Garage Sales Should Be Outlawed

What is it with people and garage sales? I honestly don’t understand the fascination of running from garage to garage rummaging through other people’s discards. I guess maybe it’s a geographical thing. When I lived in NYC I hardly ever, almost never remember seeing garage/yard sales. My family lives in Texas and, at  least in their particular area, garage sales are few and far between. I live in Upstate NY and just about every weekend you can see people selling their used crap all over the place. People with battered lamp shades and 60’s velvet paintings, happily carrying their new-found treasures under their arms abound.

I was on my way to my son’s football game yesterday. Traffic was moving along pretty well, at about 60 miles per hour. All of sudden this idiot two cars up spots a garage sale and stops dead in his tracks almost causing an accident. Are garage sales worth risking life and limb for you and those around you? I wanted to get out of my car and punch him in the head. My daughter tells me I have road rage. Is it too much to ask for a crazed garbage picker to pull over when it’s safe and then turn around? Garage sale goers please do us all a favor and shop at the Salvation Army from now on. Whew…I feel better now that I’ve gotten that off my chest.

I’m Sticking With WordPress.com

Maybe it’s just me, but after searching the web for free blog hosting sites I have come to the conclusion that WordPress is the easiest site to use. I’ve tried blogging on other sites and find it frustrating and confusing. WordPress has so many easy to use features it makes blogging a breeze. As far as upgrades, they are so affordable compared to other blogging sites. I thought I’d expand my blogging options by writing elsewhere in addition to writing on WordPress, but I don’t think the frustration and aggravation is worth the effort. So, without having any monetary motives I’d say out of all the many blog hosting sites available, I’m sticking with WordPress.com. Just thought I’d share!

Why Do Men Cheat?

It happens in the workplace. It happens in residential communities. Hell, it even happens among church-goers. Cheating. Infidelity. Screwing around. What ever you want to call it, it hurts and damages relationships. Although women are catching up to this male-oriented phenomenom, men still dominate the world of cheaters. Cheating isn’t about sex, it’s about little boys who’ve never grown up and need to know they’re still desirable and wanted by females (and sometimes other males). It’s about feeding the male ego. Cheating is about boundaries or the lack of them. Many people are tempted. Afterall we’re only human and humans are sexual beings. Human beings may not even been designed for monogamy. A true sense of love and devotion should be the main reasons not to cheat. 

Politicians have a long history of being philandering husbands and ever-suffering wives cope differently in response. Hillary recently said, when referring to her husband’s indiscretions and infidelty, that it was only through her devout faith was she able to get through the painful ordeal of Billy boy cheating with Monica. She would have been better off praying to god that little Billy got a raging STD and lost the use of his manhood. What an inspiring, modern woman Hillary is.  

As long as men and women coexist in the workplace and elsewhere infidelity will contine to be the wedge that rips marriages apart. Marriage counselors are the only ones that benefit from cheating. Studies show that once a cheater always a cheater. Forgiving an adulterous affair will more than likely lead to repeat offenses. Men are good at pleading and promising and they know if they plead and promise long enough they’ll be forgiven. If there are no consequenses then the cheating will continue.

They’re Spitting In Your Food.

My ex was an idiot. What am I saying…he’s still an idiot. A trucker by trade, he thought he was a connoisseur of fine dining. Namely every truck stop between NY and LA. I made it a point not to go out to eat with him because he was so rude to the waitstaff. Being a waiter or waitress is a damn hard job and they don’t need anymore grief than they already have. But no, Mr. Know-It-All can never be satisfied. I guess that’s why he screwed around, but that’s another story. One particular time my ex and the kids and I were out school shopping for the day and there was no way around it. I was stuck dining out with the moron. We went to one of those diners in the mall and took our seats. We placed our orders and waited.

The waitress brought our meals and the ex looks at his burger and demands that she take it back to the kitchen. He decided the burger was underdone and he couldn’t eat it. Both the waitress and I looked at the burger and we exchanged looks. The burger looked well-done to me and obviously to her as well. She did as she was told and brought it back to the kitchen. She came back shortly with a new burger. As soon as she put it down he made a disgusted face and demanded she take it back again. This time the bun was soggy. By then both the waitress and I both wanted to dump the plate over his head, but being the ever obedient servant she brought it back once more.

I looked at his stupid smug face and said, “you know you’re gonna get the Special Sauce now don’t you?” He looked at me with a clueless face so I was forced to elaborate. “Don’t you know that cooks get pissed if you send the food back?” “Haven’t you seen Dateline or 20/20?” Suddenly the idea dawned on him. Obviously, the connoisseur of fine dining had never thought of this. When the waitress came back with his food he thanked her, pushed his plate to the side and never said another word. I guess he was wondering how much bodily fluids he had unknowingly consumed over the years.

Karmic Payback?

Many people throw their hands up and are quick to say, “What’s the matter with the world today?”, “Where did our country go so wrong?” I have a theory that the struggles, wars, climate changes and extreme weather we now experience is simply karmic payback.

Long, long ago in a faraway land known as Spain there was an Italian born man named Christopher Columbus who refused to stop and ask for directions, as men often do. He wanted to go to India, but ended up in a strange new world. He and his crew met some friendly natives and promptly changed their name to “Indians”. Later, many of these Indians were raped, exploited and made into slaves. 

Let’s fast forward to the 1600’s. Not long after the English colonists settled in what would become the United States, plantation owners decided they needed free labor on their massive farms. So they decided to enslave Africans and bring them to the U.S. Eventually 17 million Africans were shipped to the Americas between the 17th and 19th centuries. They were beaten, raped and treated like animals. 

Now let’s take a look at Mexico. The U.S. decided Texas and California looked pretty good so, as is tradition, they fought Mexico for them, overtook them and said the greedy leaders, “nana, nana, poo-poo we took your land”. I’m not sure but I think this is how the American game Monopoly was invented.

It’s surprising how many Americans don’t know that, during World War II, Japanese-Americans, these were American citizens, were taken from their homes, separated from their families and forced to live in concentration camps. Why would the U.S. commit such a grave injustice? Well, during World War II, Americans became very suspicious of  Japanese-Americans and decided anyone of them could be spies, so just to be sure they gathered up decent, hard-working Americans and forced them to live in tiny barracks with little or no food.

Obviously, I’m leaving out more of America’s shameful history here. This is only a blog and not a book. My theory is that, since the birth of this nation, there have been some pretty nasty goings-on here. It’s one thing to defend yourself and your country. It’s entirely different to do nothing more than trample on the rights of others and behave like bullies who see something they want and take it. I fully believe that what we experience now is simply karmic payback. The birth and rebirth of certain medical conditions, extreme and catastrophic weather, global warming, terrorism and other forms of punishment are just a few examples. Time and again we’ve been given a chance to redeem ourselves. Take New Orleans as just one example. A catastrophic flood occurs, but instead of helping members of our own country, what did the U.S. government do? They sat back and watched as an estimated 1,500 American citizens perished. There is no memorial. There is no granite wall with etched names. There is no tribute to those who’s lives were lost. There isn’t even an official list. Some might say this is cynicism on my part. I call it realism.

Double Standards and Gender Bias

My mom grew up in a culture that valued males more than females and as a result there was a definite double standard in our household. My two brothers never, ever did anything domestic around the house. I, on the other hand, did the “girl type” chores. I never remember my brothers playing anything but cowboys and indians and climbing trees. Besides the typical sports and matchbox cars, my boys played Barbies and Pretty, Pretty Princess with my daughter and fought over who’d get to wear the pink beaded jewelry. Aside from an occasional Barbie beheading, they genuinely played with the dolls and so-called girl games. I remember my brothers, however, popping the heads off all of my dolls and laughing while I sat and cried. I don’t remember if my mom nixed the girl play or it was just what my brothers thought was expected of them.

I made sure that my sons did as much housework and chores as their sister did. They did their own laundry and helped around the house. I couldn’t imagine my mom expecting that of her sons. I was determined not to play the same gender games with my children. Determined to stop the madness of labeling children according to their sex, I decided that I’d put an end to the gender bias that is so prevalent in hispanic culture. No way would I be the subservient female who’s sole purpose was to cook, clean and cater to her man. I had a responsibility to my daughter and my sons to set a more Americanized example for them.

Fortunately, today many Mexican-Americans are also becoming more Americanized in their thinking. Traditional roles of the male as dominant and the woman as passive and subordinate are changing and falling away. But sadly, many cultures still do not value women in their society. Males in some countries would rather hack off their own testicles before accepting women as their equals. We, as American women, still struggle to be treated as well as men in society, but fortunately we are far ahead in our thinking than many other cultures.

Bunuelos/Fried Dough

Every year, when I go to the state fair I head right to one of the many fried dough booths. I know it’s deep fried and not all that good for you, but I don’t care. It’s worth the risk of clogging my arteries. Just about every culture has it’s own recipe for fried dough, but they’re basically all the same. As the name implies, it’s simply dough that has been fried in either oil or lard and sprinkled with either granulated or powered sugar and a little cinnamon. I love seeing my Grandma, but since she lives in Mexico, I don’t see her very often. Whenever she visits she makes sure she makes a batch of bunuelos for the family. Of course this is fairly involved because she makes a large quantity and it’s all made from scratch. But I’ve found a shortcut to making fried dough and it tastes almost as good.

I buy the cans of biscuits near the cookie dough. I can usually separate the large biscuits into forths or at least halves. They’re not flat like bunuelos, more like donut holes, but just as tasty. I fry them in my Fry Baby (I have to get a Fry Daddy so I can make more at one time). In the meantime I take a ziplock bag and put my choice of either powered sugar (which I leave plain) or granulated sugar (which I add cinnamon to) and shake it up. I know my fried dough is ready when they turn golden brown so then I remove them from the oil and drain them on some paper towels. After they’ve cooled off slightly (the sugar sticks much better if you coat the fried dough while it’s still warm) I put a few at a time in my ziplock bag and shake them up. They’re certainly not as good as Grandma’s but they make an quicker, easier substitute until her next visit.

Prejudice Is Alive and Well and Living In America.

Why do so many Americans forget what our country was orginally built upon? Immigrants from many countries settled here for economic reasons and to escape religious prosecution and political struggle. But now, over 200 years after the birth of our nation, we still hear stereotypical, racist and prejudicial remarks about certain ethnic cultures.

Depending on the geographical location, the prejudice varies. California residents are often quick to blame Mexicans for all that is wrong in the country. Floridians, many times, make derogatory remarks about Cubans. It’s not uncommon for New York City residents to make racist remarks about Puerto Ricans. Often stereotypes are so commonly used, they are assumed to be factual. According to Gustavo Arellano, author of “Ask A Mexican”, “what Americans know about Mexicans are tequilla, borritos and illegal alien savages.”  They fail to accept that Mexicans are hard working members of society who, like other immigrants (including their very own ancestors) who came before them, are simply looking for all the opportunities that native born Americans take for granted. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the way African-Americans are still being treated in the U.S. This ethnic group didn’t come here willingly and are still victims of intolerance and prejudice.  Take a look at New Orleans and you’ll have to admit that, if these were whites, these American citizens would never have been ignored and left to die.

Is prejudice something that will never go away? Are Americans always going to be mistrusting and unaccepting of every group of new immigrants? Is this just a right of passage that each group has to endure before becoming accepted as a true American? How sad that prejudice has become an American tradition.

Let’s Just Put The Pipe In The Crackhead’s Hand

I grew up in NYC in a not-so-great area of Brooklyn. I’ve seen my share of crime and I’ve also seen my share of police brutality. There’s no other word to describe it, it’s brutality. It’s been my experience, no matter where I live, Brooklyn, Cali, Upstate NY, that men with power issues become police officers. While I’m not saying that every cop on the force is part of this classification, I’ve seen way too many to discount the fact that the majority of cops are abusive, power hungry jerks.

Keeping my opinion in mind, what does anyone think will happen if you put a 6′, power hungry jerk in a uniform and leave him in charge of deciding what is excessive use of force? Years ago cops had guns and batons to wield at unruly and not so unruly citizens. That was bad enough. But now some genius decided that cops need to step up to more dangerous weapons of force. Tasers and stun guns are being used so freely and often that it’s become common to see horrifying video of some poor guy who’s exercising his right to free speech being tasered while begging not to be tasered. The cops know that if they shoot someone purely because they aren’t submitting as quickly as they’d like there will be much more to explain later. But, apparently the use of tasers doesn’t need any explanation at all, even though there have been several deaths related to the use of tasers.

So, let’s continue to hire intimidating 6′ power hungry men and place tasers in their hands to use at their whim. Why don’t we just put crackpipes in crackhead’s hands because they’re just as unlikely to use them.

OMG BFF, TOTBAL

Text messaging: the latest way to keep in touch with your friends without having to actually talk to them. My son can text a hundred words a minute with one hand behind his back. Back and forth he’ll go for at least a half hour at a time talking to friends. I often ask him why he doesn’t just call them instead. He usually just replies that he doesn’t really know why not. He says he prefers to text. Maybe it’s because the kids get to continue using all the acronyms that are so popular with instant messaging. It’s a language unto itself.

But what about texting while driving? I’ve seen my son do it. I’ve warned him how dangerous it can be. But, I also know I can’t always sit beside him in the passenger seat and he’s going to have to use his own judgment. However, I would be inconsolable if I had to answer the door at three in the morning to hear an officer tell me my son has been in an accident. What earth-shattering conversation could possibly be so important that it can’t wait until you’ve arrived home? As if talking on a cell phone weren’t enough, studies show that texting on your cell is even more dangerous. In a recent poll, nine out of ten citizens said they felt texting while driving was as dangerous as driving drunk or impaired. But at the same time they still admit to doing it. I can’t even drive, turn my headlights on and fiddle with the radio stations all at the same time, let alone carry on a conversation by texting. I feel it’s as dangerous as drunk driving and I absolutely don’t do it. 

Some Americans think both federal and local governments are in our business too much already. Some states have helmet laws that prevent motorcycle riders from riding without helmets. Personally if I were to ride a motorcycle I’d wear a helmet since I don’t want to crack my head open. But, does dictating that we wear helmets trample on our basic civil rights? Afterall, if I decide to go sans helmet and I do crack my head open who else am I going to hurt? It really isn’t a hazard to anyone but myself. But texting and cell phone use in general is dangerous to everyone. It’s been proven to be a major driving distraction by the Insurance Information Institute and has resulted in many serious accidents.

Cell phone companies have started airing public service announcements making consumers aware of the dangers of texting while driving. These companies say that educating the public is more effective than banning texting while driving. But of course, cell phone companies don’t want to cut into their already hefty profits by losing their rapidly growing teen market. So they do have something to lose here. But, we as citizens have much more to lose and many states are responding by passing laws against cell phone texting while driving and that’s a good thing.