This week

Yes Obama is going to be our next President. I didn't vote for him; I voted for John McCain. I voted for McCain in the primaries since 2000. Obama used the campaign slogan, "Yes we can" I guess he liked to watch Bob the Builder on weekday mornings. I only the show Bob the Builder because when Nathan was 3 he watched Nic Jr. Since a children's television show slogan helped get Obama elected, I have been wondering what would have happened if McCain had used Mr. Rogers theme song for his campaign. It would have been fitting for the elderly John McCain to use an "Old School" kids show theme song at his Town Hall Meetings. It would have been great to see McCain walk out on stage lipsynching. "It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood." It could have been an election maker, but alas we will never know.

It snowed pretty hard on Monday and got in my first accident in years. No one was hurt and the only thing my rusting Blazer hit was a tree. I actually said the words from the computer golf game, Links, "Looks like a hit the tree, Jim." Unlike hitting a tree with a golf ball there was no bounce. I keep seeing Gene Hackman in Welcome to Mooseport waiting for the bounce to happen only to discover that it was Secret Service men who would throw a ball back onto the fairway. No bouncing, just a tree shaped dent in the bumper and some grill damage. It wouldn't have happened if I had put the Blazer into four wheel drive.

I had to put into low four wheel drive to get out of the snowbank and then I had to drive around the block because I couldn't backup against traffic. Then the four wheel drive slipped and I was stuck in neutral at a traffic light. Drivers were honking at me and there I was stuck in neutral. I tried to shift out of 4 wheel drive but the gears kept grinding. Finally, I remembered how to do it the right way and the gears silently shifted and I drove home safely.

As soon as I walked in the door, Lori told me that my dentist, Dr. Oswald, wanted to show up right away to get my flipper. I have a missing tooth. It fell out in 2006 and Dr. Oswald bonded it in place. Two weeks ago that tooth fell out for good while I was eating a fried won ton. I ended up swallowing it. Now I put my teeth, I mean tooth in my mouth every morning and take it out when I eat. My gum is tender where the gap is and tonight while I was brushing my teeth after dinner the gum bled. I will have to watch that, if it continues to bleed I will call Dr. Oswald.

I got home from the dentist ate dinner and then called our mortgage company; we are behind in house payments. Talk about feeling stressed. Today, I have a headache. I made it to work on time and worked the full shift, just 10 hours. JCI is holding it's breath waiting for Congress to decide on whether or not to help the Big Three. Overtime has ended and the numbers are lower. Many managers at JCI are optimistic about the bailout. I don't know; really, I just don't know what will happen. It is hard to plan for another job when I don't even know what jobs there will be if the bailout does happen, and if it doesn't, will there be any jobs at all?

Life is different with a hunk of plastic in my mouth. I tried chewing gum and it stuck to the flipper--not fun at all. I tried removing the gum with my tongue which made me start to choke. It reminded me of the time Nathan was choking on a piece of hard candy at the Nationwide Insurance agency. The lady who gave it to him was from the Ukraine and she was quite worried as he coughed and coughed while the candy was lodged in his throat. I calmly hit his back which didn't work and he coughed some more. The lady, whose name I forget but she did embezzle money from the agency, was still worried and made exclamations that sounded like,"ooouuuu."

This happened about five years ago when Nathan was four. I worked second shift then and spent the mornings with Nathan. He and I had our routine. He would watch Nic Jr in the morning and I would nap for about an hour. I would make him breakfast and lunch. We would listen to music and make each other laugh. He would nap at some point and I would nap again. I would work from 3-11 everyday. Second shift is the worst shift to work, especially when you have a family, but Nathan and I made the most of it.

So there we were in this little office, Nathan choking, the Insurance Agent making her Ukrainian vowel exclamations. I was sitting in a chair and he was standing. I turned his back to me, put my right hand under his rib cage and my left hand in front of his mouth. I had never done the Heimlich maneuver to anyone, but I knew how to to do it. It was strange, it was like I knew exactly what to do and just did it. I pushed with my right hand a the candy fell into my left. Nathan actually laughed when he saw the candy in my hand.

I haven't spent a lot time thinking about that day. It just entered my mind. What will the future bring, more stress and less money perhaps? The checking account is overdrawn, payday is Friday. I have a feeling that my paycheck will pay off the overdraft fees, maybe.