Friday, March 6, 2009

Shooting Husbands

Long ago in a land far away, sixteen women shot their husbands within a two week period. It was in Houston in 1961, and the cops were responsible.

It seems that when women were finally allowed to put restraining orders on their violent husbands and ex-husbands, they kept calling the cops to come remove the offenders. The cops got tired hauling in the same fools all the time, so one day when a call came in from a distressed wife, the deputy who answered the phone said, "Lady, why don't you just shoot him?"

The rest is history - which I would verify if I could find the story on Google in 30 seconds or less. I can't though, so my mother's version of this tale will have to be taken as Truth.

As Mother tells it, within a couple of weeks sixteen men were shot. I doubt anybody got killed or it would have been a bigger story and I'd have found it on Google. I don't know if it was 16 men or 26 either, and it doesn't matter anyway. What matters is that the dang cops are the ones who told the women how to manage the shootings so they wouldn't get in trouble, and the women all thought it was a fine idea.

I know it's a true story because my father remembers hearing drive time disc jockeys at 5:00 rush hour warning husbands, "Don't be number Seventeen!"

I don't know if restraining orders were just becoming prevalent in the US, or if someone finally told women in Texas they had the right to protect themselves from abusive men. You never know about that stuff in Texas since the well known holiday Juneteenth came about because it's when the slaves learned they had been freed two and a half years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation.

Even if I moved back to Texas tomorrow, I would get in trouble for shooting Buzz Kill. And I really don't want to shoot Buzz Kill. I just wish he weren't such a dumbfuck, aka Buttroy, about money. It has occurred to me that a major reason I was involved with three or four narcissists in a row during and after my divorce (Stonerdate 9.28.08) is that dealing with narcissists is so mind-boggling that I was completely distracted from being so enraged at Buzz Kill that I filed for divorce.

The Narcissist period was important to my personal development in all kinds of healing ways, but now that it's over, I can no longer ignore the steam coming out of my ears every time I talk to Buzz Kill about money. About anything at all for that matter since I'm so pissed about the money I can't see straight.

It'll be all right, though. Next year we'll sell the apartment, I'll get all my money and only talk to Buzz Kill when there's something going on that involves Velvet.

Velvet leaves on Sunday for a week long trip to Yosemite National Institute. Last year, Velvet went to Olympic National Park in Washington State. Before that Velvet went to Yellowstone. Velvet gets to go all over the damn place - but it's all for the good of humanity since he's fixing to become an Environmental Hero. He got accepted to the Environmental Engineering school at University of Colorado at Boulder in addition to SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. We're all very proud of our young Al Gore with Panache. His zits have even started to clear up.

Once his plane is in the air, I've got a date with the Nice Accountant from Brooklyn. According to the Weather Channel, spring will be in the air.


10 Comments:

Blogger Gail said...

Wonderful to hear of Velvet's successes and travel plans. :-) I recall such pride when Dolan went to the Hope' Indian reservation out on the Mesa in Arizona to help re-build homes. It is such a wonderful feeling when our kids are kind, good and 'just'.

I wish some cop had told me to shoot my "X"....I love that true story a lot!

Peace and love
Gail

March 6, 2009 at 6:12 PM  
Blogger PENolan said...

Good Morning, Gail
xo

March 7, 2009 at 7:29 AM  
Blogger Comrade Kevin said...

Yes, it will be very warm this weekend!

March 7, 2009 at 12:05 PM  
Blogger yellowdoggranny said...

wow, velvet's a cool kid..must get it from his ma...
i don't remember the 16 shootings, i was in calif then..i'll ask my aunt leola, she's been in houston since..the 40's...she'll know for sure..
you know you're going to have to come to west, texas on labor day...
google westfest.com and see what you have to look forward to.

March 7, 2009 at 5:55 PM  
Blogger yellowdoggranny said...

i'ts been in the 80's all week...yippee..need to go out looking for bluebonnets

March 7, 2009 at 5:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice Accountant sounds promising. But then they all seem that way :(, oh well. Good luck with him! And congratulations to Velvet.

March 8, 2009 at 11:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yup, Tricia, I tried to find this one on google but no luck. Methinks its wishful thinking

March 8, 2009 at 11:39 AM  
Blogger Life As I Know It Now said...

I have been fighting with the hubby over money all weekend and we got to where we weren't speaking to each other by Sunday and that was a good thing. The problem as I see it: I want to save it and spend wisely and he is just a drunken sailor spending all his money in no time flat and then comes to me all the time with his hand out. He won't sit down with me to discuss money and budgeting either--he just gets mad as blue blazes if I even bring it up. With the economy tanking the way it has lately, this subject keeps coming up.

March 9, 2009 at 3:19 PM  
Blogger Life As I Know It Now said...

ps. did you come and get your newest award?

March 9, 2009 at 5:50 PM  
Blogger PENolan said...

Liberality, I saw the cat, read the poem, got distracted by the cute animals, scrolled down to those pokes at the Republicans and got stuck on Frank Zappa. Didn't even notice my name! You're very kind to include me.

Money fights are a big, fat drag. I hope you find a resolution to yours.

Granny - I'm counting the days until I get to see bluebonnets. It better not get so hot they all go to seed before I get there!

Crowscious - as you may have already noticed, the accountant episode continues.
Bruce - I'm fixing to go read about mummies.

March 9, 2009 at 9:54 PM  

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