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Well finally got the blood pressure medicine and back on track there. Even took Virgil's advice and took a walk. Pretended to be KizPaws walking Pepper but I suspect her adorable ball of fur is better at in step marching then my lovable lug Onyx. Two blocks and I conceded the victory to the four legged wonder and the handicap to that soda I had before the venture into the sidewalkless part of Fairborn.

Work was horrible tonight. Monday we expect to be busy and somewhat mentally prepare for the onslaught. Tuesday is usually down 20%.

It was.

For first shift.

Their percentage decided to see what second shift was like and moved in.

Plus the calltakers were leaving out crucial bits of information I got tired of collecting gratis such as which store in the shopping center are they at. And my favorite--which city are they in. The computer loves to put Dayton in place of West Carrollton, Centerville, Moraine, and the one that started the grizzley sharpening his fangs--Englewood. In the good old days of even five years ago I could guilt trip a candy bar out of a befuddled but humbled calltaker but that boat sailed and sunk long ago. They discovered that I have a bark but no teeth. Plus I have to be REALLY offended by the call ticket to make a DOCUMENTED complaint. Something I believe I've only done about 3 times in almost 16 years and said party was generally already in the line of fire before my contribution was rendered.

Whine whine whine. Someone send him the latest Batman--yes please and thank you. I generally find that when my petty miseries get out of focus and the drama queen is preparing her latest attack on what virtues I have (only by the grace of God mind you) I find someone in worse shape in an uncanny timely manner.

At 10 pm my sister calls with the latest on nephew Steven. (By the by Countess--my sister had already addressed attending A.A. to him with no results.) My prediction to him that he would be tempted to drink again and not be so cocky about it came true sooner then expected. I have told him three weeks trying to instill a sense of a goal to be achieved in him while privately thinking two weeks. This was last Friday.

His sister-in-law caught him Saturday at his house in such a way that led her and my sister to suspect he WANTED to be caught. Julie had gone to Buffalo to visit with her sister for a week. This had been a planned visit but Steven felt it reflected that she thought the sister was more important then working on their problems. By the time we're done here I suspect he might be right.

Sunday night my sister spends an hour talking to him but he's in tear mode (which leads to anger as I discovered at the wedding but that's been blogged already) and he leaves to go home.

And drives.

Drives some more.

Just a bit more.

About 90 minutes later if my study of New York maps is correct he's in jail in Lyons NY--having started some 30 miles west of Rochester NY no less. Charges: Driving while intoxicated, driving under suspended license (that was news) and (the idiot factor in full bloom now) no plates. That annoyed me the MOST as that isue had come up that night in dispatch and I lost every time. Can't win them all. So he's in jail--$1,000 bond and I will credit my sister and brother-in-law with this. They NEVER post bail. Ever. I don't either. Fun to visit and do the I told you so--was there for the second son---oddly enough my oldest should have been incarcerated a couple of times during the teen years but never got caught. Might be fun to revisit that time period -- I'll have to be really desperate to reopen those wonder years. Come to think of it there is a story or two that's amusing (years after and a pod person replacement). Further his car is towed away. In Dayton it's an average $70 a day for storage--it's manual transmission that Julie can't drive so she didn't even bother asking my sister where the car is. Steven has prior traffic DWIs and the recent menacing charge won't help his case. His one lawyer friend died last year so he'll be at the mercy of a public defender and his so-called Mafia friends would be morons to help him--I at least respect their ability to not put money on a bad risk. He'll probably get one to three years. Anything over one year gets him state.

Hope he knows I'm not a letter writer.

Pity--not a wasted breath. Sympathy--NONE. He made the choices. Do wish I suspect his soon to be divorcing wife would try to save her marriage--I had thought better of her but she's in no hurry to return home and could care less if HIS cats get fed--which my sister is trying to do. I do however hope strongly that NOW he's hit rock bottom (he just thought he had last week) and might consider that God has something to say to him now that all the props are knocked out from under--starting with that miserable pride of his. I'm aware of mine and confess it regularly (one reason I dwell on my warts--not the occasional good deed).

I do so get tired of all that potential going down the drain but I live in hope of a dawn with promise.