, they didn't go to vote against, uh, a politician as they did a little bit later when Nixon was running. Uh-huh. They went to vote against the less of, lesser of the two evils in certain cases. Yeah. But I think that one was one that you had some very strong feelings among people, Uh-huh.
and they voted their convictions. Uh-huh. Well, I think that also happened with Ronald Reagan. Absolutely. He was he was landslided in You're right. and people really saw that was, There we go. Uh, so, uh, what do you consider the most important benefit besides salary? Boy, I, I don't know. That's a, that's a, a tough one. Uh, uh, and it's, uh, I suppose it's, it's changes as, uh, as my perception changes of, of what, uh, I'm getting gypped on and That week, right. this week or this month, uh, uh, uh, we're just, uh, going through, uh, uh, well, there's a couple of changes to the, to the, uh, our health plan and, uh, and I guess right now the one in my mind is health insurance but, uh, If I step back I'm not sure I'd, I'd, uh, say that. Um. What, what about you?
Well, uh, I, right now I'm in sort of a weird situation. I'm a graduate student that, uh Oh, okay. I don't have that many benefits per se Yes, okay, Uh, sort of get, But, but, on the other hand, one of these days you'll be out looking for a, Yeah, yeah. My wife has a real job and I can see from her angle. Uh, uh, I think health insurance is real, real important. I've, I've, I've, I've discovered. Yeah. I mean, even in my case it's sort of, they're really, uh, a pain in the neck about it up here because the university makes me buy a small, they, they have a mandatory, they have what they call the mandatory portion of their health insurance Yeah. they offer insurance to everyone, but then the basics that are major medical, they, they force you to buy here.
Now I'm covered by my wife's anyway, but I still pay them a hundred dollars a semester for, uh, mandatory. Right, okay. So that's sort of annoying that I'm paying for something I'm not getting in that case. I'd rather that, that went to something else. And, and, yeah, and the benefits you're getting for that hundred dollars a semester, uh, you, you never use because you just use your wife's. Right. I mean, uh, and, and, and it turns out that actually, uh, the benefits they, you know, that, that hundred dollars sort of would, would entitle me to go to the university health services here, you know, and, and use them and it turns out that I do think they're they're excellent physicians there. So, through my wife's H M O, we've registered for them as our primary care physicians so we go there anyway, so they're, they're, so if they were to bill, which, which I believe they don't, but if they were to bill the H M O for my business, they could, in, in theory, be getting paid twice for the same thing. But they're not, thank God. Uh, but anyway, uh, otherwise, I would imagine, uh, good vacation is, is important, although I don't know if that's really a deciding factor for many people on a job. I don't, you know, Uh, yeah,
I, it, uh, the, the, that, that's a, a negative about, uh, where, where I am in that, uh, well, I came out of, uh, I worked five years civil service and there it's, uh, if I remember right, you well, they, they accumulate it as hours per week or something like that and, or hours per pay period or something, but, anyway it works out as I remember basically to, uh, you start at, at, uh, two and a half weeks or something like that, and it, at three years, uh, it goes to four weeks I believe, and I, I'm coming up on, I've been at T I now, uh, uh, coming up on fifteen years and it, and it just, uh, this year is going to go to four weeks here so, Oh, wow. Uh, uh, So that's really, Yeah, that's a, that, that is a, a, a negative, but, uh, but, not, probably not at, probably not a deciding factor, but, uh, Yeah. I mean, I don't, you know, I don't, I know my wife, uh, I think she gets, you know, about two weeks a year, I guess Yeah. but they're pretty good about it if she wants other time off. They, you know, usually let her,
Well, that, that, yeah, that's, that's the thing is how, how flexible they are for comp time kinds of kinds of things Yeah. and, uh, uh, that's the, the, the, uh, yeah. That's a, why it hasn't made all that much difference is because the, with the civil service, that you could take, you could take your vacation in increments of one hour Oh, really. and, uh, and, but, uh, there wasn't, uh, anything as far as comp time, so you tend to dribble away a week of it a year, uh, you know, an hour here a couple hours there kind of a thing. Just, yeah. Yeah. Uh, whereas, uh, here I, uh, things are free enough to, that, uh, the, the actual vacation time per year probably isn't that, isn't that much different, but, uh, But, uh, That's, well, that's a that's reasonable, I think. Yeah. I think the, I think the health insurance, I think that's, that's going through changes everywhere to, uh, the, they've, uh, uh, gone through a couple years ago here where they, uh, will cover you much better if you go to their designated hospitals
and now they're in the process of developing a list of, of, uh, designated doctors, uh, so that just routine visits, uh, they will compensate much better for, if you go to their designated doctors. Yeah. Which, which, uh, my assumption is that, that will not include my doctor since, uh, he keeps real busy without having to, to, uh, Weigh all sorts of other things. Yeah. Yeah, I think, I was watching something the other day about that actually on, uh, a news special or something like that and they were saying how in some sense that, that's good because that makes health care affordable for everyone and makes, you know, lowers the cost of everything and all insurance and in other cases it's actually bad because it winds up people, you know, don't get to, they have much less of a choice in who they can use and stuff like that so, Well, and, and I think in the, in the, in the much bigger picture than, uh, to some extent hospitals and doctors have some, uh, fixed amount and, if, if you don't work for somebody that's got enough clout to, to, uh, uh, give you, you know, give you these rates and make this agreement then, uh, you're not covered by that, Uh-huh. and, and the added costs get passed on to you, so uh, I'm not, I'm not sure, Right. it, my, uh, one of the phrases I use is that, that it's moving towards, uh, private socialized medicine. That, uh, in terms of the negatives of, of always heard in terms of socialized medicine, you have no choice on who you, who you go to for a doctor and things like that, uh, where it's the government that decides, here it's, it's, uh,
Least off, who decides. Yeah, uh, and, but it, but it's the, the same, the effect is the same as the, you, you, uh, get left out of the loop more. I, I, I know that their, uh, idea is that, uh, if, if you have to pay a bigger share, you'll, you'll be more careful about spending the, spending the money and, and helping hold down the costs Right. but, uh, I, I, I don't know, in terms of, in terms of, uh, the health care, I, uh, find that, that, uh, although I've, I've been lucky enough to never have any big problems, but that, that, uh, the cost is not a, a big factor. I want to, I want to know if the doctor's doing the right thing to make me get better. Right. You want to know that, that, that when you pick a doctor, you know, you, you could pick one who you could have some sort of a feeling about. Yeah. Yeah and, Yeah, that, that's the, Okay, do you want to start? Okay, uh, I haven't, I don't know that much about the what the possible choices could be about reorganizing the trial by jury,
but, uh, I think it works better than many other systems, like having a judge decide. Uh-huh. I can't think of many alternatives that could be more fair than having twelve people decide, although it's difficult because they all have to be unanimous. Now that, do you, do you agree, that they should all be unanimous? I don't, Or even, even in, uh, like they said, you know, lesser, you know, trials, you know, lesser convictions, do you think that they should be all unanimous still? I don't know, I don't know if I feel, I don't feel real strongly about that. If the, uh, the thing is, though, I, I didn't think even if it was a lower conviction, I didn't think that you could, uh, I didn't think that you really had to have a, a jury Uh-huh. Unless, I guess, if you request one you can. But I think, yeah, making it unanimous sometimes might, uh, let, the only thing, it might let more people get off. I don't think it would convict any more people. Uh-huh. And we have so many people already, you know, the jails are already overloaded. Well, the thing is they stay until they all are unanimous.
I mean if one is determined that it's, you know, that he feels that he's, you know, going against the other eleven, they all stay until everyone agrees. So I don't know if it would leave anyone getting off more unless someone just gets tired of fighting, you know, just gives in. Yeah. Well, if it's, no, but they, they, what if they never agree. Doesn't it just, uh, do they have to go back and do a whole new trial or, And they have to stay in until they all agree Agree yeah. I don't know, I'm not sure if they go, I mean to twelve new people or what they do exactly, but I do know for sure that all twelve have to agree before he can either, you know, either he or she can either go free or to jail, either one. Yeah, and that maybe on the lesser crimes that aren't too severe, that's a little stringent Uh-huh. Especially because there's twelve. The thing about it is, I think jury selection, too, a lot of times, uh, the lawyers are able to pick and choose who they want on the jury
and they can sway them that way, too. That's, that's just it. I don't understand. You're supposed to, you know, go in if you have, you know, like if you've never heard of the people before or anything, but I don't understand with racialism and the way religion is and everything else how you can get people that are total, totally impartial to it. I know. I don't think, well, I guess you really can't, but the other thing is when they have the sensational trials, how they get people who aren't swayed by the news either. Uh-huh. So, uh, but then, again, you know, they, the, one of the questions they asked is, should it just be decided by a judge and that's kind of tricky, too, because a lot of positions the judges are in, they, they can't be fired, you know, they have to, they stay till they retire Uh-huh. and sometimes they're pretty partial in their judgements, too Yeah, I agree. I don't think it should be left up to the judge alone. Not only, you know, that they have to stay in there, but, hey, how many times have you heard of judges being bought over.
I know. You know, so it, it's, I, I think, I think in, in the end, the judge has the presiding, you know, uh, vote. I think he can be, you know, I, I don't know if it's the way it is in real life, but I've seen it on T V where the juries go one way and the judge totally finds it obnoxious and he completely, you know, goes the other way. Yeah. Now, I'm not sure if the judge is allowed to do that in everyday life or what. I think in some cases they are. Uh-huh. But they know they get to decide how severe the sentence is if it's, you know, Yeah. so that's another thing where they have the power, but maybe juries could be less than twelve people or would that be more fair or less fair. Maybe there should be more than twelve people I don't, Oh, oh, my God. If there were more than twelve, can you imagine how long they'd be sitting I know.
I don't know. I, I think it's just, I don't, I mean, I think it's as fair as it can possibly get, but I just think it's really you know, I mean, some cases go on for years, you know. That's true, and I've never been on jury duty, but they have to keep going and going and going. And lose their, not lose their jobs, but not go to work. Uh-huh. Yeah. I, I don't know how it could be more fair. Course, I don't know. Maybe maybe they should be asking someone that's been on, on trial before. It could be, Really, I've never seen one in real life either so I don't have, you know, I don't know that much about it, but I think, it seems that we have a, a pretty fair system compared to other countries. I don't know how we could make it more fair. I really don't. Uh-huh.
The unanimous vote is questionable, though. And, and how, how many cases get juries might want to be reviewed, too. Uh-huh. Yeah. Because, uh, I don't know if you should really have a jury for a small infraction. But I'm not sure who gets them Uh-huh. I don't know anything I know. I don't know that much about it either. I just, I don't know. I, I guess maybe if they'd go and they'd ask someone in jail, you know, how they can make it more fair for them or not, but then again, maybe they should be there so that is fair. Right. I don't, I, I don't think anyone's going to come up with a better way. No, whoever came up with this was pretty smart because it was pretty, uh, unique I think, when they started it. Uh-huh. Yeah.
So, how long do we need to talk? Do you know? Oh, I think we can hang up anytime Okay. Uh, in, uh, what do I do now? Do you know? Anything, or just wait for someone else. No, I don't what else to say, so. Okay, well it was nice talking with you. It was nice talking to you, too. Bye. Thanks. Bye-bye. Well, how do you feel about spot spot testing for drugs?
Well, basically I think it would be a good idea myself. I, uh, I think if somebody's not on drugs, they have no reason, you know, to be afraid of it. Uh-huh. Uh, I do think that there has to be some controls, uh, like, I don't think one test positive should, uh, be, uh, the end of it, you know. Right. I, I think they should test more than once. Yeah, it's, it's it's refreshing to hear somebody, that has a similar opinion as mine. It, I mean, all these people that are against it that may, you know, they may not even be on drugs. They, they call it an invasion of privacy. Uh-huh And I don't see that. To me that just doesn't sound like a valid argument because this company is paying you good money that you're working for That's right. and they, I believe that, they have the right to know if you're using a, a dangerous substance Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But,
There's so many jobs that, uh, really have other people's lives in their hands or even their own life and, you know, and it's, uh Uh-huh. uh, how can you do anything about a problem besides if you don't know about it? Right. You know, and I just, um, I, I think there definitely needs to be some control to it. Right . I guess it is possible to have a false positive report. Yes. No, I, I, I agree that, you know, you, there needs to be a, a well thought out, sane approach to, how to administer that program. Uh-huh. Just because you, you, something can get mixed in the mail, or uh, the chemicals could react incorrectly than, than what you would expect them to. Uh-huh. And, yeah, you, you know Or somebody's test gets mixed up with somebody else's. Right. I mean, those things do happen.
Yeah. Uh, I certainly wouldn't want people's lives ruined uh, wrongly. Right, and, you know, I've the, the, the company that I work for, uh, has just recently, well, you know, within the last couple of years, instituted for all new hired employees, they submit to a urine test. Uh-huh And, they, they say that there's been, you know, they, they, they've also implemented random testing. Uh-huh. And , it hasn't happened to me in the couple of years that, you know, it's been in progress Uh-huh. but, uh, I, I fully agree with it and there's, you know, there's all these memos going around about folks that are disgruntled and feel it's an invasion of privacy, and I, I agree with you. Uh-huh. If, if, if you feel it's an invasion of privacy, you've, you've probably got something you're trying to hide Yeah and you maybe need to look for some other type of job to do that, uh, doesn't require the testing. Yeah. Right.
Uh, to me, it's, to me it's not an invasion or privacy. I think it's people have a right to know if, if, uh, their, their life maybe's in jeopardy or, uh, Yeah. Or, the quality of their product. Their work, the work they're doing for their company. Uh, those things are all affected. If not immediately, it certainly does eventually. Yeah. I think that's where a lot of the problem is at first. It doesn't seem to, uh, bother the quality of work Uh-huh. but eventually it does. Right, because it usually requires more and more of that substance that you're misusing to get the same effect. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um. Course, I feel the same way on the AIDS problem. I, I don't think that's an invasion of privacy, that's the only communicable disease that they're not allowed to test for you know,
and it's destroying a lot of people's lives and then and one of the few that they don't have a cure for Yeah, and it's, you know, it's, it's destroying people's lives and I, I think that person, plus anybody in danger should, should know about it and be aware of it. Yeah. I don't know. It's, it's kind of hard to I guess the gay movement has had a lot to do with considering that, that, uh, an invasion of privacy. Of course, that's not supposed to be what we're talking about today, I guess. So, I kind of get off on a tangent here. Yeah Uh, do you work for, uh, Texas Instruments? Yes, I do. Uh-huh. And I'm, I'm down in the, the central, but I don't know how familiar you are with Texas, but I'm in a, we live in a town, uh, near a town called Temple. Which is right in between Waco and Austin on the freeway. Um.
Oh, that's probably why, my brother did live in Grapevine, Texas. That's near Dallas. Right. Uh-huh. We're probably about two, two and a half hours south of him. Uh-huh, uh-huh. So. It's pretty hot down there probably. Oh my! Yeah It's, actually, we got about two inches of rain in about three hours, yesterday. Oh, did you really? And it's cooled things down somewhat. Oh, that's great. It's getting more humid now, but, Uh-huh. We, we need rain real bad up here.
Uh-huh It's, uh, everything's really getting dry. It's, uh, Yeah It's been about three weeks since we've had any. Yeah. It's kind of at a dangerous level here. People hauling water, and, uh it's getting real bad. Um. Wow. So. How about that? So. Well, I hope you do get some rain up there. Um So do I I Uh, I can't think of anything else, uh. Yeah, I, I guess being in agreement kind of tends to limit the conversation you know
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh, I can understand I know if somebody is using drugs and doesn't think there's anything wrong with them, I can see them objecting. You know? there's a lot of people that think that there's nothing wrong with . One of the things I found interesting, it, it's funny that you mentioned that, T I is pretty much a worldwide company Uh-huh. and we have manufacturing plants all around the world including some places where the use of certain drugs that are illegal here are not illegal. Uh-huh. Um. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, they don't have to submit to drug testing like, like they do here in the States and some places abroad. Oh, I'll be darn. Yeah, I thought that was kind of interesting too. Yeah, yeah,
the different cultures and that too, uh Yeah. I mean, uh, uh, from a quality standpoint, that's not, I mean, just because it's not illegal doesn't mean it doesn't affect you the same way. No, no. I'm sure it would have to affect you the same way. I, I can't think that would make any difference whether it was legal or not, Yeah. Right. it, it would still have to affect you the same way. Yeah, but, like if you're going to do business in another country, you've got to respect their rules. Uh-huh. I mean if, if, you know, that, that's the trade off. Oh yeah. You can't you go by their laws. Yeah. The same way our people have to go by their laws when they're over there. That's why a lot get in trouble because they have to follow their rules Huh
and, uh some of the countries are very much against drugs Right. and you use them, you pay for it Usually with you life in some places. Yeah, a lot of them. Yeah. Where, where is it they lose the, if they steal they lose a thumb or a finger? That's right. Yeah, from the Middle East. Is that where it is? Yeah. Iraq, Iran, in that area. I thought, wow Yeah You know, that's quite a deterrent Well, in Saudi Arabia, you know, using, uh, alcohol and drugs and something like that, you get the death penalty. Yeah. Yeah.
So, it's pretty strict over there Yeah. So I guess, you know, we, we have so many freedoms over here we sometimes forget about how great out country really is. Well, people tend to take the first amendment out of context. Which, which means you know, I could do anything I want to Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and you can't stop me, and you know They, they abuse it is what they do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, that's, So, I don't know. I'm, I'm glad to see more and more companies implementing the policy, Okay, let's talk about schooling.
Yeah. Uh, what, what contacts do you have with the public school Okay, well, I have a boy and he just went into middle school, and I have a girl, and she's in, uh, grade school, and then I have a little boy who goes to, uh, they have something just before kindergarten, and it's called Early Childhood, and I have a young a young boy in that. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. So I, I have a lot of children in, in the school system down here. Uh-huh. And, um, I think we have excellent teachers here. I am really, uh, like the like the way the teachers work with the students. Uh, I've not been so, um, happy with the schools themselves, I guess. Like, my, last year, my son and daughter were in the same grade school before he moved up to middle school,
Uh-huh. and it was just packed. I mean, it was a, a fire hazard if we had any kind of assembly there with parents. Yeah. And it was just a real problem. Uh, so we had to do a bond issue and, and, um, vote to take money and either have students bussed to different schools if that's what the prefer to do, or to, uh, work on the, work for another school to be built, which is a good idea, but in the meantime, the school still has lots and lots of kids in it. Yeah, yeah. So, um, I think one thing is that would, maybe we don't have enough schools, and secondly, when we have enough schools, sometimes we can't get the, the support for the teachers that we need to pay them to keep good teachers. Well, I think that's, I think that's, uh, true. I, I've got a little different, uh, contact, but I've, I've got a, one son that graduated from high school last year and another son that's a, a sophomore this year Oh. Uh-huh. and, uh, my wife teaches kindergarten here in Richardson. Oh, great. Uh, but, in general, I, I think the, the, you know, one of the reasons that we, we, uh, the, chose to live in Richardson when we, when we came here was the, was the schools,
and I think that Plano and Richardson in terms of the, uh, things seriously wrong with the public schools are not nearly to the extent that We see through the, out the country. uh, right, right. And I think, I think part of that is that, is the, the, uh, a big part of that is just the demographics, the population in those schools are, are, typically, uh, people that very much value the education and support the, the school systems Uh-huh. I think that's right. and, and, uh, although there's still some, still some problems, but, uh, I, you know, I, when I was, when I was going to school, I grew up in Iowa, and, and, in my family, school was certainly valued, but if there was ever any sort of a, uh, if if I was ever in trouble in school, I was also in trouble at home even more so, Yeah and I think that part of it is, is not exactly with the schools, but with the, with the, uh the culture that doesn't, doesn't value the education and doesn't value the schools and doesn't support, uh what the schools are, are trying to do. The home, yeah. I think that's right. It is so hard with a family system, um, either divorced or, or just one parent or just Yeah,
that's true. and then, if both of them have to work, even that is a, a hard situation for the children, uh, to, to have a supportive system around them to make school work for them Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I think it's real important that the parents work with the school, um Yeah. I think what you said is, is really a pinpoint, though, that the student and the family life really adds or detracts what's happening in the school Yeah. Yeah. so, um, what about your wife, is she, she happy at school or . Well, uh, she, she works very hard as a kindergarten teacher. I bet she does. She has, she has two half day classes. So she has, uh, you know, on the order of twice as many students as as the teachers in the higher grades Uh-huh. Yeah. Right, right.
and uh, uh, but her, her background is in, is in, uh, child development, and and, uh, so forth, Uh-huh. and so kindergarten is as high as she, as she wants to teach, and she's she's teaching rather than something else because that, that, that's the jobs that are available and that, the schedule matches, uh, you know, with our kids and things like that. Yeah, Right. So, yeah, uh, and, but, uh, the ... So, the the question had something to do with usage of personal computers, um. Yes, we are, we are talking about computers this morning. Um, I'm a firm believer in, in having lots of them. I'm sitting at my desk now with four machines in front of me. You have, you have four machines around you, boy, well, you've, uh, you've got me beat. I have a, a Zenith here Uh-huh. and at home I have a Commodore and a Zenith, Uh-huh. and my wife has an A T and T Twelve Hundred, I believe it is.
Good grief. What do you do with all those? Well, actually on my Commodore I mainly study lottery numbers, would you believe. I have written some, uh, programs in Basic whereby I can select any number of, uh, drawings and from that extract the numbers that have appeared the most Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right. I have another program in which I can look at the cyclical, uh, appearance of these numbers to see if there's anything that's consistent on that. Uh-huh. I have another number that allows me, another program that allows me to add all the numbers I want, and then it generates a complete set of numbers so that all combinations are covered Uh-huh. so this is what I do most of the time, uh, That's what you do on your, at least one of your machines On my Commodore on your Commodore. on my Commodore, uh-huh. And of course I have, uh, word processors, and I write all my letters
Yeah. it's wonderful, uh, my, uh, thoughts in my head come in bursts of about a paragraph at a time, Uh-huh. and I get them all down, Yes. and naturally on a computer if you make a mistake, who cares, you can go back and, uh, correct it very easily Yes, yes. so that makes it very, very nice. I get all my thoughts down and go back and clean it up very, very readily. So how about you, Charles? Well, I, um, I do an awful lot of preparation of documents, um, uh, and I use word processors and, and fancier programs, I mean you know, graphics programs and simply make all of our slides, Uh-huh. some of them I do on a Sun, some I do on an X T Uh-huh. now maybe we don't call these personal computers, um,
I started out with, you know, an I B M P C back in the, you know, about a year after they came out Yeah. and, you know. So, where, may I ask where you work, sir? I work for the government in Washington. I know you work for the government, I just wondering are you an , or what, what, what section of it, Of, in, in, in an obscure part of the defense department. Oh, uh-huh, because, see, that's my type of work, too. I work at the Applied Research Lab here, here on campus, Uh-huh. and, my, my field is underwater acoustics Uh-huh. and there's a lot of things we can do with computers into, uh, studying how, uh, things vary in the water, you know and, uh, taking advantage of them, and so forth, Uh-huh. so it's a very nice, very nice field, and I, I am retiring at the end of this month. End of December, excuse me. Are, are, are you, are you also a professor,
or, or do you just research. Yes. I'm a, I'm an associate professor, but my, I, I'm a full time researcher Yes. and it's, uh, been a very, very interesting career, believe me. I can believe. What are you going to, what are you going to do when you stop, I mean, take all your machines with you, or, Well, uh, the ones here in the laboratory obviously I'm, they're going to stay, but I have similar machines at home. Uh-huh. I would consider doing some more consulting when I get home Uh-huh. but I have a very, very busy extra life anyway. I'm also a musician, and I play in several symphony orchestras Yes. and, uh, I run a concert band, and so I have a lot of external, uh, interests Uh-huh.
Yes. but I do want to get very deeply, much more deeply into computer work, because obviously the world is going to be controlled run and operated by computers in the future. Yes. Uh-huh. There's no doubt about it, because it is really taking over, and the amount of work that we're doing and the depth of things that we are studying can basically only be handled by computers, because, uh, it's so much involved Uh-huh. and it sounds as though you're probably more aware of that than I am, because, uh, I don't get to use it in my daily work as much as I would like to. Here again let's say I'm starting to getting ready, in preparation for retirement Yeah. Yeah. and, uh, so basically what I'm doing is slowly getting rid of my things. For many, many years I had a full size acoustics, uh, study laboratory where I could take recordings and, and, uh, perform experiments with them and so forth, Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and so that's gone now, and so I'm sort of out of business. Um. Uh, as I say, I worked with
fellow named Steve Blazey was the fellow I worked with for many, many years Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and he is now retired. So it's been an interesting life, and computers have come in towards the latter end of that. I wish we had had computers in the very beginning. It would have been, Seem to have the topic already on top of tip of your tongue there so why don't you go ahead and start. Yeah. Isn't the, uh, the subject auto repair, for tonight? Yes, sir. Yeah. That's great. The reason I say that is pretty timely because just tonight I went out and changed the oil in my car and, that's something I like to do and, uh, something I, something I can do with now the sophisticated auto, cars we have today with all the computers and everything. Okay. Right, exactly.
It's, uh, and there's not a whole lot you can do without the equipment and electronic analysis that needs to be done on a car, but I do like to get out and tinker with a car and it's something I can do still. Do you enjoy working with your car? I sure do. I, uh, in fact, the last thing I have, I've done I, I don't even remember what it is. I've had to have oil changes done myself because I live in an apartment complex, where we are not allowed to, work on our vehicle. Oh, dear. We can't even wash our vehicle, so. Oh, that's too bad. Uh, but the last thing I can remember doing I had a sixty-six Mustang, Oh. and that was all right because like you said that was pre technology days, I guess. Oh, yes. And, uh, you know, you could do a lot of it yourself still, and, uh, I didn't tinker too much with the engine. It was, it was in pretty good shape, but my main concern and what I enjoy doing was, was the interior.
Oh. And, uh, it was, it was pretty shelled, uh, but it was fun. It was taking the whole thing, you know, the whole interior apart and, you know, ordering new carpeting and, uh, And did you install all that yourself? Right. Well, that was, I bet that was a lot of fun. And, It, it was. I, my wife enjoyed, uh, she, you know, helped out a little. We sanded down the, the insides of the door panels. And painted, those and, Uh-huh. Wow. Do you still have the car? No, I sold it. Well, that's too bad. A sixty-seven uh, Mustang is about the, uh, top, top year for the Mustang car. Yeah, it was fun though.
It was fun. I, I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised at, at, uh, the availability of parts yet. Yes. You know, you can, you can still get factory original parts. Huh. But, uh, you pay a premium but you just don't get them. I, I didn't. I went ahead and got, you know, Japanese made duplicates or wherever they were made, Canada. Yeah. You know, prefabs and all that stuff but, Well, you know, that's, that's fine. I, I don't think that there would be, uh, you know, a, a quality difference. I don't know. You wouldn't, you didn't notice the difference, did you? Well, actually there was. Oh.

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