I Wish I Lived In a World Where Ugliness Didn't Exist

        On my former blog I think I wrote about my phone number.  I have grandkids and when it recently came to pass that I wanted to change cell phone companies I chose not to keep my old number but pick a new one that I thought would be super easy for my grandkids to remember.   The Clear employee read me off a list of easy sounding numbers available. Of the 7 digit phone number only 2 numbers and 1 zero at the end are involved.  Perfect, I thought.  Things were fine until I got my new phone charged up and running and I received the first text.  It was something pretty close to this, I think exactly -- "I saw your ad on the internet and I am really interested.  Do you have any recent photos?"  I was appalled but my daughter said oh mom, the people who formerly had this number were probably just selling a piece of furniture on Craigslist or something.  Yeah, they were selling something all right.  I have lost track of how many texts and voice mails I have received "in response to the 'net ad" for massages.  Go figure.... it is only men apparently that need these "massages." Sometimes they need a massage at 3 a.m.  My cell phone is the only phone I have.  If I get a call from some number I do not know I just don't answer it.  I don't respond to the voice mails or texts although I jokingly have said to my family "maybe for fun and profit I could think about ...nooo, I can't even joke about that." My niece jokingly said that might be a good way to pay off my mortgage!  I have had the phone number about 2 or 3 months now and the calls have all but stopped, except for an occassional odd call, and then two people.  One is hispanic and possibly only speaks Spanish.  He calls maybe 3 times a day, sometimes 6.  At first I didn't answer his calls because  I didn't recognize the number but now I know it is him, since he always leaves a voice message -- either in Spanish or just heavy breathing.  I ignore him and I don't let it bother me.  Believe me, I have other things to worry over.  I finally started answering when he called to tell him he had the wrong number.  He either does not, or pretends to not understand English.  Even when I answer and say you have the wrong number he will imediately call back. Whatever.  Last week I told him if you ever call this number again I am going to turn your phone number over to the police, thinking even if, and it is a big if, he does not understand English I bet he understands the word "police."  He still calls.  I am just going to go to the Clear Kiosk sometime and find out how to block his number.  The second guy (I am assuming it is a male) sends texts.  A phone number appears along with this ... myskinismysin ... instead of a name.  Not anyone I know, or want to know. I have always ignored him and just deleted them but yesterday I let it bother me.  Yesterday was the day my friend died.  My friend of 50 years.  My friend who died at least 30 years too early.  Yesterday when we were waiting for Drs to take my brain dead friend off the life support keeping her body working until they could harvest the organs she donated. Yesterday that jerk texted me "who got killed."  I have no idea what he was talking about but I did not need to receive that text yesterday.  I will get his number blocked too.  His number shows up --until I can get it blocked do you think I should call him or text him back rather than ignore him?

       The next bit of ugliness/stupidity is really scarey.  I live right off of a highway.  DOT is tearing down some old overpass bridges and replacing them.  They are almost done with one less than a half a mile south of my house.  Now they have started removing the old bridge about a mile north of my house.  Here is the first line in an article I read in my paper yesterday ... "State highway officials are seeking the public’s help to find who’s responsible for rearranging traffic barriers meant to keep motorists from plunging off a north Amarillo bridge that is under construction."  Unbelievable.  From what I heard on the tv news evidently for the past three nights in a row in the wee hours of the morning someone moved barriers to keep people from driving off a demolished bridge and moved the barriers to block the lane you are suppose to drive down.  http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-06-25/someone-moving-traffic-barriers-amarillo-bridge-project-state-says-bobby Again, all I can say is unbelievable.  I hope they catch them.
    And then the brats on the school bus.  In case you missed it, Karen Klein, a 68 year old widowed bus monitor in New York was bullied by a group of middle school kids on a school bus.  They were filmed for over ten minutes profainly taunting and bullying this woman because of her weight, appearance, hearing aides, and for appearing to be poor.  I saw a small portion of it.  It was vulgar, disgusting, horrifying.  Their words were nothing but hateful.  They poked her with books,  grabbed the flabby part of her upper arm.  One kid said she was so ugly and fat that if she had kids they should kill themselves.  She cried.  Her son committed suicide about 10 years ago.  The child that filmed it posted it on his facebook and millions saw it. A Toronto nutritionist who doesn't know Mrs. Klein but felt like he should do something started up a fundraising campaign with the hope of raising $5,000 to send her on a vacation. He says today that the campaign has raised more than $650,000 since last week.  A few of the children have sent her "notes of apology." None have apologized in person.  Here is what my favorite local journalist had to say  http://amarillo.com/blog-post/jon-mark-beilue/2012-06-25/little-jerks-apologize-what-thats-worth
 (and I apologize if there are typos in my blog --- my computer is on its' last leg evidently and skipping keystrokes, plus spellcheck won't work today)