Wow, if I lived in a community where “most folks don't take care of their next door neighbor” I would sure move---but I think I would first check to make sure that I was a good neighbor.

Are there folks being poor neighbors in terms of helping others with their health? Sure we got one here. It is called Wal-Mart; well actually the Walton girls (who, through hard word and watchin’ their pennies, were able to make several billions) are not really neighbors of ours.

As for the almighty tax payer, everyone does that. Some not much compared to what hey enjoy from the system, but even the top one-percent pays taxes. And of course through sales, gas, corporate, excise and transfer taxes those who do not even pay income tax for FICA contribute a larger share than does anyone else. I know it don’t look like much to anyone who has more, but it you ain’t got much to begin with it sure is a lot. And the work that these folks do is something to be admired. It was only when I was young that I ever got stuck on the business end of doing all that heavy lifting’. Did I ever tell you about the time I worked on building the pipelines out of Oklahoma, or when I was in the Army, or …? Oh well, old war stories for another time.

But I did find the magic of it all, actually I didn’t find it at all---it was given to me. I am sure that folks down your way have heard of it---LOVE you know. It is like the fish and loaves in the basket, the more you give away the more you have. Magic, magic, magic.

Two of our largest “ethnic” groups here (sort of our community within a community) are the Chinese and Mexican. The Chinese started coming here years ago and most of the Mexicans have come within the last 20 years.

I can give you a bit of warning about your average Chinese, particularly the newer ones. If you ever do something nice for one of the Chinese watch out. They will be trying to pay you back for the rest of your life and you can tell ’em all is square but they will just keep on being loving.

And the Mexicans are not only nice, they are just damn right fun. But of course, you do have to get to know them, and then you will have some more best-friends.

And, we also have a large gay/lesbian community and some Unitarians. All of these folks seem to contribute quite well to the older ethnic stock who still celebrate Oktoberfest, St. Joseph’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day (my favorite holy day of them all). Our treatment of the gay community has won us national recognition---so much that Rev. Phelps has shown up here; well for that and also to protest in front of a woman’s health clinic---the one that does not do abortions---the poor man never seems to get to the correct one. Also, though he has showed up not far from here to denigrate the funeral of one of our servicemen, he has not been here yet.

Well enough of this silliness. I am starting to make this sound like the old true and tested American ways of the past, and as we know, some conservative will tell you that we ain’t back there yet. Those damn bleeding hearts, idealistic (suffers for idealism) liberals are standing in our way.

You are rambling again. My point was the FREE benefits the illegals receive, when hardworking, legal, American citizens are left to fend for themselves. When these poor hardworking illegals are paid in cash, somehow I don't think they are paying the same federal, state taxes that we are forced to pay. And these federal and state taxes are what support their FREE benefits. Ain't right, just ain't right. As I replied to another online contributor the other day, you are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. Although, a good deal of my opinion is based on actual fact and experiences I have had when seeking a hand-up, not a hand-out, but simply a hand-up.

On the cost I posted elsewhere just on the Federal level the total was over $50 billion a year.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

$50 billion a year is small compared to the cost you save if you shop at Wal-Mart and get service from folks who have little medical coverage. Or fill you tank up with some gas. But it is always good to place blame on folks who are so easy to pick on and then to defend those who do not need any defense at all. And have a great Cinco de Mayo.

Islewood...I mean Chong. Have you been tokin agin?

You wrote: "$50 billion is small compared to the cost you save if you shop at Wal-Mart....." What does that even mean?

You wrote: "Or Fill you tank up with some gas". Huh??? That would cover about 80 people throughout the entire US.

You wrote: It is always easy good to place blame on folds who are so easy to pick on." Huh? Again!

You make less sense than the commissioners suing the sheriff.

How many of you are boycotting the Mexican restaurants today? Sushi sure sounds good for lunch.

I am boycotting anything Mexican today and everyday from now on. Buy American!!!

Yes, eat some Sushi from those wonderful people who brought you Pearl Harbor. But do they sell it at the food alcove at Wal-Mart? And can we run our cars on the resultant gas?

Oh, oh, I keep forgetting who it is that we are to hate these days---maybe the Japanese are in, but the Mexicans are out? Thank God we Irish got off the hook years ago. You do love us even if we are even Catholic, for sure?

Read his Pearl Harbour post and tell me why anyone should ever listen to him again.

If you want to profile his identity, it would be a short, pudgy, balding, late 50's, veteran who drinks in the evening, but not during the day. During the day he wears a baseball cap (frontwards, thank God). Retired and an IQ around 110 at most. Has a female dog who is well-trained and a wonderful wife who is from some town in middle Georgia and rolls her eyes a lot. You have seen them (without the dog) at Partner's and Shadows and Smokey Joes, but never Pascal's or Carraba's or Ginza.

Unless he is lying, Islewood is in his late 80s to 90s.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

Do me next.

And thanks for aging me down to the 50s, and you probably know that beer is no longer just for breakfast, don’t you? We Sox fans have looked backward too long to wear our hats that way.

I passed through Georgia years ago. Actually our troop train got set off on a railroad siding in Atlanta that looked like it had been set for “Gone with the Wind” (the rail yard that is).

After we had sat in the train on the siding for eight hours with no food, we decided to trek across the tracks to find a place to eat.

The first nice place we went into, the white man who seemed to be running the palace, told the five black troopers that had come with us that they could (the blacks) not eat there. But, the man was kind enough to point in a direction closer to the tracks, where they could eat.

We all got up and went with our fellow Yankees of black persuasion (from Chicago no less). We though that troops together ought to eat together---even though they were not in our outfit.

When we got to the place in which we thought we could all eat, the black man in charge told us that we white guys could not sit or eat there, but he would sneak us some sandwiches out the back door. The five blacks came around in the alley with us and we all got our sandwiches.

This had a very fortuitous and happy ending. Why so? We were closer to the troop train and with take-out food (good God, maybe that is the day that God invented fast food). So we were well prepared to run like hell to catch the train that the damn army transportation decided to move our coaches on their way to Ft. Jackson?

Also, maybe that is the day that I became a “racist,” like racing for the train, don’t you know? But I would have never thought of it that way, if a hamster had not this day properly labeled me.

very often you make me laugh, thanks, I need and appreciate that! We all have our specific soapbox(es), by ole Islewood . . .what can I say.

you already have and God bless you for it. But how about us unreal?

If we don't laugh a bit at each other then we would just get {{{Edited}}} and either bludgeon each other or get stressed and croak over these issues.