Jim's Yard Art

06/01/2026

06/01/2026

My neighbor declined to compensate my 73-year-old mother for babysitting, claiming she was "just sitting at home anyway." I intervened.
My mom is 73.
She rises at 6 a.m. daily, irons her clothes as if she’s still employed, and maintains a small notebook where she records every expense — groceries, prescriptions, even bus fare.
She doesn’t voice complaints. She never has.
So when our neighbor, Claire, inquired if my mom could care for her 3-year-old daughter a few afternoons a week, my mom was hesitant.
"I don’t need much," she stated. "Just something fair."
Claire agreed to pay her $80 each day. Cash. No paperwork. No fuss.
The first week went without a hitch.
My mom arrived early, brought snacks from her own kitchen, and tidied up the toys before leaving. On Friday, Claire paid her in full.
During the second week, Claire smiled and remarked, "I'll get you next week. My paycheck is late."
My mom nodded in trust.
The third week was no different. "Next week. I promise."
By the fourth week, my mom still hadn't received a single dollar.
She finally mentioned it again — softly, politely, almost with an apology.
Claire sighed as if she were the one facing a hassle.
"Well," she remarked, "this has actually been a good learning experience for you."
My mom blinked. "A learning experience?"
"At your age," Claire went on, "you really shouldn't be taking jobs without contracts. That's just common sense."
Then she added, with a smile, "Besides, it's not like you had anything better to do."
My mom didn’t argue.
That evening, she returned home, sat at the kitchen table, and opened her little notebook. She crossed out four weeks of anticipated pay.
Then she closed it and said, gently, "I should have planned better."
That’s when I felt a chill settle in my chest.
Claire believed she was clever.
She thought an elderly woman wouldn’t speak up.
She assumed that being polite equated to being weak.
She was mistaken.
Because the first thing I did that evening was walk into our garage. ⬇️

06/01/2026

06/01/2026

Sen. Mazie Hirono criticized President Donald Trump over White House ballroom project, arguing the administration is prioritizing prestige projects while Americans face higher costs for everyday goods. Her comments come as inflation data has shown consumer prices rising faster than expected, fueling renewed debate over the economy and cost-of-living pressures.

06/01/2026

Colton Harris-Moore grew up in a falling-apart trailer on Camano Island, Washington. His father left when he was a toddler. His mother struggled. There was rarely enough food.

So he started stealing it.

At first it was just survival. He broke into vacation homes while the owners were away and lived inside them for days at a time, eating their food, sleeping in their beds, watching their television. He was 13 years old.

Then he found the flight manuals.

Colton had never been in a cockpit. He had no training, no license, no instruction of any kind. But he had stolen aviation manuals from the homes he broke into and had spent hundreds of hours playing Microsoft Flight Simulator. He decided that was enough.

He was right.

His first stolen plane barely made it off the ground. By the third one he was flying cross-country in the dark. By the time the FBI got serious about catching him, he had stolen 6 aircraft, 19 cars, 11 boats, and broken into over 34 homes across three countries. He always committed his crimes barefoot. He left his footprints at every scene on purpose.

The FBI put a $10,000 bounty on him. He was being hunted by the FBI, Homeland Security, the Canadian Mounties, and the Bahamian Defense Force simultaneously.

He had 80,000 Facebook fans cheering him on.

While on the run in Washington he stopped at a veterinary clinic, slipped $100 through the door with a handwritten note that said "Please use this money for the care of animals." He signed it.

His final act was stealing a Cessna in Indiana and flying it solo across the ocean to the Bahamas. He crash-landed in a mangrove swamp. He kept running. Police eventually cornered him at a marina, shot out his boat engines and and arrested him in the water at 3am.

He was 19 years old.

He was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison. Fox 2000 Pictures paid $1.3 million for his movie rights. Every dollar went to his victims.