Soup's Cookin'

 Sure smells good in here. The dinner menu says chicken noodle soup tonight and biscuits. The aroma coming from the kitchen is heavenly.  

I rearranged my bedroom (again!) this morning 'cause I thought I heard on the radio that having your head face north is better for sleeping. After I got it all done, I googled the subject and wouldn't you know!  I got it wrong. Google said:

When you sleep with your head pointing north, your body's magnetic field interferes with that of earth. ... Sleeping with your head pointing North can also disrupt your blood circulation and lead to disturbed sleep. In order to prevent such a scenario, it is better to avoid sleeping with your head facing North.  Some believe that sleeping with your head pointed south reduces the risk of high blood pressure. Sleeping in a westward direction can cause nightmares, according to anecdotal claims.

I'm keeping it this way for a while anyhow 'cause I like it. My head was at the west wall but my nightmares have been HORRIBLE so I'm hoping maybe the different direction will be to my advantage. I had insomnia really bad last night because I was stressing about the meeting I had had earlier in the day.  I wish I could let things go but I let them fester for years. I'm still mad about the knee surgeon I had in 2013.

My sister in law came by today to show me the quilt she made for my sister, Janie.It's really something.

One of the websites I visit is quora.com  They often have interesting stories on this and that. Today it was about the Godfather movies. (my favorite)

What did real gangsters think of the Godfather trilogy

 This is a story told by Mario Puzo himself, so I don’t doubt its authenticity.

One day Puzo and Coppola were eating togther at a New York restaurant. A couple of very tough-looking guys seemed to recognize the duo, who began to get a little nervous. Eventually these tough guys, dressed in tuxedos, came over to the table and said to Coppola:

“Just remember, he made YOU, you didn’t make HIM!” And then they left.

For the wise guys, the Godfather saga was almost like scripture. And as much as they honored Coppola for directing the films, the guy they really praised was the author, Mario Puzo.

They may have even known that Puzo grew up knowing guys like that, and had his mother not stopped him, he would’ve gone into “the life” himself. Instead, he wrote crime novels like an insider, and the real wise guys knew that.r

Another column was about the secret service:

Which Presidents did the Secret Service like most?

I know a guy who worked on the investigation side of the USSS and let me tell you that they have stories that make any law enforcement organization seem tame. They tell stories of breaking up fraud rings in the hundreds of million dollar range like some people talk about their golf game 

It used to be where agents done with protective responsibilities ended up after they burned out but now it is elite and prestigious in its own right. But still a lot of agents go there and actually want to go there rather continue on protective details.

So my friend, who was never on protective , knows enough people and has great stories to tell. He just retired so he’s pretty up to date. 

Many people think the Clinton’s were bad, and they were especially Hillary, but Trump is the worst by far. He has an incredible temper and regularly blows up at the agents for otherwise trivial things. There’s the one story about an agent who asked the president to wait for the car to come around and Trump went off on him. He has fired so many agents no one can count. (Of course they are not fired, fired but he still thinks he can force them out of the service)

But he loves to hear about the threats he’s getting and the USSS tells him this and that and that actually makes him thrilled with the service. If you remember that one press conference where they had to whisk him off stage? That was something he just loved and couldn’t say enough great things about the service until they did something that pissed him off.

His rallies are a nightmare only because they have to confiscate so many weapons from people going in. There is always someone who cries second amendment, especially in open carry areas, but they have to do it and are always worried they didn’t catch them all. Also, politics aside, some of those people are so pumped up that they are afraid that some one wishing to do harm would not stand out.

As for the ones they loved, most worked with George W and couldn’t say enough kind things about him. He used to wait to fly out to his ranch until late morning on Christmas so the agents could have Christmas morning with their families

Contrary to what you might hear they liked the Obama’s very much. There were some growing pains but both Barack and Michelle ended up being very appreciative of their agents. Around Christmas time when the went to Hawaii the president always asked for volunteers to go. He said he never had to ask twice.

The two girls were easy enough, better than the Bush girls, and the agents were under strict orders to report any talk back or trouble they caused. 

The funniest story they told was about a foreign dignitary. Prince Phillip was in the US on business that was just him. He was in his late 80s and always joked with the agents that he was going to make a break for it and they’d never catch him. He built a great rapport with them and was kind enough to send each agent a thank you card.

I started a new jigsaw puzzle yesterday but half of it was all red and when I wasn't getting anywhere, I decided it was getting put away and I'd start the new one I got from my step-sister, Shannon.

And that's it for this gray December afternoon.