A Very Fond Farewell

Chris & me - one last hug!

For nearly two years, I’ve been a Roseville Toyota shuttle driver. It has been a joyous job for me! I managed to take a few pictures on my last day, but rest assured these folks are just a few of the wonderful people who work at the dealership.

 

Alex & Mike - Rentals!

My buddy Angela!

I feel like I’ve left a family behind. 

I told them to lean in - and they did! Ramsey, Wes, Zab and Jerry, the "Tony Bennett" of our service drive.

They have been so kind to me and fun to work with. I send a special thank you to Chris Martinez for always, always being there when I needed a little help and Paul Koontz for words he spoke on my behalf. Let me not forget the coolest man on the lot, Mr. Jerry Bendi, who I like to call the “Tony Bennett” of the drive – a class act!

Caitlin & Cory - Big Smiles

Service with a smile - Jim & Tony.

There are many, many customers I will miss as well; wonderful to have had the pleasure to meet. I calculated that during my time at Roseville Toyota, I’ve carried approximately 7,500 people, so there are way too many to mention here. But I will truly miss the interactions with them. 

Sending me off with good wishes - Cole and Dom

If you’re one of my buddies and I didn’t manage to snag a picture of you for this post, you know who you are and that I’ll miss you too.

Bye all and have a great life. 

Your bud, Kathy (Red Mojo Mama)

Paul Hernandez - quiet and cool!

Tall Paul - big guy, big heart.

Big Jimmy!

Cashiers with Class! Jen, Cheri, Hannah and my Sam.

3 peeps! Tony, Reyna and Adam.

Meet Ziggy!

It's all about the Ziggy love today. I fell for this little guy one day at work, while rearranging the stuffed toy display. He just got me.

The thing is I'm about to take off around the world and I'm thinking Ziggy's the perfect companion. He never complains. He's very photogenic and, let's face it, he's got a great permanent smile. No extra fares are involved. In fact, no extra costs at all.

Yep, I've decided when we finally hit the road, it's be the adventures of Kathy and Ziggy, or maybe Ziggy and Kathy. Heck, he might just get a blog all his own!

Signaling is NOT Optional

Some of you are probably aware that I love my job as a shuttle driver for a giant Toyota dealership here in the Sacramento area. Most of my days are well-spent, driving folks home, to work or maybe the mall and I enjoy them. However…there are things that annoy the hell out of me, all relating to the insane drivers I encounter along the way.  Let’s just review the rules of the road and you tell me if you’ve run into any of these people yourself.

OLD SCHOOL RULES

Let’s define tail-gating, because this seems to have been missed in Drivers Ed class by some people. We are supposed to allow a car’s length between ourselves and the next car for every 10 miles per hour we are going. Therefore, if you’re driving at 40 miles per hour, there should be four car lengths between you and the next guy.  I’m especially fond of the drivers who double the speed and half the car lengths at the same time, i.e. 80 miles per hour while riding the other car’s bumper at two car lengths away. I see it all the time - every day, in fact.  My method for dealing with this? I pull over the minute I can and let them go by. Usually, I’ve managed to take this whole thing personally (they’re just bugging me in particular) and realize that they are equal opportunity tailgaters when they immediately run right up on the behind of the next car. I think there should be some form of capital punishment for this behavior. Flogging, perhaps?

And on the same line of thinking, what happened to using the blinker? I know they’re still teaching that in driving school, yet approximately 15% of drivers, young and old alike, don’t seem to know where the knob is located.  Hint: it’s that odd-looking lever that sticks out behind your steering wheel on the right. That’s right, you’ve got it now. (Speaking to the 15% of readers who also do this – oops, I forgot my readers are entirely too smart to think signaling is optional.)

SPACING

I truly don’t get this new trend for drivers to stop at a light miles from the car in front of them. What is that about? Okay, maybe not miles, but far enough away that you could run a football play in the yardage between the cars. Does it hurt anything? Probably not, but really, what’s going on? This seems to have cropped up in the past few years. I just don't get it, but I'm pretty sure there's a conspiracy there somehow.

The second item under this heading is merging. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, knows that when we’re forced to merge into one lane, every other car takes a turn. Yet there’s always at least one yokel who just has to push it and be car number two to proceed from his or her line. No! Every other one. Be human, will you? Monkeys are not yet allowed to drive.

WHAT’S THE HURRY?

I can guarantee every single driver that constantly rushing from one place to the next will not prevent them being late occasionally, nor will it necessarily get them to their destination any faster. How often have you had someone cut you off only to pull up aside them at the next stop light? Let's just slow it down people. Perhaps a little Zen shrine on the dashboard would help? Maybe some massage music in the CD player?

MY SOLUTION

I’ve decided to look into marketing digital message boards for the back windows of our cars with some preset messages so that you can just push a button and LED lights will spell out “Back off”, or some similarly universal message.  Perhaps “I’m going to tell your mother how you’re driving.” Of course, you’d still have to allow people to personalize their message when appropriate as in “Hey you! Yes, you in the Black Escalade. I know you’re a soccer mom so quit driving like a drug dealer. Okay!?”

I’m looking for venture capitalists as I write this!

Living Other People’s Lives

This post has been bubbling up in me for a while now, the phrase roiling around in my head picking up lint as I decided what the benefits and downsides were of living other people lives. 

What do I mean by that? Well, as a society we spend enormous amounts of time watching television, movies and reading, all of which immerse us in the doings of characters, either real or fictional. It must be a powerful pull, this desire to observe human beings in their best, worst and everyday modes of behavior because I personally don’t know a single person who doesn’t do one of these things. It might be necessary to visit a monastery to find one. What keeps us watching or reading? (By the way, there is no good synonym for reading. Interesting.)

An easy explanation would be that we are looking for a connection with the individuals; perhaps a metaphor within their lives to our own. But surely not with reality TV stars, with their outlandish antics, and yet there’s a huge following for that sort of thing. 

“Come on, Kathy,” I can hear you saying, “it’s just entertainment.” Maybe that's true too. Escape. Still, you have to wonder why viewing others in the midst of agonizing situations, or sometimes ridiculous ones, would serve to relax or even stimulate us. 

I’m sure there’s a study or two on why we watch television or go to the movies. Maybe there’s one on why some people prefer reading over a filmed diversion. I’m just questioning why being inside another’s life is so alluring an alternative to living our own lives. 

I’m just as guilty as the next person of frittering away the hours, with a book in my hand or a DVD in the player. (I gave up actual TV years ago because I recognized I was addicted.) I’m just wondering if I took just 25% of that time and spent it outdoors, or in a museum, or volunteering at the local food bank, if I wouldn’t be a richer person.  That would be living my own life rather than that of actual or imagined folks.

What do you think?

A Day for Remembering

Traditionally, Memorial Day is for honoring our fallen military, who gave their all for our country’s sake. I think most of us extend that remembrance to other heroes and loved ones. My children and I have often planted a flag at my husband’s grave, who did serve in the Air Force, but more importantly was our much loved one. When we spread my father’s ashes along a river spot he thought was beautiful, again we placed a flag in memory.

While our country is certainly not perfect, it is ours, loved and well-defended by many brave men and women. The flag of the United States of America is a symbol of more than our borders. It’s recognition of all our hopes and dreams. 

Let us remember today, not just the sacrifices of those who died for the meaning of the flag, but the many who did and continue to serve in the military, the legions who give every day that we may realize our aspirations to be more and better; the police officers, firefighters, nurses, teachers, social workers, the mothers and fathers who work hard to raise their children, and many millions more. 

Let us remember the “we” in “We, the People.”

Thank you to all. I remember you today.

Good News...Cautious Optimism...And More Need

I'm posting my son's latest update on his wife's condition. They are both being extremely positive and brave and I'm very proud of them.

"Here is our latest update and it is good news!! We are extremely grateful that Caroline is able to come home even though it is with a lot of medication and very limited activity. We will need to go to UCLA twice monthly for more imaging as well as angiograms to make sure that there is no new tears or bleeds. They (UCLA) are delaying any surgery as it is dangerous and not a common one.

Caroline and I are extremely touched and grateful for all the prayers and support we have received. I am personally humbled and uplifted by the support we have experienced. Please keep Caroline in your prayers and thank you all again." 

While many people have kindly contributed to them both off and on their GoFundMe campaign, the amount is very helpful, but not enough. They face a $5,000 deductible, 20% of the medical costs and loss of income for at least two months.

If you have the means to contribute a bit, it is really needed and you'll be doing a great service to a deserving family.

Thanks for reading this. And a HUGE thank you to those who have contributed with a special nod to an overseas friend I personally thank.

You Can't Take Anything for Granted

 My very kind, smart and beautiful daughter-in-law has a brain aneurysm, just discovered this weekend, and is in intensive care. She's about to have surgery. My son expressed his situation best in the explanation on a Facebook funding site so I'll leave it to him as shown below. I'll just add this - life throws us all curve balls but this one is really out of left field and a wake-up call for anyone who is just taking life for granted. Caroline is in her early 40s. Treasure everything you have and everyone you love every minute of every day.

"My name is Erik. I am a USMC and US Army veteran with 26 years of service. However, as a retired reservist, I am not eligible to receive my pension until age 58 (in 2029). After I retired in September 2014, I got a job and everything has been going great. However, this week, my wife was admitted to the hospital and the doctors discovered that she had an aneurysm next to her brain stem.

My job has said that I am ineligible for paid family leave because I have been employed for less than 1 year. At this point, I am unsure if I will even have a job within the next two weeks. My employer said I was eligible for 2 weeks of personal leave.

Much to their credit my employer is trying to get Corporate to make an exception to the policy. I have no idea if that will happen or not.

I am not posting a picture of my wife because she is an extremely private person and will most likely be upset that I am even seeking donations. I have asked for a high amount of money because I can tell that the medical bills will be huge.

The worst part of this is that we are in a situation which I could have avoided by remaining in the military and I feel as if my actions have laid the foundation for the situation we are facing. My wife is the MOST IMPORTANT person in my life and in the lives of our two children. We have a 19 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. My foremost concern is to be there for her and care for my children.

I am seeking donations to cover our medical bills and help with living expenses. I appreciate any help you can provide. Thank you."

Here's the link to Erik's Please Help My Wife Fund - and thanks for any help you might provide.