Melinda Musil dot Com

Posts Tagged ‘Missouri’

I just discovered that there is a bill going through my state (Missouri) legislature that would put limits on payday loans.  I’m not sure how to respond to that.  Right off hand I would say that is one of those issues that is too dynamic to be legislated.

Thing is, payday loans are not an inherently bad thing.  Payday loans should NOT be something that you rely on heavily- in fact, you should only get one in a serious financial crisis.  And you should be a smart about it- only get one loan at a time, pay off your last loan before you get another loan, that kind of thing.  BUT in the case of a financial crisis- you’re out of money, the car broke down, the kids are sick, and you can’t afford it- that’s when a payday loan is a logical solution.

There are definitely people who use the situation to take advantage of people in need.  But that’s why you have to be smart about it.

It reminds me of Missouri’s latest thing with texting and driving.  We don’t have a law against it at this time. (actually I think we have a law against texting while driving but only for teenagers.)  Anyway, it’s very knee-jerk to say “texting while driving is always bad”.  But I don’t think it is.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with texting when I am stopped at a stop light or a stop sign, or if I’m waiting in a parking lot or outside the house.  It’s just far too dynamic of a situation for a blanket law like that!

This year the weather has just been WEIRD.

Now of course, Missouri is known for some pretty crazy weather.  We’ve had snowstorms as early as September or October, and as late as April.  We’ve also had sunny, 80 degree weather as late as October or as early as February.  We’ve had tornadoes, floods, windstorms, microbursts, fires, earthquakes, blizzards, heat waves- we have covered a VERY wide spectrum of natural disasters.

Having said that, this year the weather has been WEIRD.  In October, we came very, very, very close to freezing (32 degrees) many times, although we never really crossed that border.  I never left the house without a jacket.  Now it’s November, and the high temp has regularly been in the 70s.

In October, I turned off the ceiling fans and bundled up under a blanket.  Now it’s November, and warm enough that I’m a heartbeat away from installing Hansen Wholesale Ceiling Fans in every room.  At night I lay in bed, and it’s too warm to have the ceiling fan off, too cold to have it on.  What a world!

I am ridiculously happy to announce that my new computer was just delivered by Fedex!  It was not scheduled to be delivered until Monday- I have been following it on Twitter as it traveled from its source in Shanhai, China, to Anchorage, Alaska, to Indianapolis, Indiana, to Kansas City, Missouri, to my home.  I was kinda hoping it would be delivered early, because Monday is not a real good day for me to get a delivery- I have a doctor’s appointment, plus I may need to run some other errands then.  So for it to be delivered early is just awesome!!!

Next week, I will also be ordering my new supply of contact lenses from Coastal Contacts.  I’m glad that Fedex delievers so quickly, because I am cutting it wayyyy too close on these lenses, but I hate to be without them for any length of time.  If I can get them ASAP, that would be just WONDERFUL.

Today my mom and I bought a dozen ears of sweet corn from our favorite local farm.  This guy has his own farm- it is actually a couple of hours away, deep in rural Missouri.  He grows corn, peaches, tomatoes, blackberries, and who knows what other fruits and vegetables.  Then he fills up the back of his truck, drives into town, and sells his fruits and vegetables off of the tailgate of his truck in the back of a Walmart parking lot.  I think he also raises animals- I saw some cattle supplies in the back of his truck today.  His corn is FANTASTIC and we look forward to getting it every year!!!

This morning, we awoke to a ridiculously huge thunderstorm, even by Missouri standards. I am composing this in the backseat of the car on our way to church, and it is still coming down. We’ve already passed couple of street lights that had no power, and frankly I was surprised that my house did not lose power. There are also lots of tree limbs down all over the place.

My ability to blog is quite limited temporarily. While we were in Canada, the power cord for my laptop gave out. I ordered a new cord, but until that gets here, it’s just me and my blackberry! Hope you are all having a safe (and dry!) Sunday!
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Taken near interstate 29 in northern Missouri
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I believe abortion is murder.

I also believe killing abortion providers is murder.

I am sure that you’ve heard about the shooting death of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider in Wichita, KS.  Scott Roeder is accused of the crime.

I just feel that I need to put my two cents out there.  I am pro life, but the shooting death of Dr. Tiller did absolutely nothing to help pro lifers and may have hurt us.  Fighting death by causing more death is never the solution.

I read a quote from one of Roeder’s friends that said “I know he believed in justifiable homicide”.  What a slippery slope.  If homicide is justifiable, then what justifies it?  If it’s okay to kill a doctor because his beliefs are not like yours, then is it okay to kill (fill in the blank- Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists, deists, monotheists- anyone whose religion is not the same as yours)?  Wait a minute… isn’t that why the founding fathers came to the “new world” and created the United States of America?  They were persecuted for their beliefs and they wanted to create a land where people could be free to believe anything without persecution.  Isn’t that why Al Qaeda seeks to kill Americans?  They do not have the same beliefs as us (or at least, they do not believe they have the same beliefs as us).

I believe abortion is murder.  But, to kill abortion providers is no better.  It makes us no better than the barbarians of years past.

As an aside… Please do not think I am against the death penalty.  I believe the dealth penalty should be rare but necessary in select violent crimes.  Recently, Missouri fulfilled the execution of Dennis Skillicorn amidst much controversy.  Skillicorn tortured and killed a man who had stopped to help him after his car broke down on the side of the road.  In prison, Skillicorn had a religious conversion.  He sought clemency because, as he said, he was now a changed man.  I don’t doubt that he changed, but I still believe he needed to experience the consequences of his actions in murdering his “Good Samaritan” years ago.  This post is limited to the cases in which a person errantly believes that causing death will prevent death.

Ruth’s cabin is situated on a highway.  Though it is a paved road with a state highway number, it is actually kind of a good thing to have… if you ever need to get out of the mountains quickly, it’s handy to be on a paved road already, and it’s usually not very busy.  When we were there, there were a decent number of cars passing by, but there were significantly more than usual because of the holiday weekend.

Anyway, across that road from the cabin is West Creek.  It is a gorgeous mountain creek that feeds into the south fork of the South Platte river.  I have to preface this by saying, I LOVE mountain creeks.  By the time the water gets to Missouri, it’s usually picked up all kinds of silt along the way, and it’s just kinda blah.  But in the mountain, the water is fresh-melted snow.  It’s cool and clean, and an absolute joy to wade in!

By Ruth’s cabin, West Creek has a three- or four-foot tall waterfall.  It creates the most amazing sound of flowing water.  It’s perfect for walking and wading- only maybe a foor to a foot and half deep at its deepest point.  I was able to get the most beautiful photos.  I loved it!

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On this day in 1860, the first Pony Express mail, traveling by horse and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. Ten days later, on April 13, the westbound rider and mail packet completed the approximately 1,800-mile journey and arrived in Sacramento, beating the eastbound packet’s arrival in St. Joseph by two days and setting a new standard for speedy mail delivery. Although ultimately short-lived and unprofitable, the Pony Express captivated America’s imagination and helped win federal aid for a more economical overland postal system. It also contributed to the economy of the towns on its route and served the mail-service needs of the American West in the days before the telegraph or an efficient transcontinental railroad.The Pony Express debuted at a time before radios and telephones, when California, which achieved statehood in 1850, was still largely cut off from the eastern part of the country. Letters sent from New York to the West Coast traveled by ship, which typically took at least a month, or by stagecoach on the recently established Butterfield Express overland route, which could take from three weeks to many months to arrive. Compared to the snail’s pace of the existing delivery methods, the Pony Express’ average delivery time of 10 days seemed like lightning speed.The Pony Express Company, the brainchild of William H. Russell, William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, owners of a freight business, was set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail across the present-day states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. Riders, who were paid approximately $25 per week and carried loads estimated at up to 20 pounds of mail, were changed every 75 to 100 miles, with horses switched out every 10 to 15 miles. Among the riders was the legendary frontiersman and showman William “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917), who reportedly signed on with the Pony Express at age 14. The company’s riders set their fastest time with Lincoln’s inaugural address, which was delivered in just less than eight days.The initial cost of Pony Express delivery was $5 for every half-ounce of mail. The company began as a private enterprise and its owners hoped to gain a profitable delivery contract from the U.S. government, but that never happened. With the advent of the first transcontinental telegraph line in October 1861, the Pony Express ceased operations. However, the legend of the lone Pony Express rider galloping across the Old West frontier to deliver the mail lives on today Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

On Friday night, our local weather forcasters were predicting a LOT of snow overnight- between four and twelve inches, depending on who you asked, which is definitely a lot of snow for late march in Missouri.  In fact, my parents and I went grocery shopping on Friday night, along with the rest of Kansas City.  It seriously seemed like the rest of the town was afraid they would run out of food before the roads were cleared- the store was packed and the shelves were filled with empty spots.  We had some justification, since we almost always do our weekly shopping on Friday, but it was pretty insane!

When I woke up Saturday morning, there was not a single flake on the ground.  The forecasters had modified their predictions and said the snow would come around noon.  At around 11 am, we started to get some sleet and freezing rain.  I’m familiar enough with Missouri’s weather that I knew, if we continued to get ice like this, I could expect that we would lose power soon.  But at around noon, the ice changed to big wet flakes of snow (as big as a half dollar!).  By about two oclock, this was the view behind my house:

After a cold night, this morning the sun came out and began to work its magic.  Today we had a visit from one our local outdoor kitties, a sweet little fellow who will come right up to the door.  I took a few photos of him, and you can also see in these just how quickly the snow melted.  These photos were taken at about the same time (two oclock) today!

Crazy weird weather!!!