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Fifteenth Job of Bob - Lawn Service Part IV - the help - the car culture - the dry comedy
This entry was posted on 5/8/2008 8:46 PM and is filed under Jobs of Bob.
When some of my chums from work, started helping me cut lawns on weekends, the small street in front of my house collected their cars early on Saturday morning. Texas is notorious for having houses without garages. So my two trucks and my wife's car sat out front on the street. When A.T. and Ramiro showed up to work with me the street got a bit crowded.
My wife had a newer Hyundai Exel she was quite fond of. It was a 1986 model and one of the first years the giant Korean company put their cars in our market. When the fellows pulled up early in the morning she would sneak a peak once in a while to make sure her car was not being compromised in the narrow street. First A.T. would cautiously pull his black Camero up in front of my truck. Always a bit later, Ramiro would pull his tan Camero up behind Heide's Hyundai. One Saturday morning Ramiro could not quite stop and bumped the fender of the Hyundai. Heide glowered out the window.
Later in the truck cab as we pulled out from in front of the house, A.T. said, "Damn Ramiro, is there any spot on your car that does not have a dent?" Then A.T. continued thoughtfully, "Jesus man, what the hell kind of insurance do you got on that no-brake, dent-covered junker anyway?" It was early and Ramiro just took a drag on his cigarette.
Suddenly, Ramiro blinked out of his haze as cigarette smoke hovered around his head, looked at A.T. and said with a sly grin, "Insurance, what you mean...insurance...you crazy fucker...I ain't got no god damned insurance!"
Wisconsin military service person of the week
Major Mathew E. Schram, 36, was killed in Haditha, Iraq on Monday, May 26, 2003. Major Schram was attached to Headquarters Troop, Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Army. Haditha is around 100 miles northwest of Baghdad. He was in a resupply convoy which came under enemy attack via rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. Mathew was a Brookfield native. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned that Schram was in ROTC while at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater before joining the Army in 1989. He was a veteran of the first Gulf War 12 years prior. He was also a veteran of America's mission in Somalia. The Journal Sentinel went on to say people that knew Schram said he had a long interest in the military. Mathew graduated from Brookfield Central High School in 1985. Major Schram is survived by five siblings; his father Earl; his mother died of cancer in 1991; brothers, David; Phil; Bob; sisters Carol and Sue; stepmother Audrey; and, eight nieces and nephews. Major Mathew E. Schram was the second Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq.
83,360 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
8,219 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,073 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
494 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
312 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
304 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
30,004 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1,944 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
90 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
10 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
127 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
15 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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