Pissed Off
2006-04-17 @ 7:56 a.m.

I belong to a group that visits shut-ins. I try and do what I can, when I can but haven't been too involved lately. Last week, I got a phone call asking me if I would go visit this elderly woman. Basically, you go, read to them and help out a bit around the house. That type of thing. Nothing too strenuous. I said yes.

So I go. She answers the door. She's very old but still pretty sharp. She's very feeble and uses a walker. She's not blind but her eye sight is very poor. There's a man there, approximately thirty-five years old. It's her son. I hesitate to say 'man' because I cannot conceive of a man allowing his mother to live like this one lives. "He visits me every day," the woman proudly informed me.

The house was a mess. Just awful. It looked fine from the outside but inside....The place hadn't been dusted, vacuumed or picked-up in quite some time. When I entered the kitchen I had to concentrate in order not to gag. The smell was bad, a mixture of sour and sweet. There was no counter space available. Open, empty cans and jars were everywhere. I couldn't lift some of the cans because they were stuck to the counter. I literally had to take a knife and use the handle to tap some cans loose.

I very much wanted to just get out of there. Instead I stayed and cleaned. Cleaned for hours. I planned on cleaning her bedroom and bathroom but they were in pretty good shape. Then I figured out why.

I saved the livingroom for last. The woman was asking her son if he would read to her. His only reply was, "later." He was eating and drinking and made periodic trips to the kitchen. Everytime I went back into the kitchen, he had left his garbage on the counter or the kitchen table. I'm guessing the son uses the house like a frat house and then leaves. If I'm wrong, it still doesn't explain why he'd let her live like that.

So, I dusted the livingroom and then began to vacuum. This guy has the nerve to ask me if I can vacuum later because he's watching television! So, I'm wishing that, in all the mess, I had found a handgun.

After he left, and I was done, I was ready to take off. She was very grateful and thanked me repeatedly. She then asked me to read to her. All I wanted to do was hop into a shower and scrub myself clean but I stayed for an hour. Her book was, believe it or not, was How Stella Got Her Groove Back. I had no idea it was a book and she even had a large-print copy. We never did get to the part where Stella's Groove was restored.

I was so upset that I called the person who runs the program and they're getting someone over there soon to make sure she's getting everything she needs.I'm still pissed off.

Now, has anyone seen the new (I think it's new) Burger King commercial? First, whoever came up with The King should be fired. If I were a child, The King would scare the crap out of me. He looks like he underwent far to much reconstructive surgery. He's just creepy. If it wasn't for the beard, he reminds me of Barbara Hershey, who looks like she's undergone a few dozen cosmetics jobs.

Next, the commercial is really queer. The King's in bed next to a construction worker? Then, at the end, they're having a pillow fight. I don't even know what the hell they're selling. I just sat there thinking, The Burger King dude is gay? Or maybe he just rooms with one of the Village People.