Go ahead and try this on your boss

So, the Phenix City Council has voted to give itself a raise – a substantial one at that. Everyone knew it was coming from the time it was introduced by resolution of the council and presented to state legislators. Of course, some will argue it was the other way around.

But, the bill was drafted by the legislators, published in the newspaper, approved by both the Alabama House of Representatives and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Bob Riley – it was a done deal. The next group of council members will receive pay equal to the Russell County Commission and the Phenix City Mayor will receive $35,000 per year.

While I do agree an increase of salary for the council positions and mayor were overdue, I think it went just a little too far, in my opinion. The increase should have been tied to the Consumer Price Index and raised accordingly in proportion to the increase in CPI since the last increase for the Phenix City Council, which was in 2000. There is nothing wrong with that at all, in my opinion.

Where I do have a problem is with the council voting to give itself a “patch” until the next election so that it may enjoy the fruits of the recently approved legislation now. That patch was in the bill. The council members voted last Friday to approve the patch for themselves. They tabled a vote on whether the mayor would receive a patch until the raises go into effect at the next election.

The “patch” is in the form of an undocumented “expense account.” Now isn’t that special? The members of the council will receive pay equal to the county commissioners – over $1,000 per month more than they were making for the positions – without being required to provide documentation that the expenses are valid expenses.

If you have a job, try telling your boss you want the same deal. I think the conversation would go a little like this . . .

You: “Where’s my check for my expenses for $1,800?”

Boss: “Where’s your documentation?”

You: “You promised me a raise after I served you four years. I want it now. I don’t have to provide documentation.”

Boss: “You haven’t served me four years. That promise is for the future, not now. Until then, I will pay you an expense account, but you must provide documentation that those expenses are valid.”

You: “Why? When I took the job, you said I would get the raise. I just want it now. What’s wrong with that?”

Boss: “I also told you that I would give you the raise if you were still here. I don’t know if you will be here in four years. We agreed on a salary when you were hired. You knew what the salary was and you agreed to the terms of our contract. I have investors to protect and I must spend their money wisely. You are being paid exactly what they have said I am allowed to pay you.”

You: “That’s not fair. President Obama said he wanted to see the wealth spread around. I just want mine now. You have to give it to me. You are just the boss. You do not have a say in this matter.”

Boss: “I think I do. You see, it is my job to decide if you have been a good employee and if you deserve the raise – in four years. If you are not willing to abide by the agreement we had, leave now. There are plenty of people waiting to take your place.”

End of conversation – the boss wins.

Now, think about that conversation a little more. Change “You” to “City Council” and “Boss” to “Taxpayers.” Do you understand the situation a little better?

The council members, and mayor, ran for office with the full knowledge of what the positions paid. They, the council members and mayor, have broken their agreements with you – the taxpayers.

In a time when many people are facing loss of jobs, cannot afford health insurance and are barely making ends meet, the people governing the city have decided they deserve more right now. They are not willing to wait until the next election to reap the fruits of the increase in salary. They want – now have – an undocumented expense account as a “patch” until the next election. 

Everyone will have to wait until that next election to see if the “boss” is going to remember the decision the council made was an acceptable one.

Forgotten panties were attention-getter

As watched the morning news on Monday while waiting for my youngest daughter to head to surgery to repair some damage to her shoulder, I also watched the people around me in the waiting room. They seemed disinterested in the happenings being discussed by the talking heads on television.That is, they were disinterested in most of the happenings being discussed.President Barack Obama gave a speech at Notre Dame University on Sunday at the school's graduation ceremony. That was a hot topic for the talking heads. I think they said 27 people were arrested for protesting the president's appearance at the Catholic university. The people arrested protested because his views on abortion were in direct conflict with the views of the Catholic church. Like I said, it was a hot topic. It took up nearly 15 minutes of the news program on Monday morning.I watched the program and listened to what the talking heads had to say. It appeared to me that those people around me were ignoring this major news story. Not one of those people looked up to see what was on the television in that waiting room.The next item being discussed on the television news program was concerning the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, saying in a recent news conference that the Central Intelligence Agency had lied to her about the torture methods being used to extract information from enemy combatants at the Guantanamo Bay prison. She did not exactly say the CIA lied, she just nodded when asked if the CIA had lied. The comment - rather the nod - starteda firestorm of controversy. Republicans, fellow Demorcats and CIA Director Leon Panetta. Panetta was extremely critical of Pelosi's comments - or nod - saying, "CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing the enhanced techniques that had been employed." Panetta says CIA documents confirm the truth was told to Pelosi. He also sent a memo to CIA employees to encourage them saying, "Our task is to tell it like it is - even if that’s not what people always want to hear. Keep it up. Our national security depends on it." He further stated in the memo, "My advice - indeed, my direction - to you is straightforward: Ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission. We have too much work to do to be distracted from our job of protecting this country." His words apparently insinuated that Pelosi was not interested in the truth nor interested in protecting our country. Like I said, the news story was controversial and should have grabbed the attention of the viewing audiance.I looked around the room and not a head, other than mine, was watching the talking heads discuss the topic. I was wondering what was wrong with these people? Those were two news stories that should have been of great interest to people wishing to keep up with what was happening in our country on this day. But no, no one watched or seemed to care.Then a news story came on about a 16-year-old female student at Sickle High in Tampa, Fla., who was captured in a photograph in the school's yearbook sans panties. Every head in the room turned to focus on the story being told. One woman even got up from her seat to get a better view of the television. It seems the student decided not to wear underpants on the day the photograph was taken because she did not want her panty lines to show. Instead, according to the story, something else of her anatomy showed. The television blurred the specific area in question. The student's mother wants all the yearbooks recalled and reprinted without the photo that has caused her daughter to miss school for over a week due to embarrassment. to me, it was stupid story that should never have made the news at any level - locally, regionally or nationally. But, there it was and everyone was watching.The mother feels the photo will ruin her daughter's life. The photo will follow her throughout her life. Her daughter will never be able to face the other students in her school. The administration says it is a shadow that is seen in the photograph and nothing else. The administration says the student should return to school and laugh it off. The student's mother says the school and its officials are exploiting her daughter by distributing the yearbooks.I could not care less about the story, but it was the item that people were watching int he waiting room at Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital on Monday morning. Several made comments about how silly the story was. Others in the room said the yearbook should be reprinted. I guess they do not realize the cost involved. If anything, and I am not syaing anything should be done, the school officials could use a permanent marker to blackout the area of the photograph that is causing the stir. I do not know what can be done to remove the photos on the Internet that are being distributed by several sites that show the area of the photograph without a blur. Back in my high school days - before the dinosaurs left the earth - there was a photograph in my senior yearbook showing a portion of the anatomy of a basketball player hanging from his shorts. How the photograph got past the students and teachers who prepared the yearbook is beyond me. But, it was there and is still there today. That student's parents did not demand the school to recall and reprint the yearbook. Everyone just laughed it off - even the basketball player. However, that was then. Times have changed. Honest mistakes were forgiven. And the news media had better things to report.Yes, it is an embarrassment for the young girl, but maybe she will learn a lesson from this event and wear her underpants from now on. If her mother had taught her that to begin with, there would be no story. And, maybe, the people in the waiting room on Monday morning would have continued to ignore the morning news show all together.

I would choose fantasy over reality

If there is one thing on television I cannot stand, it is reality programs.
Why on earth would anyone want to watch reality television programs? I know about reality. I live reality every day of my life. And let me tell you, reality stinks about eight out of every 10 days.What I want is fantasy. Oh, to dream a dream, to live fantasy is much more appealing.
In reality, bad things happen. In fantasy, bad things happen, but they are not reality. Take for instance, the television program "24" is fantasy. Jack Bauer kills a lot of people and saves the world every season. Jack is a hero. You go out and kill a bunch of people, even enemies of the United States, and see what you get as a reward - prison time.
Now, prison time would not be so bad if it were like the time spent in prison on the television show "Prison Break." Michael and Lincoln have been on the run for three, or is it four, seasons now. They were in prison and then they were out and back in again. They are trying to destroy the "company" and get their normal lives back. That's real fantasy when you have to endure being in prison, escaping from prison and avoiding capture by the "company." The program ends this week forever and I am sure the world will be wonderful again for Michael and Lincoln. They will go on to live life to its fullest.
Speaking of "Life," that is another television program filled with fantasy that has apparently ended - cancelled just when Charlie was about to figure out why he had been set up and sent to prison. There's that prison theme once more. Why are television writers so emamoured about prison life? Anyway, Charlie was framed by fellow police officers for murder. He lost his family, but was awarded millions of dollars by the City of Los Angeles. Money can heal a lot of old wounds, but Charlie was still trying to solve the mystery of why he was set up. I guess we will never know the reason since the show has been cancelled.
We do know why Sam was such a nut case on "Life on Mars." That was another cop show that has now been cancelled. Sam was a police officer in New York City who was hit by a car, went into a coma and awakened in 1973. It was a very confusing program to say the least, but very interesting to watch. Sam knew things the other police officers did not know - things about technology that had not yet been invented. He had to watch himself to avoid being sent to the nut house. But the network that ran the program had the good sense to give it an ending instead of leaving us all hanging. Sam's nickname, the one he was given by the cops in 1973, was "Spaceman." That is what he was in the end. He was an astronaut who was placed in suspended animation while on a trip to Mars. When he awakened in the final episode, everything made sense. He was just dreaming.
It seems television is always repeating itself season after season. Remember "Dallas" and Bobby Ewing's death? The Bobby Ewing character died. A season later, he was back on the program. It was a dream. Everything we watched for a season was a dream - just fantasy. I cannot remember exactly how much of what we had seen for a season was part of the dream, but I guess we just wrote off the whole season, backed up a year and picked up from there. When Bobby's father Jock Ewing died, I expected that to be a dream too, but that actor died in reality. But, I think, they did try to change actors and continue the character, but later decided the new actor was trying to dupe the other characters into believing he was the real Jock Ewing - if you can fake being a fake that is.
This brings us back to my feelings about reality television programs. The only reality television programs I watch are news programs and about half of the news offered on those programs is fantasy. The recent controversy over the opinion of "marriage" by Miss California Carrie Prejean at the Miss USA Pageant has received way too much television coverage. Prejean said she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman. Some people found the opinion Prejean expressed to be offensive. Those people feel same-sex unions should be recognized as marriage and not refered to as "civil unions." Now, that, I find to be pure fantasy.
Most married people will agree with me. I've been married for over 25 years. There's no way you can convince me that whether it is marriage between a man and a woman or between two people of the same sex that it can ever be refered to as a "civil" union. That's just not reality and it is not fantasy. That is just pure fiction.

Weekend was a special time

Swine Flu, tornadoes, water balloons, bad barbecue and a busted water pump – that pretty much sums up my weekend. It was not one of the better weekends of my life. But, it was a lot of fun.
I was supposed to make a quick trip to Montgomery on Friday to watch Glenwood’s girls play in the opening round of the Alabama Independent School Association Class 3A playoffs and then return home to Phenix City to watch Central High’s girls play in the opening round of the area tournament. Half of that went well. I watched the Glenwood girls beat Prattville Christian 10-0 in that first game. As former President George Bush said, “Mission accomplished.”
The other half of my mission on Friday was a bust. I did not return home to watch Central’s girls. They did not play. The Alabama High School Athletic Association decided it was in the best interest of our state’s student-athletes not to play because of the fear of the spreading of Swine Flu. Several Huntsville area schools shut down last week because of a couple of suspected cases of the disease. The AHSAA decided to err on the side of caution and postpone all weekend events, including the state baseball playoffs and state track and field meet. It was a good decision though several media outlets have now stated that Swine Flu is not as deadly as the normal strain of flu we battle annually. Still, it was a good decision.
So instead of watching more softball on Friday, I attended the Relay for Life at Garrett-Harrison Stadium. As far as I could tell by the number of people on hand when I got there, it was by far the biggest Relay for Life in several years.On Saturday morning, I headed to Alabaster to watch my youngest daughter and her fellow Chattahoochee Valley Community College Lady Pirates at the Alabama Community College Conference state tournament. It was not the first round game I had hoped for. CVCC played by far its best defensive game of the season in a losing effort, 1-0 to Alabama Southern. The Lady Pirates played well on defense, but their offense was not what they wanted.
Because of the loss, the Lady Pirates did not play another game on Saturday. After a mid-afternoon meal at a local wings restaurant, the team returned to its hotel for the evening. It was spent at the hotel’s pool, which was indoors. The parents sat outside on the patio – me included among the group. That’s when we discovered what an evil bunch of children we had raised. It seems that sometime between the time we left the restaurant and returned to the hotel there was a stop at a store that sold water balloons. They purchased 400. The attacked the each other, the coaches and, of course, their parents – me included.
Before the night was over, I was soaked. The other parents were also soaked, but we all forgave the children and wrote it off to just plain old fashion fun.Game 2 of the tournament for was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. CVCC faced Central Alabama Community College in that one. CVCC led 1-0 through the first three innings and maybe should have had more runs. The bats were livelier than they were on Saturday. However, the weather did not cooperate.
The tournament officials ran all the teams off the fields and out of the park because severe weather was on the way. It was, but only for a short while and mostly to the north of the location of the fields. The games were rescheduled for Monday morning. Being good parents, and hoping to be in attendance for what might be the last softball game of our children’s’ lives, we stayed over another night.
Bad move. The girls bought 450 more water balloons and intended to use every one of them. Fortunately, most of the balloons wound up being used to attack a group of electrical contractors by the pool. The group, which works on power lines after being dropped on platforms to work on those lines from helicopters, seemed to enjoy the attention they received. They got soaked as well.
But, before we returned to the hotel from the softball fields and before the new balloons were purchased, we ate at a barbecue restaurant in Alabaster. Now when you refer to a barbecue joint as a restaurant, it is not a barbecue joint. We have joints in Phenix City that serve up the very best barbecue a human could consume. The place, the restaurant, we stopped at does not compare - unless you use it as a bad comparison for what barbecue should be. Heck, these folks served cheese muffins as an appetizer. What’s up with that? And the place did not have even a fingertip container of yellow sauce. It just wasn’t my kind of barbecue. But if you remember an earlier column I wrote about an experience at a barbecue place in Aiken, S.C., do not get the idea that this new place removes that one from the top, or bottom if you will, of my list of places to never, ever, ever eat barbecue. This place was not that bad. It was bad, but not that bad when you factor in the free cheese muffins.
We finished up the Sunday game on Monday and returned home. We got all the way to Opelika before the water pump on our vehicle decided to lock up. We had to be towed home.
It was a very bad, but memorable weekend. I had to deal with Swine Flu, tornadoes, water balloon attacks, bad barbecue and a busted water pump, but I will forget all that and remember the fun I had spending time with friends and our children. Years from now, I have been told, the girls will not remember the scores of the games they played, but they will remember the fun. I certainly hope they will. It was, whether they want to admit it or not, a special time - one to be cherished forever.

Children learn life lesson

We often under appreciate the simple things in life. I found this to be so true this past weekend at my home. My family, especially my children, learned what it is to really go “old school” when our air conditioning unit went on the fritz.
Talk about two grumpy people – my two daughters.
It really did not bother me that we were inconvenienced for a brief time while parts were obtained to repair our air conditioner. For the most part, we were not even at home for the first two days that the unit was in disrepair.
The days were a little uncomfortable, but the nights were actually quite pleasant. We simply opened a couple of windows and used a couple of electric fans to circulate the cooler air from outside around the house. What a genius I am to think of such a solution.
Well, to tell the truth, my father taught me this trick long ago. You see, as a child, I lived in a home without the luxury of the modern air conditioner. Our home in Asbury Park was built – can you believe it – without a central air conditioning unit. In fact, most of the homes in Asbury Park lacked this luxury at that time in Phenix City’s history.
To make life bearable in summer time, my father simply installed a window fan at one end of the house and opened the windows at the other end of the house. He would set the fan to pull the air out of the house and, in doing so, it pulled air into the house at the other end. We left our doors open to our rooms so that everyone could take advantage of the air flowing through the house.
I tried to explain this concept to my children, but they were not true believers. They decided to spend the weekend, at least most of it, at their grandmother’s house, which had air conditioning. My daughters even took my two dogs, Chief and Copper, with them. They abandoned their parents in this time of trouble. Can you imagine that?
Of course, my children have never lived in a home without air conditioning. They have been conditioned to air conditioning from birth. I doubt they will ever spend much time in their futures without this wonderful device invented by Willis Carrier. If they do, it will be because the units in their future homes go on the fritz.
My daughters demanded that I get the air conditioner repaired immediately – on the weekend. I tried to explain that even the air conditioning fixers took the weekend off. Thankfully, and with much appreciation, Al Brewer dropped by to try to ease our pain. He tried, almost had it fixed, but to no avail. The unit just would not cooperate. He had the parts on hand to repair a portion of the unit. Unfortunately, once that part was repaired, it only allowed Al to see the more serious problem. That repair had to wait until Monday morning when he could obtain the needed part.
In a matter of minutes upon his return on Monday, our home was cool again. My children decided to return to their home with one of the dogs – Chief. Copper remained with their grandmother because of his delicate condition – he’s a small puppy. They decided he should remain with their grandmother until they were sure the air conditioner was repaired and working properly. I suspect there is more to this decision than concern for Copper’s health. I think, and this is just my thought on the matter, that Copper decided to stay a little longer because he enjoys the pampering he is receiving – the same pampering my daughters receive when they go to their grandmother’s home.
But, this past weekend, they did get a taste of “old school” life in America. It was better than a trip to Westville, Ga., to see how things were done in the “old days.” I hope they chalk it up as a great life experience. I hope they can share their experience in the future with their children – maybe even with their great grandchildren. I bet their children and great grandchildren will react in the same manner that they did last weekend – with disbelief that anything so valuable to their lives would dare break down without notice. They learned it does happen. I hope they know it will happen again. It’s the cycle of life – and of air conditioning.

I recommend only one therapy listed by Rukovets

While googling for information on insulin, I ran across an article by Olga Rukovets concerning strange medical practices – very strange medical practices. I thought I would share some of the information from the article with you this week. I think you will find the procedures just as strange as I did.
I have diabetes and often search the Internet for information concerning the use of the medicine in dealing with my disease. I will not, however, use insulin in the manner described by Rukovets in her article.
Rukovets lists nine strange medical practices and No. 9 is “insulin coma therapy.” This procedure was discovered in 1927 by a Viennese physician named Manfred Sakel who accidentally gave one of his diabetic patients an insulin overdose, which sent her into a coma. Once she recovered from the mistake, the woman claimed she was no longer addicted to morphine. Sakel made the mistake again with another patient and had the same result.
Sakel began “intentionally” testing what became known as insulin coma therapy on drug addicts and patients who suffered from schizophrenia and psychosis. Sakel reported a 90 percent recovery rate. According to Rukovets’ article, “some experts believe that the hefty dose of insulin causes blood sugar levels to plummet, which starves the brain of food and sends the patient into a coma.” The reason this form of therapy was a successful medical procedure for drug addicts and psychiatric patients was unclear.
John Nash, the mathematician and inspiration for the film “A Beautiful Mind,” was given insulin coma therapy as a treatment for his schizophrenia. The therapy was finally determined to be dangerous. About two percent of patients died from the procedure and it was eventually done away with as a medical treatment – thank goodness.The first procedure Rukovets discussed in her article was one I had heard of and one that might have contributed to the death of our first president, George Washington. The procedure is bloodletting. Bloodletting was a common practice in ancient times and lasted until into the 1800s. The procedure called for the removal of large amounts of blood from a patient and was used to treat a variety of illnesses.
Next on Rukovets’ list was hirudotherapy. This treatment was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 and utilizes leeches to remove excess blood and reduce swelling of tissues in a particular area. This procedure is said to allow fresh blood to reach the area to promote healing. Rukovet goes on to discuss the benefits of leech saliva and leech bacterium. Those would not be major topics of discussion for me anyway. And I certainly will not dicuss the possibility of using hirudotherapy in any way, shape or form.
If hirudotherapy isn’t bad enough as a topic of discussion, much less as a procedure, then maggot debridement therapy would be. Maggots may be good at healing wounds, but I will avoid this therapy. The maggots consume the dead flesh and leave live flesh alone. Like leeches for hirudotherpy, the FDA approved the use of maggots in 2004.
Fire cupping was mentioned in the article and it is what it says it is. A vacuum is created by air heated by fire in glass cups that are placed in rows on a patient’s back. This process is described as a “practice of Chinese medicine” and is used to cure bronchial congestion, arthritis and pain. I would think it creates pain rather than relieves pain. According to Rukovets, “available science does not support claims that fire cupping has any health benefits.”
Other strange medical procedures discussed by Rukovets in the article were trepanation, malaria therapy and seizure therapy. Trepanation is drilling a hole in a patient’s skull in order to treat a variety of health problems. Advocates of the procedure believe it is a means to a healthier and longer life. Malaria therapy is not for treating malaria. Instead, it is using the disease to treat other diseases – among them syphilis. Malaria infected blood is injected into a patient to cause a high fever which destroys the syphilis bacteria. I think I would prefer penicillin. Seizure therapy was used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Seizures were induced by injecting coma patients with a mixture of camphor and oil. It was considered too dangerous and discontinued as a therapy.
Finally, the ninth medical procedure Rukovets writes about was laugher therapy. Many people believe in the old adage, “Laughter is the best medicine.” This procedure is the use of humor to promote overall health, says Rukovet. According to Rukovet, the therapy has been used by doctors as early as the 13th century to distract patients from pain and modern research shows that laughter may have therapeutic value. Norman Cousins, who wrote the book “Anatomy of an Illness” back in 1979, claims to have healed himself from serious illness with laughter combined with vitamins. Some hospitals, according to Rukovets article, provide laughter therapy programs as a complimentary treatment to illness.
I am sure all of these therapies held some value over the years. I would discourage my doctor from proposing the use of any of them except the last one. Laughing always makes people feel better. It sure beats the heck out of leeches , maggots, seizures, fire and malaria. Take some advice from this non-doctor and laugh – laugh a lot.

Vampires just aren't the same

Just what is it about vampires that piques our interest?
It is beyond my comprehension, but I have to admit I am right in there with the rest of you when it comes to a good vampire story. Last weekend, I spent time to finish reading “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer. Then I watched the movie of the same name. It was a strange interpretation of the “creatures of the dark.”
In fact, the creatures do not stay in the dark anymore. They blend right in with the rest of us as long as it is overcast outside. If it is not, they stay inside and tell people they have gone hiking and communing with nature. At least that is what Meyer says in her first book about the vampire family – the “Cullens” – who live in Forks, Wash.
She’s written four books in the series already and had started a fifth. Had started, that is, because it is now on hold. It seems a copy of the draft was released on the internet – something that should not have been done. A writer’s work is his or her own property to control. Anyone involved with the release of the document should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
Meyer has released a portion of the story herself for her fans in hopes of giving them a chance to retain a semblance of honesty. I would not have even done that. I would just shelve the project and finish it later. After all, it is not that important to the series. The fifth book is the first book rehashed from the perspective of Edward Cullen – the star vampire of the first book - and I assume the other books as well.
I don’t know whether I will read the other books in the series. I did enjoy the first one. And, I enjoyed the first chapter of the second book that was a tease at the end of the first book. I would not have even read the first book if one of my daughter’s students – Bryce Mickelson – had not sent it to me to read. I do not usually read vampire stories though I will read Kay Hooper books. Hooper’s books are about a special division of the FBI filled with agents with special spooky powers. Usually, I read Lee Child, John Grisham, Stuart Woods, Clive Cussler and James Patterson. I have read just about all of their books and am anxiously awaiting their new releases.
But, I will admit to having an infatuation with vampires – just like the rest of you. I am, however, a traditionalist when it comes to vampires for the most part. I don’t know if I can ever fully accept vampires that can ramble around in the light, that have skin that shines like diamonds in the sun, that have a reflection in mirrors or in photographs or that can live off the blood of animals instead of humans. It does not make a lot of sense to abandon all the traditions of the past that have defined vampires. Vampires are evil.
I have a group of books I received as a present for Christmas – the “Southern Vampire Series” by Charlaine Harris – that I have not started to read. I plan to read them when I get time. I became interested in the books when I started watching the HBO series “True Blood.” The series is set in Louisiana. Now, that is a place where vampires could hide out without notice even if they only came out at night. There are a lot stranger things in Louisiana, especially in New Orleans, than vampires.
But, like Meyer’s vampire stories, Harris’ have some strange twists. The vampires drink synthetic blood developed by Japanese scientist to quench their thirsts and if people inject themselves with vampire blood they trip out like they have just taken some LSD. Harris also includes werewolves, witches and weretigers in her books.
Vampire books are supposed to be filled with horror stories, not new traits. Vampires are not supposed to evolve into super stars. Vampire stories are not supposed to be love stories. I used to understand vampires and knew they were bad creatures. Now, they may be the heroes of the stories. I do not understand them like I once did.
Reading vampire stories has become like watching professional wrestling. You cannot tell the good guys from the bad guys. You can no longer know when a finishing move is really a finishing move. In the earlier days of my youth, wrestlers never escaped the sleeper hold or the figure four leg lock. I blame Hulk Hogan for ruining the sleeper hold as a finishing move. I don’t remember the first wrestler I saw “reverse” a figure four leg lock, but I blame him too.
Now, I guess I will blame Stephenie Meyer and Charlaine Harris for ruining vampires. What’s next? Will the Frankenstein Monster do a song and dance. No, wait, “Young Frankenstein” ruined that already.