And, I promised I wouldn't make this blog a bitch fest. And, I'm not going to...much.

I work in a restaurant, as a server, with people who have made this particular job a career. These people puzzle me given their work ethic and personal aptitudes.

And, they puzzle me because I can say this, in all honesty, I hate the restaurant business. It's a fickle mistress, especially in times of economic calamity. And, perhaps, I don't really treat it seriously. My boss teases me that the reason I don't buy new slip resistant shoes (even though the ones I have are killing my feet) is because I still believe this job is temporary. I've been there a year now, with no end in sight.

I work in a seasonal restaurant. During the winter we service retirees (otherwise known as snowbirds, blueheads, etc...). During the summer we service, well, no one. Half of the locals can't even pronounce half of the items on our menu. The other half can't even fucking read.

Initially, I was hesitant. My experiences with seniors weren't exactly good. I've done this before a few miles down the road, eighteen years ago. But, that was eighteen years ago. A new generation is retiring and heading to Florida now, evidently. Before, I would get maybe a quarter for my services. Now, they (mostly, not all) normally leave at least a twenty percent tip. And, for the most part, these people are really, really, nice.

And, in all fairness, I'm dealing with a generation gap of forty years. On an average, my customers range from fifty to ninety. I want to know, what the hell happened to these people? Because, on average, most of these people are serious, if not crazy-extremist, conservative right wing, NRA -gun-toting, Christians (as if that isn't the most insane thing to be in the world...). Most are old unions guys from the North (WTF?!!). They love Rush, they love O'Really?, they love **gulp** Glenn Beck, and, FAUX Noise. And, Obama seems to have driven out their inner bigots. (Hillary brought out their inner misogynists earlier on on an even more manic level. Dear God, I thought the reverse would be true during the primaries, but they were more opposed to Hillary than Obama.) And, they are ridiculously disinformed. They don't even really bother to be informed.

What the hell?! The Woodstock Generation fell for this shit? Maybe, they're thankful they don't get Walter Cronkite's commentaries, or Dan Rather's reports, from the front in Vietnam. Perhaps, they are thankful they don't have to see the depravity, the dehumanization of our young men (and, women, too). Maybe, they want to believe that some other reality is happening in our country. But, it's not. And, they are paying for it with their pensions, retirement plans, and taxes. They are obviously suffering for their own cognitive dissonance.

You don't see that ole' school kind of journalism these days, do you? You don't get the disturbing video these days, do you? You don't see young American soldiers blown into bits in the jungle/desert, do you? You don't see the kids that come home and need new legs or arms. You don't see the kids who are so fucked up after five or six tours of Iraq and Afghanistan that they need specially trained companions (guide dogs, those that aren't used for the blind).

But, let me assure you, and the people I deal with on a daily basis, those things are happening and it is very real for the families who have to be there every day.

All we see are cameos of Iragi or Afghani kids being held in the incredibly capable arms of an American soldier.

What about the Iraqi, Afghani, and Pakistani kids that are blown to bits by Predator drones? Do we see that? It happens. We now shrug it off with two words: Collateral Damage. It's a popular phrase now. But, what if your kid was considered collateral damage? What if the kids from Hurricane Katrina were just collateral damage? Frankly, they are considered exactly that.

The most disturbing thing is that the creators and masterminds of our national crisis are from the same generation that brought us the summer of love.

Jerry Garcia is rolling over in his grave, and Hunter S. Thompson went purposefully to his.

Tonight, I suppose, was a special night. The restaurant is always insanely busy on Wednesdays. (Due to stupidly low prices on one product that equates to stupidly low gratuity.) And, Obama was giving his State of The Union Address. There was a sense of angst amongst these folks, a feeding frenzy, in fact, that no matter how much sense Obama makes they will fight against it and, in so doing, fight against the strength of my country.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to witness this State of The Union (I will read it, in its entirety tomorrow). I was working. But, I know, these gun toting crazies were worked up into a frenzie. And, Obama hadn't even said anything yet. It's frightening.

I'm, really, absolutely and unequivacally for Constitutional Rights. I'm okay with gun ownership. What is so wrong with a background check? If you need a gun to-fucking-day you aren't hunting deer with it, are you? Especially a handgun. Oh, hell, what did Lynyrd Skynyrd (the Mascot band for everything Redneck) say about that? "Handguns are made for killin', they ain't no good for nothin' else...and if you like to drink your whiskey, you might even shoot yourself!"

But, there is still a place for free speech. But, please, have a clue about that which you are speaking. You see, I walk by, and serve, tables of people that have no clue about anything. And, really, they are the lucky ones. They skated through the auto bust, the oil bust, the dot.com bust, and the housing bust...and made it through. Marginally. But, they made it.

And, they are arrogant about the fact that they are drawing Social Security. Well, my generation, and the generations that are working right now, are paying for them. There will be nothing left for us. So, the autoworkers and their ilk that were paid thirty to fifty dollars an hour for unskilled labor will leave the rest of us with nothing. Thank you Labor Unions.
Do something for us in the South, would you?

And, even my citizenized boss, whose been in the U.S. ten whole fucking years, owns a business, and several properties, bitches about how much she has to contribute to social security taxes for her employees (that she pays less than shit). And, yet, can't wait to get on it. I believe she will be surprised when she gets that $300.00 check.

I meant to make this humorous. But, it's not. It's the reality of being a patriotic American in the age of ignorance and propaganda.