Bravo Piers Morgan!

Piers Morgan's outspoken views on gun control need to be applauded! It's unbelievable that anyone could actually start a petition against him for talking sense.

Even as the world was watching the Newtown funerals, local newspapers carry exhortations from DNR to take your children hunting and shooting. One picture shows a man holding a rifle in one hand and his son's hand in the other off to shoot. Really!

How about forming an organization similar to MADD. Lets call it MAGS - Mothers Against Gun Stupidity. Lets take on the 'unbelievably stupids'!

eBooks from Richland Library

I found out recently that you can login to the Richland County Public Library using your library card at richlandlibrary.com, and download eBooks.
I found out recently that eBooks were available at the Richland County Public Library, and that you could download one for free using your library card.

I found out recently that you could eBooks were available at the Richland County Public Library. I  was delighted and promptly downloaded a book, to read on my iPad using the free Kindle apps. Wow! This was super!

Just like a book that you would check out, the eBook that you have downloaded is available for 3 weeks. You can also save one on your wait list and the library will send you an email when it is available.
Sadly, eBooks are just a fraction of the books at the library so your choice is limited.

But... here are some interesting stats of genres of available eBooks:
Romance 4,218
Mystery and Suspense 1,999
Historical Fiction 1,548
Science Fiction 1,436
Horror and Thrillers 1,026
Classics 390
Short Stories 229
Western 142
Humor 100

So... What do we glean from this? In Richland County, romance reigns supreme and humor is woefully lacking! Just saying...

Cyril the Squirrel - I

Can animals be trained? What a dumb question, you ask. How about those orcas at SeaWorld that are trained to do the most amazing acts? How about legendary flea circuses? And everything in between?

Yes, of course, animals can be trained. And it’s easy. Read my story.

Outside my study is the deck and a beautiful dogwood at its edge. As I look out my window, I have a few strategically placed bird feeders on the dogwood. Plenty of birds come to those feeders – a woodpecker couple, sparrows, sunbirds, blue jays and cardinals. Many more that I can’t name. And squirrels.

The one I call Cyril (not a very original name, I admit) runs up and down the dogwood, the railings of the deck are his playground. He thinks the bird feeders are for him and tries to get at the suet block inside. He hangs precariously, his hind legs holding onto the nearest branch, spread-eagled in air to snuffle through bars of the bird feeder and dig out morsels.

Then he figured out how to open the clasps of the feeder, so that the suet block falls down and its happy pickings for Cyril and his lady.

When the feeder is empty and the suet block all gone, he jumps onto the handrail of the deck and then onto my window sill. He’ll jump around on the narrow sill a couple of times.

‘Hi, Cyril,’ I call out. Then with a piece of bread in my hand, I step onto the deck. ‘Come on, Cyril,” I say loudly and proceed to break the bread into bits and spread them on the handrail. Cyril waits till I am back indoors and gets to the bread.

Cyril the Breadaholic

Once I took some squishy blueberries and spread them on the handrail. Nope. Cyril was not pleased. He didn’t touch them. Okay, I thought, he’s a bread-aholic. Like me. Somehow, that pleased me.

Lately, he jumps on my windowsill and puts his paws on the window and peers at me. I feel so special. So honored. I promptly go and break bits of bread for him.

Who says you can’t train animals? Cyril’s trained me!

Vacant Properties are Targets

According to Elizabeth Duke, Federal Reserve board governor (from Realtor Magazine): ‘Vacant homes pose a major challenge to the housing and economic recovery… and that these can be more than just an eye sore; they can have substantial negative impacts on the surrounding community.’

One major negative impact that we’ve seen is that these homes are a target of break-ins. Appliances, ceiling fans and HVAC systems are all stolen with impunity.

Distressed properties are not the only ones so targeted. Vacant homes in high priced neighborhoods are also being broken into.

Last year, an upscale property in an upscale neighborhood was broken into and the thieves stole the stainless refrigerator and cooking range. They had kicked in the back door, opened the garage and pulled their truck in. Then they took their time dismantling and carting away the appliances.

This year, at another vacant property, thieves stole the air-handling unit and went into the crawl space and ripped off wires, presumably for their copper content!

Last week, while showing a home to a potential buyer, we found that the wires to the air-handling unit were cut. Were the thieves disturbed or were they planning on hauling it away that night?

Homeowners at 25!

This year, several of my clients have been young people in their mid-twenties. These smart kids know the value of home ownership, or rather, their parents have instilled in them the value and pride of home ownership.

 

And they have all been young women.

 

Kay, a nurse’s assistant, was 24 when she started looking for a home. She was straight out of college, single and at her 1^st job, but decided that she did not need Mr Right to buy her a house. She knew exactly what she wanted and had saved enough for a down payment.

 

Like most young people of her generation, she was computer savvy, had looked at a lot of homes online before going out to see homes. She had great credit, had talked to a loan officer and got pre-approved and was all set to go. What a dream client!

 

We had a contract on a home before her 25^th birthday and she moved into a brand new home a month after her birthday!

 

Jay, another young lady, was 26 when she bought her new home. Like Kay, she had done her homework on areas that were suitable for her and had saved for a down payment.

 

Both these ladies are from small towns, and Columbia is the action-packed metropolis. As Jay said: ‘They had just 1 traffic light in her town, and Wal-Mart was 10 miles away.’

 

Their protective parents and siblings made several anxious trips to make sure that their head-strong daughters chose the right home in a safe neighborhood.

 

I have just helped yet another young lady buy a home – same scenario - very smart, has great credit and has put money by for the down-payment. And… she picked out her dream home in 2 days!

 

These were the more fortunate ladies with no school loans and no babies from teenage pregnancies.

 

Dee came to me 2 years ago. Sadly, her credit was bad and she needed to get that fixed first. With 2 babies and a boyfriend not worth mentioning, I know how difficult it was. But… she has fixed her credit and attended homeownership classes to qualify for a down-payment assistance program. $4,000 that could be forgivable is not a bad deal, right? She now has a contract on a home and hopes to close soon.

 

This leaves me wondering… why aren’t young men saving up and buying homes?

One More Good Samaritan

   As I waited for my luggage at the Baggage Claim in Columbia, I noticed a gentleman talking on his cell phone with a lady standing listening to his conversation. They were on the other side of the carousel and both looked like Indians but I was concentrating on identifying my bag and didn't talk to them.

   At the taxi stand I saw the man talking to a taxi driver, but he approached me and asked if I knew where Forest Drive was. I said I did and turned to give the taxi driver directions.

   The man said he had a rented car and was trying to find the Extended Stay to drop off the lady. Her son was graduating from Fort Jackson, he said, she had flown in from Guatemala, no one had come to pick her up and her cell phone did not work. And, he added, she knew very little English!

   He had actually flown in from California and was on his way to Orangeburg. He had seen the lady waiting and had helped her - first calling around to find a place for her to stay and then going out of his way literally to drop her.

   So... I got in the car with them, we dropped her off at the Extended Stay and he dropped me home.

   Did I mention that it was past midnight and he had another hour of driving to do?