People! That’s Nasty, Rude, and Irritating!

I KNOW you have pet peeves. We all do. Here are some of mine!

  Yesterday, a man walking in front of me decided to spit. The wind was blowing MY way. Gross, folks! Think before you do nasty things!

  Last night at dinner, a man sat a couple of tables across from me and chewed with his mouth SO open that I was amazed the food stayed IN his mouth when he chewed. Gross, dude. Stop it!

  Last week, a grown man belched loudly in a restaurant and never said, “Excuse me or Sorry.” He looked proud of his sickening accomplishment. What’s up with these people? Were they raised in a barn?

  Ever have people standing waaaay too close to you in a line? If I can smell your breath, your lack of deodorant, or feel your breath on my neck, you are TOO CLOSE. Ick.

Ah, yes . . . the person on the cell phone who is talking too loudly over a meal. Never mind how rude that is to whom the person is dining but the one on the cell phone is often yelling into the phone and disrupting all of the diners around her. Please put the phone down when you are at a table, people.

The public in general has adopted many frustrating habits. I’m from the South, and my Mama taught me better than that!

Why Do People Lie and Cheat?

 

I don’t get it. Why do adults cheat when there isn’t real reason to? Example: I play bingo at a local community spot once a week. One older woman uses cards from weeks past that didn’t have wins . . . and she uses them in present weeks to “improve” her chances at winning a bingo. We noticed her playing extra cards with ink already on them, and we were told by those sitting next to her that she does this but when confronted, she merely became frustrated and threw away her current game.

I ask you, why does she do this (or try to) week after week? She isn’t destitute. She has a car and plenty of food. So, why lie and cheat? She knows better or she wouldn’t have to hide her actions.

The winnings are paid from the  nonprofit company’s cash drawer that holds the other players’ game money. They paid for their games for the present night and aren’t lying or cheating but “Ethyl” is. She’s cheating the nonprofit out of funds that could be used to help people in real need, and she’s cheating her fellow bingo players who might have a chance to bingo the HONEST way. Ugh! Makes me angry.

 

The leader of the nonprofit told her he knew about her antics and to stop them or she would not be welcome back to our bingo games . . . then low and behold, he caught her “saving” already-played games for future nights. He made her throw away her current cards as she used them.

It’s like babysitting an unethical kid. I suggested we kick her out weeks back but the leaders are trying to give her a chance to shape up. Yeah, right.

Liars and cheaters really tick me off.

There’s nothing innocent about it. Nothing cute about it. And nothing “ok” about it. Ethyl, stop it!

 

I need to hang around with my real friends – ones who are ethical, honest, and play fairly. I think I’ll do a little reading from a book by the Dalai Lama about treating other creatures with respect and care.

Wish me luck. LOL.

Religion and Politics . . . Hit the Mute Button!

Shhhh . . . someone at my table begins discussing religion and politics. Invariably, they’re Right Wing Republicans, and I find myself activating my tongue’s mute button. I’m different, you see. My family, friends, and even my partner are quite conservative. I used to be one of them too but one day I realized I could no longer hide who I was or what I truly believed.

Yes, I voted for Obama. Yes, I believe in a woman’s freedom of choice concerning her body. Yes, I believe homosexuals deserve the same civil liberties as heterosexuals. I want a national healthcare plan. I want our government to care for the homeless, penniless, and the abused. I’m a registered voter who votes, and I usually vote Democrat.

I’m surrounded by Christians who have literal beliefs about the bible. I live in America’s Bible Belt. It’s not easy being liberal here. I believe in God. That’s all I want to say about my religious beliefs, though.

I’m greatly blessed to be an American. I love my country. My fiance’ is a retired Air Force Sargent who volunteers daily to help our veterans better their lives. I’m proud to be able to freely express myself.

I love people, in general. I never meet a stranger. I’m generous, caring, and help wherever I can. I’m honest, respectful, and a good bit gullible because I think everyone has an open heart like I do.

So, when religion or politics are discussed, I silently sip my iced tea or nibble my salad. Their arguments and passion of belief amaze me. I hear much ignorance in their statements. However, it always passes and a new subject of conversation begins,

The weather? Why, yes, it has been lovely lately, hasn’t it? Back to common ground. 🙂

New Beginnings ~ Simplify!

Last week-end was “moving day,” and this Saturday will be “finish moving day.” I only relocated about 500 yards from my original house but am saving $225 a month by doing so. It will be worth it.

Y’know how moving means having to go through EVERYthing you own? You evaluate whether to keep things or donate them (or auction them) but all the while, you struggle with wanting to clean out your clutter but also wanting to keep things “important” to you. It’s mentally exhausting sometimes.

By moving every few years (more often in my case), you can keep your surroundings simplified. I’ve downsized this time and am loving it.

My point in this blog is to ask you how much “stuff” you have in your home environment that could (should) be culled, thrown in the trash, taken to Goodwill, or auctioned? In my experience, a cluttered home causes stress and makes me ill at ease. The older I get the more I want to simplify my life.

Think about your closets. Do you actually USE everything in them? What about the chests of drawers you may have goodies hidden in? I found two sets of keys and had no idea what locks they fit. I guess I’ll toss them this time around.

Spring is upon us. I want a clean, airy, fresh home with NO clutter or dust (that second part is harder for me to keep up with). I want to grow herbs in my new little backyard flower bed and use them when I cook on the old propane grill, savoring the scents and tastes of my own production.

A new beginning, that’s what moving feels like. (Hold up your glass) Here’s to new beginnings! Cheers! (now go clean out your closets)

😉

Hands, Hands, Hands

There are people who have fetishes and then there are people who just pay more attention to a certain body part. I’d have to say that I notice hands.

When I meet someone and he/she shakes my hand, I look and notice my new acquaintance’s hands. Are the fingers long and thin? Short and stubby? Are the nails long or short? If it’s a man and he has “female” looking hands, I assume he has a job that doesn’t require much finger strength. A woman with dirt under her unpainted nails? I wonder if she’s a gardener . . . possibly herbs, my personal favorite thing to grow.

Hands say so much. I look down as I type and see wrinkles in mine. I see veins and red polished fingernails that need touching up. My hands say I have washed them many times in my forty-nine years of life. They say they belong to a short, full-figured woman who likes to look pretty. My hands have inner secrets, though; don’t yours?

My hands have done things they shouldn’t have. They’ve also done heroic things that few know about. They have patted the back of an infant, soothed a dying friend, and embalmed an autopsied murder victim (I’m a Funeral Science major). My hands have planted gardens, petted kittens, and made large pots of soup. They’ve scrubbed bathrooms, scraped icy windshields, and wiped tears from the eyes of a loved one in pain.

Hands may not be the windows into the soul as the eyes are said to be but they carry out the work that needs to be done every day of our lives.

I love people’s hands. They’re wise and wacky, sad and happy, old and young – everything all at once. It’s hard to hide who we are. It shows in our beautiful hands.

Serhiy Tkach, Serial Killer and Rapist of Dead Females

 

 

(Wikipedia exact wording source) Serhiy Fedorovich Tkach, Ukranian, born September 15, 1952, is a former police criminal investigator, originally from Russia, and a convicted serial killer who claimed to have killed 100 people.

He suffocated girls aged between eight and 18 and performed sexual acts on their bodies after they were dead. Although Tkach admitted his crimes and demanded the death penalty, after a one-year trial, a tribunal sentenced him to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of 36 women over more than two decades.

Over the years, nine people had been wrongly jailed for some of the murders of which Tkach was later found guilty. One of the men who was wrongly accused killed himself. Another was not released until March 2012.

What kind of mind does these acts? Thinks these things? Lives with himself each day? How do we stop this?

Obamacare – Still Not Addressing Illegal Immigrants

 

People who know me know that I love my fellow man, am not a tolerater but an accepter, and that I am the first to help the underprivileged of our nation.  That being said, I have a question about why Obama’s new Health Care Laws allow illegal immigrants to go without the “Government Mandated Health Insurance” that the rest of us are forced to carry. We’ll even receive a hefty fine if we do NOT carry health insurance. I guess that’s why my Mexican neighbors (literal neighbors), who are here for jobs and other benefits, but don’t pay taxes and get to avoid the hassle of reporting proof of health insurance to the government – they aren’t legal citizens. For that matter, why do my neighbors not have to GAIN legal citizenship in the first place? They benefit from government funds but don’t  have to pay in – ever?

I guess if you’re not a citizen then you don’t have to “prove” anything. Just send your kids to our already-crowded schools and take Americans’ already-scarce jobs (yes, Americans still want these lower paid jobs, too. Just ask my friend, J).

I am not understanding how our government isn’t arranging for aliens to have to become tax-paying citizens. Please (nicely) explain to me if/why I’m wrong on this subject.

Thanks ~

Fukushima Nuclear Plant – Another Quake – 6.0

 

 

Photo taken by Kyodo on July 18, 2013

“Following the meltdowns of two and a half years ago, crews at the Fukushima nuclear plant have been struggling hard to clear up the damage done by the natural disaster. TEPCO has recently acknowledged that one of the problems it cannot solve is that crippled reactors continue to leak highly contaminated radioactive waters into the Pacific Ocean.  The process of decommissioning the reactors is likely to take several decades, and according to recent estimates, it is going to cost Japan up to $58 billion.”  – rt.com/news

Why do we not hear more about this? Radioactivity is steadily leaking into the Pacific Ocean. How much? How damaging is it? How damaging will it be in the  “several decades” that it will continue leaking? Are we being told the truth of the actual levels of radiation coming from this site? Nuclear power is dangerous. It only takes “once” for disaster to strike. It’s a throw of the dice. Once is enough.

America’s Favorite Things

I’ve wondered what Americans find most worth while when they have free time. I looked over books, food, hobbies, and movies.  Maybe these will give you ideas of what to do the next rainy day or sunny afternoon!

What are America’s favorite books?

A Harris poll that survey 2,500 adults, and the results are below:

1. The Bible
2. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
3. Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
5. The Stand, by Stephen King
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
8. Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
9. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
10. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CNN Travel gives America’s Favorite Foods. (Try a new recipe).  Here they are in no particular order:

• Key Lime Pie
• Tater tots
• Sourdough Bread
• Cobb Salad
• Pot Roast
• Twinkies
• Jerky
• Fajitas
• Banana Split
• Cornbread
• Meatloaf
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Potato Chips
• Baked Beans
• Popcorn
• BBQ Ribs
• Frito Pie
• Nachos
• Reuben Sandwich
• Cheeseburger

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

America’s Hobbies –

* Gardening

* Cooking

* Fishing

* Sewing

* Golf

* Hiking

* Cycling

* Crafts

* Swimming

* Camping

* Bowling

* Dancing

* Billiards

* Painting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

America’s Favorite Movies?

• The Godfather
• Gone With the Wind
• The Wizard of Oz
• The Graduate
• Shindler’s List
• Some Like it Hot
• Star Wars
• Psycho
• All About Eve
• The African Queen
• Bonnie and Clyde
• Chinatown
• High Noon
• Annie Hall
• Amadeus
• King Kong
• Jaws
• Fargo
• The Deer Hunter
• Pulp Fiction
• Blade Runner

New Toys Make Kids Nutty?!

(I wish wordpress would include a variety of fonts and font colors for us who get sick of posting in tiny black and white all of the time)

Onto the post . . .

Living in 2012 is special. We get to Skype, IM, text, email, and Tweet! Oh, and make phone calls from the bathroom stall at McDonald’s if we want to. Maybe not all changes were necessary.

Children’s toys have changed a bit, as well.

I saw a toddler’s toy yesterday and realized it was an outdated relic, but was still being manufactured. Remember the rolling toy telephones? They had eyes in front and a rotary dial on top? The receiver was bright red and was attached to the phone by a curly cord. The same kids’ parents who buy this toy – also buy their children IPads and also share with them cartoon Youtube videos from cell phones. It’s likely that these children have never seen a rotary phone – possibly not even a land line, push-button phone. How does this particular toy fit into the “needs” of a toddler?

Does a toddler have toy needs anyway? Give ’em a pan and a wooden spoon. They love drink lids, too. Granted these things aren’t bright colors and do not make 27 noises.

Society wonders why the rate of ADHD has skyrocketed. I wonder if it’s because there is so much noise and light bombarding their poor senses every day.

My sweet grandson is almost eight months old, and he has what other babies have, as far as toys go. I was astounded by the amount of sensory stimulation that my grandson gets daily. TV, Youtube videos, noisy, bright things everywhere. I even get stressed by the constant “stuff.”

Don’t get me wrong, my daughter is a primo mother. I’m very proud of her. It’s not her parenting skills I am addressing here. It’s the toy companies’ R and D departments, manufacturers, and retailers who think our kids MUST have these bright, seizure-inducing, hyperactivity-conducing, “educational” toys (yeah, I’m a little passionate about this subject).

What happened to these?

This was a simple, colorful, linking, plastic toy. Inexpensive, and kids loved it!

What about these?

Toys were easy to understand. There were no musical red elephants with flashing lights in their butts. Kids had toys to kindle their imaginations.

I miss parts of the past. “The good old days?”  No, not always. But, where kid’s toys are concerned, not everything newer is better.

Oh good lord!