make some noise

I realize as a country girl I should be taking pictures of the strawberries, the kids swimming, the peonies bursting forth in our pastoral setting. Yet there is a house being built about a half mile away. From the constant thrum of engines, diggers, concrete mixers and the like you'd swear that I lived in the middle of the construction site. Methinks the creek enhances the accoustics of our new neighbors' McMansion.

So much I could write about in this post--I'm leaving Team Testosterone Sunday for Utah to meet the Screw Iowa Gals for 5 days of writing/critiquing/planning/reinvigorating. I'm so anxious to hear what they think of my current MS and to tell the others what I think of theirs--the scenes I loved, the scenes that should get cut, the descriptions that enhanced, the characters that were dead on. I know that for all my planning and prepping to go, it'll be worth it to return lighter and enthusiastic--and a little sad that I won't have time to get cracking on my MS with their advice until Team Testosterone goes back to school.

But my crazy schedule has nothing on this.

Dear Mary Alice, True Patriot and Bloggy Friend needs you to help spread the word. She's a military wife living on base. You know how the Walter Reed fiasco erupted a few years ago? Apparently military housing is in a similar reprehensible state. Sub-standard and positively dangerous.

Floors that buckle and warp. Venting and siding filled with mildew. Paint chipping and peeling. Cabinets with worthless hinges. Poor drainage, inadequate space, stained toilet seats, leaking roofs.

actual pictures lifted from Mary Alice's blog

Readers, Mary Alice doesn't live in the ghetto, her family plays $2,759.00 a month to the VHA to live in this house. The VHA contracted with a privatized housing company to run the show. And when her husband gets promoted? They'll get to pay more in rent.
Show your outrage--link to this story or report on it--make it public. Write to your legislators and insist on fair and decent treatment for the people making the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Tell them to hold the private company accountable. Tell them to align the rents according to the property value. Tell them to fire the slumlords and start the process of rebuilding/rehabilitating the base housing.

Posted in: Rants