HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY RUTH!!!!!!!!!

Happy 6th Birthday to my Princess Mary Ruth! It seems like it was just yesterday that she was born. Now she’s a big sister with a little sister and a little brother. She has her own music tastes and is her own person. Sometimes I think I’m harder on her than I should be… but I’m not as hard on her as The Wife is. True story: The Wife has been on Mary Ruth for over a month now because Mary Ruth couldn’t find her Leapster. I mean, she’d go on and on about how can we get stuff for Mary Ruth if she couldn’t take care of it and on and on and on. Well, last Friday night The Wife found the Leapster… up in the area where she puts all of Mary Ruth’s toys when MR is being punished. That’s right… The Wife was the reason the toy was lost. This, friends, is how my life is now. I can’t wait for MR to turn 13. Anyway, Happy Birthday Mary Ruth!!!! I love you very much.

So, now that Christmas has passed I can tell you the story about The Wife’s battle to get our family pictures printed at Wal-Mart. About a month ago The Wife had a friend take family pictures for us. This is something that the friend does to make a little money on the side (though, to my knowledge, she doesn’t charge people). At least, she didn’t charge us (but we gave her some money anyway). If you got a Christmas card from us… that was one of the pictures she took. So The Wife uploaded the pictures to Wal-Mart and checked the little box that said we weren’t going to get into any copyright problems. She then goes last Tuesday to pick up the pictures… only to have the old guy working behind the counter tell her that he couldn’t sell them to her because they looked too good. They looked like professional pictures so unless she had a copyright release form, she couldn’t have the pictures. The Wife took this news well, and by “took this news well” I mean she went all white-trash (her words, not mine) on them and started showing out (again, her words). She started demanding to see the manager and started yelling at the employees. Yep, that’s my girl. Haha… To be fair, she asked them if she could just sign something saying we own the copyright to the pictures and they said no… she either had to bring a signed statement from the company we got the pictures from or (and this really happened) she could get the photographer to come in and tell them it was ok to sell the pics. I think that might have been what set The Wife off (because it was so stupid). Anyway, before storming out of Wal-Mart (which isn’t easy since the photo area is at the back of the store) The Wife told them to throw away the pictures because she would never spend any more money at Wal-Mart. Like you, my first question to The Wife was “Did you watch them destroy the pictures?” That’s what I would have done. So then I couldn’t stop wondering if our pictures were still there. After all of this, she comes on Tuesday night and has to order our pictures from Costco. Wednesday, she sends me to Wal-Mart to see if our pictures are still there or if they were destroyed like she told them to do. I go in there and after waiting at the photo center counter for about 10 minutes, I go find someone to help me (some guy working in the electronics area). I tell him that my wife sent me to pick up pictures. He asks me what kind of pictures. I say I’m not sure… my wife just told me to pick up our pictures from Wal-Mart and I’m not even sure I’m at the right Wal-Mart. I gave him my last name and then watched as he started looking around. I see that he’s found some pictures, but he doesn’t look like he wants to tell me he’s found them. Sure enough, he comes over and says he’s got them but it looks like someone has written on the envelope that there is a copyright question. I don’t say anything, I just look at him. He goes on to say that whenever pictures look professional, they have to have the customer fill out the little form (that he then gives to me). He points out that there are two options… If you check the box for the first option, you are saying that you own the copyright for the pictures (then you have to fill out your name and address (I think… or maybe you just need to print your name and then sign the form). Anyway, the other option is to say that you don’t own the copyright. If you do this, then you have to bring in a signed form from the photographer/company saying you have permission to buy the pictures there. So I checked the box that said I owned the pictures and printed and signed my name “Jackson Horres” and went to the front to pay for the pictures. Ok, I signed my real name… but honestly, I could have put any name down. The guy I was dealing with didn’t care. I’m sure the jerk The Wife had to deal with would have wanted to see two forms of picture ID, but my guy didn’t care. So I got the pictures and The Wife got mad at me for not yelling at anyone. Again… this is my life.

Oh, I also went by Costco on Thursday to pick up our pictures there. They didn’t have me sign anything… they just gave me the pictures (after I paid, of course). So if you would like to purchase a picture of the Horres family, just let me know.

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Captain Dayton P. Clarke (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 12, 1864 at Spotsylvania, Virginia. His citation reads:

Distinguished conduct in a desperate hand-to-hand fight while commanding the regiment.

Second Lieutenant Powhatan Clarke (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 3, 1886 at Pinito Mountains, Sonora, Mexico. His citation reads:

Rushed forward to the rescue of a soldier who was severely wounded and lay, disabled, exposed to the enemy's fire, and carried him to a place of safety.

Watertender Edward Alvin Clary (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on February 14, 1910 on board the USS Hopkins. His citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Hopkins for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of the accident to one of the boilers of that vessel, 14 February 1910.