Your Hired (back)...........................JUST KIDDING!

Woah! How cold is it, especially in this day, to give back hundreds of folks, jobs that you just took away weeks ago.......and then tell them four days later your takin' them away AGAIN, but for good.

Damn! Now that's Indian Givin' at it's finest AND lowest. Shut up if your Indain (hotel or teepee). It's just an expresion that MAAAAY be undeserved....but is still debatable nonetheless.

Seriously. That is cold and does NOT look good for a company that should have the resources to make a call like this in advance and without getting the hopes of an entire community up, only to shatter them four days (FOUR DAYS!!!) later. It's not as if the world changed in FOUR effin days!

(In the middle of my chastizment, let me link to the article I'm referring.)

I have to ask. Was it for a weeks worth of praise and positive press that Rheem was hiring back 650 individuals at a time when people are scared? Couldn't Rheem management let the media know that it may be temporary and layoffs looming depending on the construction industry.

You fools had to know this more than four days before or after you brought these folks back.

How many had possible job opportunities lined up or in the works when you called them back and turned them down or ceased pursueing them because they wanted to return to Rheem? hmmm? Out of 650, I bet there were a few.

Nope. Rheem choose to REAM Baldwin County a new one. What A-holes.

William Ostan, Rheem’s vice president of human resources, “We very easily could have sent them notice without calling them back." Ughhhh yeah! DipShit. That's normally how it works.

It'd be like breaking up with a long-term girlfiend that really didn't want to break up with you. Then you calling her back a few weeks later, knowing she's not over you and that she's still wanting to be with you. Asking her to come back, rekindle things, and FOUR days later telling her you want to break up forever and the only reason you brought her back was to tell her to her face.

You idiots! That's stOOpid. That's immature and NOT a cool way to handle biznass.

Rheem may very well make a fine product, but Rheem really lost some cool points with this move and that's ironic considering they in the "cool" business.

Meanwhile, we have illegals jumping the boarders for jobs and welfare in the States and here we have a company taking the jobs to them. That's funny in a strange way.

Do Your Job, Parents! Make Sacrifices, Not Excuses.

Here is the article from the Macon Telegragh that has led to this post. It amazes me that people will consciously decide to download a kid, carry that kid for 9 months (which gives them about 270 days to consider the future), then claim they can't provide for that little "tricycle engine" because of expenses. Anyway, I have posted the link below and "copied and pasted" the text below the link.




FINDING GOOD DAYCARE A TOUGH TASK FOR PARENTS
By Kandace Raymond Pritchett - Special to The Telegraph Buzz up!

Before motherhood I never imagined how challenging, stressful and scary it would be to find dependable day care for my child. I never dreamed most of my 8-10 hour workdays would be filled with worries for my child’s well-being.

For 2 1/2 years I’ve been trying to find the perfect place for my child to learn, grow and be loved. Now, I wonder if such a place exists.

My husband and I have been burned by bad nannies. Hesitant, but stuck with no alternatives, we turned to day care. As we researched facilities we became frustrated. It seemed the places where teachers seemed to genuinely care for the kids, spoke intelligently and provided a clean environment were limited or only offered half-day programs.

Our list of options quickly narrowed. We sucked it up and had to settle. The need for health care and two salaries eliminated our option for me to be a stay-at-home mom.

At our current day care, I caught a teacher mistreating my toddler on tape. Thank God my motherly instinct told me to watch the videotape from the monitor that day. She was “written up” not fired.

My daughter spends more time with her day care teachers than with us. My ability to trust others, who have a hand in raising her the way we see fit, is disappearing. Ideally, my daughter would spend the majority of her day learning, exploring and socializing; after all, experts say a child’s brain is fully formed by the time he or she is 5 to 6-years-old. Are my expectations too high?

I’m still desperate to find that perfect place.

Kandace Raymond Pritchett is a resident of Forsyth, GA


Kandace, what DID you imagine BEFORE motherhood? Did you imagine that you would have place to drop your kid off everyday for FREE? Did you imagine you would have folks lining up at your door each morning, credentials in hand, to sit, play and read with your child each day...out of the goodness of their heart?

Your statement that you never dreamed your 8-10 hour days would be filled with worries of your child, suggest you had 8-10 hour days PRIOR to bringing life into this world. So, you knew your schedule. You knew your options. YET, you decided to bring this helpless little girl into this world without a plan? REALLY?!

Has it occurred to you that HOME may be the perfect place for your child to learn, grow and be loved? It is nobodys responsibility, morally or lawfully, to love your child. It is yours. Unfortunately for your child, that perfect place may not exist, even at home, because you don't have the desire to be there or the desire to do what it takes to be there.

If you can afford a nannie, you can afford to cut your lifestyle. It may mean sacrifices. Smaller home, less eating out, one car, etc. My point is you are spitting in the face of the answer to your question.

You claim you and hubby did reeeeesearch on kid kennels and found the "good" ones were limited or only offered half-day programs. Limited to or by what? How much they were willing to provide the service for? Only offered "half-day" programs? Hey, it's business. Nobody watches other people's kids for fun. They do it for a profit and if there it a profit in watching kids all day, someone is doing it. Again, it comes down to whether you and your husband are willing to pay for that service.

Your options have never narrowed. You have always had the same number of options. You may have chosen not to entertain some of those options, but that was your choice.

THEN. THEN!...you claim to "sucking it up", like you did an honorable thing. That phrase usually is used when someone does something admirable, strong or brave. It is usually used when someone trudges on through hard times or picks themselves up from a tragic event and moves forward. THEY SUCK IT UP. You didn't suck anything up. You copped out! To top that off, you blame it on health care and needing two incomes. (sound the Gong now) Wrong!

We could discuss the health care if you'd like, but that would mean auditing your household income and budget, which I doubt you'd be willing to produce. But if your salaries don't allow for one of you to be at home, it's because you have CHOSEN not to cut your lifestyle. Again, stop ordering pizzas, cut the cable, get rid of car payments, become a true home ECONOMIST, have hubby get a second job, have a yard sale, stop buying labels, turn lights off when not in use, stop wasting money, etc.

You told us that you had evidence of you child being mistreated. Sure, mistreatment is subjective and your opinion may differ than others, but the fact remains that YOU believed it was mistreatment. Yet, you continue to send your child into what you believe may be a harmful enviornment? Dude, you need your head examined! Are you watching the videotape everyday now? Every minute of it? If you have time to do that, you have time to be at home.

It is a sad implied statement that you make that your toddler knows or has bonded with others more so than you and your husband. That has to be the case if daughter is spending more time with others than with her parents, right?

And your ideal situation does not even include YOU or your husband. Your ideal situation still involves your little girl be boarded by stangers.

No, your expectations are not too high. You can find exactly what your looking for...someone else to be your little girl's parents. It is called adoption.

Some Scary FACTS Uncovered About the Securities Mess

Yo! You guys know that I'm a staunch Libertarian and am upset with both the Republicans and Democrats for decisions (both bad ones and ones that they had no business making) they've made.

BUT, Barack Obama scares me like no other candidate ever has. His Marxist, Socialistic tendancies have no place in the tradition of a self-supporting, capitalistic, "teach a man to fish...", limited government and individual liberties type of America our founding fathers fought so hard for.

As we watch the stock market rewind, reverse, whatever you want to call it... let us not miss some very important FACTS as to how we got into this situation. Obama has allowed, encouraged and even helped our mortgage market/real estate market tank. For this alone, he should not be rewarded with the highest office in our country. For many other reasons, he should not hold any office.

Congressman Marshall- You've Got It Wrong!

This is a letter (the second of two) that I've sent to our Honorable Congressman Marshall. I've yet to receive a response to the first, but since the "bailout bill" didn't pass as presented, I thought a second letter was in order. Because, who knows what they'll try to pass next.

Dear Congressman Marshall,

I read that you were quoted as saying..."I just hope that the damage that was predicted to be done if we weren’t able to pass something, does not occur. That the experts were wrong, and that we don’t see the kind of terrible problems the expert said we would see if we couldn’t pass something.”

Jim, I trust you've done your due diligence. Yes, some experts have predicted the "collapse of our economy", that the figurative "sky would fall" and that a playback of The Great Depression would be certain if this $700 Billion rescue package did not pass.

However, many more experts, including Chief Economist at First Trust Advisors Brian Wesbury, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Bruce Bartlett and Legg Mason Capital Management CEO Bill Miller say the plan you voted for is not neccessary in order to stabilize our markets. The plan you voted for is not the only plan that could help solve some problems. WE NEED SOME PROBLEMS! You know...it's good for people to feel pain occassionaly. It helps us learn and helps us grow.

So many people are acting like there are only two options. Either commit to a ridiculous amount of taxpayers money and save the market OR watch the America we know disolve. That is a crock and a juvenille attempt to manipulate our elected officials, like you, into quickly passing a plan that is bad for taxpayers.

Sarbane-Oxley has played a large role in the mess we find ourselves in. The "Mark to Market" accounting rule has also helped lead us to our present situation.

If we could change the "Mark to Market" rule, back up these securities with FHA insurance and perhaps lift the taxes on Capital Gains, we'd see a huge turn-around and the majority of this mess would correct itself without handcuffing the taxpayer to debt we don't want. This is advice from many, many, many, many other experts.

Back to your quote at the top of this email. You refer to "experts" and all the bad they implied would happen if this particular piece of legislation wasn't passed. I suggest your listening to the wrong experts. Perhaps they have an agenda or perhaps they are just wrong.

You stood some pretty firm ground by betting your seat on this bailout. I am staunchly against it, am discussing it with customers and friends and will do what is within my power to make sure our tax dollars are not spent to solve this financial mess, regardless of the consequences my 401K or business suffer.

I know this is a stressful event and I wish you the best on finding a solution.

See you at the next race,

Troy Tarpley

Un-Happy Hail Repair Customers

Apparently there is quite a bit of shoddy hail repair (if you can even call it that) being performed in Baldwin County (Milledgeville), GA. Below is a link and it has to do with PDR techs, roofers and tree guys alike. Obviously I'm only interested in the dent guys. Needless to say, many folks are getting the wool pulled over their eyes without the least bit of knowledge. Especially the ones that "know" it's not going to happen to them.

Post your praise and complaints here regarding your storm damage experiences.

Here's the link... http://middlegeorgiastormdamage.blogspot.com/

Fly-By-Night Hail Gypsys Swarm Upon Milledgeville, GA

As is the case whenever there is a hail storm of any signifigance, the sucking sound of wind can be heard in the wake left by the mass entry of out-of-town dent guys chasing a quick buck made at the hands of unsuspecting body shops and car owners.

This is the exact situation I(a long-time Middle Georgia native)have witnessed over the last two days following the storms that brought hail and hail damage to the state of Georgia. Within two days rookies looking to score thier first homerun and veterans of the "in town fast....outta town faster" hail chasing community wound up in Milledgeville, GA. Paintless Dent Removal (PDR) is a craft where skill level varies as widely as it does between Tiger Woods and your Uncle Bob. They may both know how to play and play often, but one is actually proficient. Over the years some have polished their pitch and perfected their marketing skills to the point of convincing body shops that have never encountered such a scenario that every dent technician's skills are equal. With nothing to verify their claims, many boast that their skills are above average and use their years of experience as evidence.

Considering most towns rarely get hit twice in a decade, it is easy to play the game mentioned above. In a country the size of ours, these dent gypsys can afford to burn a bridge, only because they know they will never run out of bridges.

As an international award winning PDR technician (here's the story), the part that bothers me the most is that the shoddy work these guys leave behind, leaves a lasting negative impression on the community they burn and often the idea that PDR is not an efficient or effective method of removing dents and dings.

Body shop owners usually are caught in the middle and end up playing an unknowing role in their own role as a victim too. Most shop owners never see the kind of chaos that follows a major hail storm. With lines of customers impatiently waiting for claims, insurance adjusters overwhelmed with work and PDR companies blowing the phones off the hook, the body shops usually cave within a couple of days to an offer of a "helping hand" from an unknown stranger that lives who-knows-where hundreds or thousands of miles away. (Read what one body shop owner says in Nebraska about a similar situation. It's the last paragraph.)

These dent pimps ususally talk of all the storms they've worked, the hail they've seen, the shops they've helped, building a sense of ease and comfort in the shop owners mind without an ounce of hard proof. Months later, customers return with cracked paint, burned clear coat, broken clips or unauthorized holes in unintended places. This is where the shop owners find they've been snookered, but many months too late.

After the realization of being a chump sets in, the second round of repairs, at the cost of the body shop or car owner begins. Usually it involves painting parts of the car that should have never needed painting or replacing small parts that were broken while removing the headliner or trim pieces. Both are expensive and the hassel factor is high.

For this and other reasons, body shop owners should always use their local PDR technician. We all know that one local company usually can not handle the volume of work a large hail storm brings, but if the local dent company is hired to do the work, they can hire the sub-contracted dent technicians and provide quality control for the shops and car owners. The local guys have a vested interest in the long term relationship unlike the out-of-towners and will back up any work the subs do. If problems arise later (and they will), the locals boys are their to deal with it.

So Milledgeville, Eatonton, Lake Oconee and the rest of Middle Georgia, do your homework and track the local PDR technicians down. If your shop assures you of the techs they are using, remember...it's only because they believe the smoke they were blown.

Dent Tricks is a PDR company based in Macon, GA since 1998. We have repaired hundreds of hail damamged cars and thousands of dents. As the winners of the 2005 and 2007 International Dent Olympics in Clearwater, FL, our emphasis is on quality and customer satisfaction.

Please visit our website at www.DentTricks.com or call us with any quetions at 478-405-8000.

Bounced From Church

(Disclaimer: This is long!)

So I told you to come here to read about the reason we can't join First Presbyterian Church in Macon, where we were formerly attending. I'd like to start with how much we enjoyed the church and it's congregation. I don't know for sure that everyone we met were members or not. We attended for several months as visitors and everyone we encountered seemed kind and welcoming.

As Amy stated in on her blog, we actually attended a nine week class to learn about the church (history, philosophy, differences, etc.) and to let the pastor get to know us better. We both enjoyed the class, though we missed our Sunday School class equally. The Logos Class was led by Mr. and Mrs. Bridges, who were both very caring and compasionate people and good mentors for the class of young people, many of which were couples.


After completing the class, we were asked by Pastor Chip Miller to complete a Membership Application, which we did. Nowhere did it ask if we were leading lives in accordance of the teachings of the Bible. Nowhere did it ask if there were people poisoning their temples with chemicals like cigarettes or processed foods. The application did not ask if we were being good stewards of what God has blessed us like talents, skills, money, etc.

However, it did ask for our address, which we gave them. As it happens to be that Amy and I share the same address, we both gave them the same physical address on the app.

Several days later, Eric Ashley (Youth Minister) called to have a second lunch meeting with Amy and I. The first came may weeks prior, just for fun and fellowship. Anyway, the second meeting was to "clarify" something that he stated, "was no big deal."

Over lunch, Eric let us know that our living together prior to marriage was standing in the way of us becoming members. We would have to wait until after October 11, 2008 to join.

Knowing that co-habitating is not a sin, Amy was a little upset. Sure, there is the old phrase, "livin' in sin." But for one it's old. Second, it's not a sin. What the phrase implies is that the couple is "gettin' it on." Perhaps making such an assumption is a sin? So, Amy and I were mad that someone (we assume Eric and Chip) were picking one very small portion of our very large lives and making an assumption about it. Never did they ask why. Never did they ask IF we were having pre-marital sex. They only took one small portion of who we are and denied us membership to a church of nearly 1200 people.

The explanation was that 'by living together before we are married it may give someone else the impression that we might possibly be 'fornicatin'.

Eric said he didn't mind if we continued to attend FPC until marriage. Actually, he hoped we would. We just couldn't join.

Hugh?

So, if we attended, would it not appear that we were members?? I mean, if we got involved and attended every Sunday, wouldn't people that didn't know us assume we were members of FPC.

So really, Eric should have asked us to not come back until we were married. That way the image would not be tarnished.

This is obviously not one of my best post, rambling, fragmented and run-on sentences, etc. I'll just sum it up with the letters.

We had the last lunch, were "denied" and decided to visit other churches..After a few weeks Eric emailed the following....

Hey ya'll,
Just wanted to touch base. Haven't seen ya'll the last couple of weeks and wanted you to know that you've been missed. I also wanted to see if ya'll still wanted to move forward with pre-marital counseling in the New Year. I'm beginning to make plans for Jan and would love to set up some times to walk through some of that material with you. Let me know your thoughts when you get a chance.

I replied back...

Hey Eric,

We are looking at other churches in hopes of finding one we feel comfortable and welcomed in. Not that the members of FPC didn't....they did. We really enjoyed Sunday School too. It made for really good Sunday lunch conversation. But as you know, we have a problem with not being accepted as members based on our address. It seems to me that the church would have, should have, much larger issues to focus on than preventing two people that want to join from joining.

I can think of several areas of focus that would be much more important to concentrate on than the time and effort that has been spent on us.

You had the opportunity to get to know two young professionals, that give both our time and money to others, are caring, honest and kind. Two engaged adults that happen to share the same address for several reasons prior to our wedding, which is exactly 10 months from today. We will be the same people 10 months and 1 day from now, except for the fact that we will be married and 10 months wiser (or is it smarter?). To have the "red carpet" rolled out then and not now, seems insincere and not very loving. As if you only want what "appears" to be the best Christians.

We are sure there are no members that were perfect when joining. So was each and every member directed to make changes and upon completion of those changes and proof that nothing in their lives could be construed as "un-Christian" or against The Word, allowed to join?

Are the members that currently sin on a regular basis (oh, that would be everyone) constantly having their memberships revoked and continually attending reformation classes or 12-step programs in order to be re-admitted?

It seems your stepping over quarters to pick up pennies when your efforts could be spent on much more important things. And it bothers us, because it appears the church is more concerned with the image it's members project on the outside than what is going on within them and how they (the members) can have a positive effect on their community.

Eric, I could go on and on, as I'm sure could you. We understand the position each one of you finds yourself in and know that it must be awkward, especially for you, considering the responsibility of dealing with this has been placed on you. This will surely be a in interesting story in your pastoral career and hopefully you will gain a lot from it, which I expect is part of Chip's plan. Either way, we are not angry with you and wish you the best.

So...we will be getting pre-marital counseling, but most likely from a pastor at the church we do join.

Merry Christmas,

Troy

About a week and a half later, Eric left me a voicemail asking me to call him in hopes of having lunch and discussing some things that seemed to be heavy on my heart. I have decided to pass on the invite as it seems I would be wasting his minutes (his life minutes). They have made their feelings clear and I think they are wrong. Amy and I have not changed our position on it and would have a hard time feeling confident in their leadership knowing so much time and effort is spent on micromanaging the image of the church opposed to focusing on the true goal of the church.

Sometimes you gotta pick you battles. Are you gonna pass on great in hopes of getting perfect, even when you know there is only one perfect and it's not a person?
Even if living together was a sin, would it be a big enough sin to deny membership to a church? What are churches for?? Isn't everybody a sinner?

So, that explains more than you probably wanted to know. If anything else interesting comes up regarding this, I'll post a follow up.

Oh, Mrs. Bridges did email us, wanting to know where we'd been. Amy and I both replied with a short explanation, but we've not heard anything back from her yet.