Anger is Unhealthy, & I Can't Help But to be Angry!

So, there I was in our truck with Taylor, Austyn, Ryleigh, a huge suitcase, a bag loaded with Easter goodies, Mark's bike, blankets, games and snacks. We were driving to Fallon to visit with Mark. They are doing work-ups and I hate them. Basically it means that we get to see him 2 weeks at a time with runs months in between where we don't see him at all. Sometimes we aren't able to talk and have to settle for emails to communicate. Well, he's been gone for about 2 weeks now and we wanted to visit with him since Easter is coming up. We were to drive about 6 1/2 hours northeast to see our favorite man in the world. We traveled along the 99N until we hit the 80E. We already hit traffic twice before, so I was a little thankful that traffic was at a minimum. We were just trucking along (no pun intended), when we literally just hit a traffic jam. It was bumper to bumper and there were no signs of budging. We didn't move for at least an hour! We at least had a good time and cranked up the tunes and goofed around until my migraine would no longer allow me to listen to music at a deafening volume. I read somewhere that banana peels help to relieve headaches, and it just so happened that I had bananas in the car! I peeled one and stuck a piece of peel to my forehead. Taylor was embarrassed and amused and Austyn and Ryleigh thought I had finally lost it. I don't know how long you are supposed to leave the peel on your forehead, but it didn't help at all. During that time, a swat truck, about 10 or 15 highway patrol cars and sheriff cars and an ambulance all drove by. At first I thought maybe it was a very bad accident, but then realized; that many police cars and a swat truck don't exactly spell out fatal accident. One of the digital output signs was flashing saying "Turning all traffic 1 mile ahead." This wasn't good news for me. We only knew of a single way to get from point a to point b. We finally started moving along and were quickly detoured onto a road which led nowhere. Actually, it lead us back onto the 80...WEST. The complete wrong direction that we needed to go. After finding an AM traffic radio station, I finally figured out what all the hub-bub was about. Some lunatic con decided to hold his entire family hostage. I posted the article I found about it below. So, thanks to this "Jason" guy, I would be lost and forced to head the opposite direction of my destination. Mark didn't have the slightest clue as to where to go, nor did any of his friends. His suggestion was to find a gas station and ask someone for directions. That didn't sound like a plan or even a good idea at that point. It was cold and raining, the only gas station was a hole in the wall that had port a potties for restrooms and it seemed like everyone was in the same predicament as I was. Oh yeah, not to mention that I would have to drag my 3 kids around with me while I tried to rely on a complete stranger for sound traveling advice. I don't think so. So, I decided to utilize our OnStar services and called them for directions. I clearly stated that we were heading to Nevada and not California. They quickly had me back on the road with turn by turn navigation. What a life saver, right? That's what I thought. Well, the genius who helped me out must have accidentally set my directions to our account address instead of to NAS Fallon. I was heading south and didn't think much of it, because I knew I'd have to head south a ways in order to cut over to a sufficient route. Well, a couple of hours later, I am instructed to turn onto the 99S....this road takes me HOME! So, then I thought, okay, well maybe they are like really taking me a roundabout way. I called Mark and told him I was half tempted to just go home. He said he wouldn't blame me if I did at that point. Then I called my good friend Jessica and asked her how far Lodi was from Lemoore. Yes, I was a mere 2 hours from home. Are you kidding me? At this point, the kids were all sound asleep, I was irritated, aggravated, stressed, angry; anything negative, you name it. This was not turning out to be my day. The OnStar navigation told me that I had left my route and said it would come back on when I neared my route. Low and behold, it tells me to take the 41S, which again is straight towards home, and then it tells me to take the 198W, which heads straight for the base. Once on base, it tells me that I have now arrived at my destination. Are you serious?!?!?! Oh I was livid. That genius man who set up my directions deserves to be fired for sending me home instead of to my husband. I was beyond angry. So, I slept on it for the night and tried to recover from my migraine. Which, by the way was so horrible that I had to pull over to vomit. Appetizing, huh. When it rains it pours. So, this morning I called OnStar and their quick band aid fix is to give me two months free of service. Honestly I feel like I deserve a hell of a lot more than just two months of free service. A trip to Fallon, NV which should have taken me 6 hours took me 10 1/2 hours and the only place I went was home. So, do you see why I can't help but to be angry? All I wanted was to spend some time with my husband, but apparently the universe didn't want that to happen yesterday, so hopefully he can make it home to us for the weekend and for Easter. We miss him terribly.

I-80 Standoff Suspect Surrenders to Authorities

FOX40 News

April 9, 2009

NORDEN, Calif. (AP) - A man who had been holding his wife and three children hostage on a freeway near the Sierra summit has released them to safety before eventually surrendering himself, officials said Wednesday night.

The tense standoff with an armed man with a shotgun lasted with about eight hours and shut down the main northern artery linking California and Nevada near the summit.

Andrew Jason Rosas, 32, of Sacramento, released his family members first before finally surrendering peacefully to authorities, said Stan Perez, chief of the California Highway Patrol Valley Division.

"There were several heroes tonight," Perez said. "The SWAT team negotiators saved five lives, including the bad guy's. I've been doing this job for 32 years and to see the baby coming out in a blanket in the arms of a highway patrol man is what this job is all about."

Sacramento County Sheriff's Capt. Scott Jones said Rosas fled as deputies tried to arrest him on a warrant after his $70,000 bond was revoked. Rosas was scheduled for sentencing Thursday and faced more than 15 years in prison, Jones said.

After deputies spotted the man in his vehicle at a fast food restaurant, he led them and CHP officers on a chase that reached speeds of 80 mph, said Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. R.L. Davis.

A spike strip stopped his sedan on Interstate 80 near Norden, about 90 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Officers brought a relative from Sacramento to help in negotiations and Rosas released his wife and children, ages 14, 9, and 11 months, into the hands of CHP officers. Rosas surrendered about two hours later and the freeway reopened shortly after.

"They were feet away from a man with in shotgun and willing to risk their lives to save the children," Perez said. "It was a great day for the highway patrol."