Child warriors

Once upon a time boys played "Cowboys and Indians", even "Cops and Robbers", and the neighbors knew that they were playing, and they thought it was creative and healthy. Today, everyone wonders, "is that a real gun?", or "what are their parents teaching those boys!?". It is not that it is any less creative or healthy to use your imagination, it is because toys have become too realistic (not much imagination there...), and it would appear that too often maturity doesn't separate the "play" from the real like it used to. Toy guns get traded up to real ones, or - since they are so realistic but not really real - toy guns get brandished as if they are real - perhaps as a joke... And everyone wonders why that poor innocent child got shot??
I recently had to fight the gun battle with my son. It seems that one of his friends had a surplus BB gun which he gave to my son. I hate it. It is still in his room and I cringe every time I see it. It is my belief that most [semi-sheltered] teenagers do not comprehend the dangers that such a weapon carries. The unsheltered [i.e. exposed, wizened, "street"] teenagers do. By being in possession of such a weapon in certain situations, anyone - even [semi-sheltered] teenagers are considered a lethal threat. To police, gangs (they're everywhere), even to the homeowner with a right to protect his/her property. I have expressed this to my son and (I hope) I have convinced him not to take this BB gun anywhere, though I wish he would just get rid of it all together...
But what about this? It is not enough that we have BB guns that look like lethal hand guns, now we have toy assault weapons? Would you put this in your child's hands and send them out to play?

North Korea is out of control

I am sorry. I just do not consider 500 miles a wide enough margin. I like Hawaii! I'm kind of attached to the west coast as well.
http://my.bresnan.net/news/read.php?id=17214523&ps=1012&srce=news_class&action=1&lang=en&_LT=HOME_WLNWC00L1_UNEWS

Taxes (!?)

At what rate does the Powerball tax? Seems to me that every State got their share of this one...
One ticket wins $232 million, winner gets $88.5 after taxes are deducted?? I always believed taxes to add up to about half - seems closer to 2/3.
Really!
What is the logic, taxes are $143.5 MILLION and actual winnings are only $88.5 million?
Mind you, I could be extremely comfortable at $88.5 million (!) but still it doesn't seem quite right. Somebody is running a racket.

I am Nuclear nervous...

Are you aware that 59 years ago, June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea? I wasn't.

I just got an e-mail newsletter from my FRA branch and as always it is headed off with a calendar of events. Amid the usual upcoming meetings and parades are notes of historic military anniversaries. Ordinarily I scan these dates and concentrate on the meeting dates, however this month this particular anniversary caught my eye and has since caused me anguish.
That little tidbit gave me a new perspective as I re-read some of the recent news articles about N.Korea testing missiles.
My oldest and I had a brief discussion about this before she left for school and we both agreed that surely everyone is VERY aware the ultimate devastation, physical and emotional, that any Nuclear action would cause. Certainly the scientists know this. Certainly they have made this transparently clear to their respective officials. Right? But the concern that nags at my conscience is this; we are all out there dangling Nuclear weapons at each other and threatening "comply, or else..."
I am reminded of what my dad told me pending the arrival of my first child, he said, "They will test you every step of the way"; which brings to mind the number one rule to parenting: Consistency. If you mean it, say 'no' and mean it. That means that you have to be prepared to follow through with the consequences, every time. They will test you every step of the way.
I am afraid that one of these countries might be stronger "parents" than anyone believes. And, N.Korea doesn't appear too concerned about our consistency.

"It is a laughable delusion for the United States to think that it can get us to kneel with sanctions," it said in an editorial. "We've been living under U.S. sanctions for decades, but have firmly safeguarded our ideology and system while moving our achievements forward. The U.S. sanctions policy toward North Korea is like striking a rock with a rotten egg."

Are you aware that "About 28,000 American troops are stationed across the South"?

Odd Design

I officially have an excuse. If you visit at my house and the dishes are not done, chances are that I was doing laundry. Seriously! I discovered today that the water in my house looses to suds in my plumbing design. Given a sink full of sudsy water and a washer load, the drains accept the suds and send the water out to my laundry room floor. So I now must choose between clean clothes or clean dishes - or both AND a clean laundry room floor...House rules.

You should have to get a license to have children...

WHAT IS UP WITH ALL OF THESE MOMS KILLING THEIR CHILDREN? First there is the transient 23 year old mom who was kicked out of [at least] two homes because she neglected her son (was there a clue there?). She decides that she didn't want her son to grow up "unwanted" so she suffocates him, twice - seems she almost came to her senses the first time. Can you imagine!? Today I read that another mom drowns her four year old - the seven year old survived. Four and Seven! Aren't you kind of attached to them by then?? I know that we all feel like it from time to time, but most of us come to our senses and realize that if we follow our impulses, we will never know what wonderful people they grow up to be :) I have let mine survive to fifteen (though sometimes his longevity is still in question), seventeen (yeah...) and twenty-eight. I guess, since I have kept my senses about me this long, a few more years won't hurt. But to be truely honest, it is the empty nest that scares the shoot out of me! I already talk to myself...

Tidbits: All The Presidents

I just read the latest Tidbits - May 20, 2009, titled All The Presidents. A few of these made me go "hmmm". I share these straight from the Tidbits though I list their Presidency from Wikipedia...

• Martin Van Buren - 8th President, term 1837-1841 - was the first President born (1782) in the United States. All prior Presidents had been born in the Colonies.
• James Garfield - 20th President, term 1881 - was the last President to be born (1831)in a log cabin.
• Jimmy Carter - 39th President, term 1977-1981 - was the first President to be born (1924) in a hospital.

But, the one I found most commendable...

• Herbert Hoover - 31st President, term 1929-1933, can you say "Great Depression"? - donated all of his Presidential salary to charity!

Suffocation by No nonsense

I don't wear pantyhose because...

A number of years back, No nonsense carried a low-rise style of pantyhose. I am talking about honest to god, rest right on the hips of us short [waisted] ladies. They were actually comfortable. Every time I visited my Target store I picked up two or three pair, because while comfortable, I am no less graceful. Until they were no longer there. At first I'd thought that Target had replaced them with a generic brand, so I went to the No nonsense website thinking I could still buy them online. They are acknowledged half way down the page in Sheer Hosiery under the product name Almost Bare, and that's it. They are gone. I had once found a reference that stated that my favorite low-rise hose were a test in the European market, guess we failed. Now, in all of their wisdom, No nonsense has decided that I must wear control top designed for their 5' 8" models who sport a 5" gap between the bottom of their rib cage and the top of their hip bone. On my 5' 4" frame, that rolls down into a mega-rubber band that strangles my 1.5" gap. I cannot breath.
In all fairness, No nonsense is not the only product that has disappointed me. First it was my mouthwash, Flourigard who decided that I didn't really need all of that minty flavor. Recently my Lady Speed Stick Anti-perspirant has been sporting a "new formula - Dare to wear black" sticker. As long as it is sleeveless - since they seem to have removed the "anti" from their formula.
I admit that I am a creature of habit. When I find something that I like, I stick to it. Wish the manufacturers of my favorite products liked me...

I get distracted by distracted drivers

How are they going to pass a law on that?
Seriously, yesterday I had a woman 6 feet off my rear bumper who kept reaching into the back seat to make her child comfortable. I should mention the child's car seat was placed precisely in the middle of the back seat, so she could reach I assume. I could barely concentrate on my driving for wondering what she was going to do next. For about three miles, through three streets, one of them curvy, all I saw was her twisting, reaching, glancing and waving a blanket.
All I could think was how uncomfortable that child was going to be if the mom rear ended me.
Seriously, lady. Pull over.

I live in a 15-minute town

I live in a 15-minute town and that is what I love about it.

I came from a 30-minute (or more, usually) town. The first 15 minutes was just getting out of my neighborhood. Now, I am most always early getting where I need to be, even when I am running late I still get there on time. So imagine how amazed I am at all of the others who share the road with me. These folks are always in a hurry like they have to make that 15-minutes in five. I get tailgated when I am doing the limit, people pull out of the side streets with out stopping. I almost got T-boned once, the guy was NOT going to stop. We have people going the wrong way on a one-way so that they don't have to go all the way around the block to pull into their driveway (I've seen it!), and folks cursing each other because the city took a two lane left turn down to a one lane that has the option to go straight as well. The offending driver acted out of habit and obviously missed all of the posted signs - and the months notice warning of the change for that matter.

Really, unless there is a medical emergency, there is no reason to leave your consideration at home. If you can resolve yourself to the fact that once you are on the road, no matter how late you think you are, you still have a 15-minute drive, you might get to enjoy the trip. Getting into an accident or angering other drivers does not make that 15-minutes any faster.

For the record, I allow for our elderly since I will be one too, probably sooner than I like, and for pet emergencies - which I credited the potential of to my near T-bone driver (he was directed away from the hospital).
I do not have much tolerance for cell phone talkers, over confident drivers of any age, or people who have just made themselves late.

But for the most part, I just smile and remind myself that I survived driving in L.A. (first license), San Diego (first standard), Dallas (frequently downtown to the bus station and vital statistics), Puerto Rico (the police sit in the parking lot with their bubble light on so you see them well in advance), Scotland -always a British car (wrong side of the road and roundabouts), and Sicily (scooter riders with their helmet dangling on an arm, who cross themselves as they pass the cemetery).

Slow down and enjoy the ride. Really, what's the hurry?

This is harder than it looks...

My hat's off to those of you who post regularly! It has been more than a week since my last post. I'd wanted to share some names of blogs I've considered to follow but every time (two attempts last week) I went out there looking I got lost in the link-tos. I'd spend half the day running from blog to blog only to find that most were way over my head. Then I'd spend the rest of the day dazed and playing solitare so I wouldn't have to think. I hope I learned a lesson, that being "Post first, then look around". I will give that a try and see if I can do better in the future.

It all started with the article about the toy recall due to lead based paint. Somewhere between "Fisher-Price Toys Recalled" and "U.S. Shares blame", there was an article about a Chinese executive who committed suicide over his company's part in the events. Though I kept reading and reading anything I could find on the topic, I never once saw any acknowledgement from the U.S. companies to that executive or his family. Am I the only one who sees this?