Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

Back in July I wrote about this idiot license plate collector I nicknamed "Jerkweed Jaun"(see below). He's still on the  Yahoo list and I'mp still on his case. Call it payback for accusing me of screwing  him out of pl-ates. I won't be satisfied until everyone in t he plate collecting community knows, what a Jerkweed he ha beco-me. His who-le approach to collecting i0s wrong, he tries to get p=lates for nothing, breaksx trade promises on a whim and other stunts that  would give a collector a bad  name. His pattern, make noise on the list for a few days and then  go back into hiding until his next st9upid request. Believe  it or not Jaun has tried to make truce saying he didn't mean to jerk me around, but I'm not buying into the scam. I am a big believer in giving people a second chance, but I don't think Jaun deserves that chance. On the contrary, I believe he needs to be taught a very hard lesson and I feel I need to teach it. While I won't accus...

The news about theshooting of Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords is racing across TV screens and plastering the front pages of every front page in the US, if not the world.  I share the grief of all those who have been touched in some way. It's   even more heartbreaking to learn that 9 year old Christina-Taylor Green was also tradgically killed. Green, born September 11th, 2001, was from what I see as the true "American Girl".  She was very patriotic, loved baseball (America's favorite past time) and will surely be missed by family and friends. It  bothers me that people have again turned tragvedy int a fierce p;olitical debate. From Keith Olbermann suggesting placing picture of Giffords with crosshairs on Sarah Palin's website gave the shooter the idea to suggestions the Tea Party endorsed the shootmakes me mad. Case in point take my comment on Facebook: " The Arizona shooter is a self-described 'left-wing pothead, yet the media is pointing fingers at t...

Well folks here we are another year down. For those who don't  know, or don't remember last year on Christmas Day I sent on an e-mail out reviewing some of the highlights of 2009. I got such a great response, this year why not do it earlier? I also have been going through some of my old writings and retyping them on the computer, this time backing them on an external hard drive so its making me reflect on a lot. I have also come up with some new material, both on my website ( http://www.justinmattes.com ) and my blog ( http://justinmattes.blogspot.com ) First the family, the biggest thing being the death of  my grandmother,Theresa. Almost all of you  know she had Alzheimer for a very long time and moved in with my Aunt Dee in Park Ridge. Up until a few months ago she was very heath physically, but it was getting harder for her to eat and she  really loss strength quickly. Everyone says it was for the best, but I m...

Sometimes  the best things are left to chance and I couldn't have better proof than the event that happened last evening. My folks went out to dinner with friends and with nothing good on TV I decided to take a trip to the Cornerstone. Usually I go there only on Thursday nights to  hang out with my friends, but the Coronas and shots of Jack Daniels were calling. I got dressed and called up Westwood Taxi, I was sitting at the bar by a little after 9PM. Usually there's a DJ playing dance music  way too loud, however when I entered the bar that evening much to my delight I saw a drum set being setup in one of the side rooms. The owner who just knows me as "J"  caught me sneaking glimpses and said it was something new at the Cornerstone. They would host a band one or two Saturdays each month, the first band  in this "concert series" was The Brian Dougherty Band . I was very impressed that my "local bar" was starting to host  bands!! Th...

After taking September off to collect my thoughts and really focus  on getting my head straight, I figured October should bring some decent writing......I wasn't disappointed. It  started with the trip  out to Hershey, like I have been doing with the Field Dayarticles, I decided to spruce up the journal entry on here and submit it to the Frog Holl Tag Trader edited by Lynda Walker. Hopefully that will appear in their December issue. Secodly, and more of a political tone, just in time for the elections, I was writing in defense of former  Councilwoman Joanne Howely, who in my opinion really got smeared for minor problems.While in the end she wasn't exactly innocent, I felt she needed to know someone out  there supported her. I also found ir was a way to keep my batting average  up! It also proved to add to my popularity in town, in good and bad ways! Third and definitely the most rewarding from a writing standpoint, after a couple years absence I...

I know the title sounds like it should be written in December and not October, but give me achance to explain.  A few years ago I composed the Hershey Review 2005   about going to the worlds largest car show with my folks  and Uncle Chuck. Well I hadn't been there since, admittedlyI have had other destinations that I have written about  previously. The trip was planned by Bill Dickerson, a long time ALPCA friend and mentor.  As with a lot of northeast collectors didn't make it down to the ALPCA Convention down in Arlington, so they opted for the next best thing Hershey. Anyone who has been there knows the show has two parts, the actual car showand a huge flea  market. The last time my folks, Uncle Chuck and I focused our one good weather day (it ALWAYS rains one of  the days in Hershey during the car show) on the car show, this trip was for theflea market because that's primarly where the ALPCA members hang out. Like we did for a license...

The hot topic of the day is the proposed  Mosque at Ground Zero. One the one side you havew people whining about freedom of religion, most of whom want to take the phrase "One nation under God" out of the pledge of allegence.  On the other side you have people claiming building the mosque steps from Ground Zero supporting the religion that the terrorists used to justify  the murder more than 3,000 Americans, some of the Muslim. Truthfully I still believe the ladder,  on the other hand I won't sitting here and claim the people who support  the Mosque are insensitive to the families of the victims. Something has been going through my head something I don't think anybody has brought up. To me the obvious reason not to build a Mosque steps from the most devastating attack on American soil in history is one of vengeance. While Muslims tend to inflate the "hatred"* they get from fellow Americans, I can understand howmost Americans view the religion in a negative ...