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Musings on anything. |
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My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| I attended a Lewis Black concert Friday night! I laughed out loud a lot, I dropped my jaw a few times, and I shook my head in disbelief a few times. In the encore, for his live streaming, he read some rants received by text. The longest one that he spent a lot of time embellishing was about dog scoopers. I did not realize that so many people were scooping it up, instead of pretending they didn't see it. He claims they are scooping it up in little bags, and leaving the bags where they fill them. They are lying all over town, all over the sidewalks! They stay there for days at a time, heating up in the sun, getting smellier with age. Who is supposed to pick them up, the City Fathers? Homeowners, business owners? Are we going to create new city jobs for poop bag collectors? Will everyone's taxes support the dog owners in this way? If someone had put up some signs, it wouldn't have changed a thing. A letter to the editor would be quickly forgotten by a small readership. People would ignore pleas on the evening TV news. But Black, while shaking and waving his hands and swearing prolifically, over a lengthy period of time had us laughing hysterically. He shouted for emphasis at odd places. I am confident that no one in that audience will ever leave a dog bag wherever they please. He used comedy to drive home some strong points about consideration and etiquette. It's amazing what a little comedy can do. |
| DAY 2658 February 26, 2020 “And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ― Sylvia Plath Do you agree or disagree that everything is writable? Where should the line be drawn? That's easy to me. You draw the line before you become libelous or hurtful. Saying your sister is a lying, cheating, thieving adulteress may be true, but writing about it may end or at least damage your relationship with her, and possibly hurt other members of the family. Other people don't deserve to be hurt because we want to be expressive. Otherwise, we can write about anything our character thinks or feels or discovers. And sometimes it does take guts to write about it. Sylvia Plath had guts herself. These days it even takes courage to write about conservative moral convictions and family values. |
| I don't believe everyone needs college. Lots of people are quite successful without it. And if everyone had college if they wanted it, wouldn't that be like extending high school? I'm already in favor of shortening high school and teaching independence at 16 or 17 instead. Why prolong adolescence for everyone? College graduates tend to believe they should have nicer jobs at higher pay and benefits. Would they agree to collect garbage, or work on automobiles or shampoo dogs? I'm already thinking that I, a mature woman, should take some classes in basic auto mechanics. Some graduates now end up working in retail, having planned to do better things. Are we going to warn a whole class of 18 -year -olds that a college degree does not guarantee your dream lifestyle or a great paying job? They must be prepared to work as grocery clerks or plumber helpers with their free degrees. Our society is already dumbing down. With free college to prolong dependence on parents and delay growing up, the quality of education will suffer. Professors will be forced to lower their standards and make passing easier to get more students through. Where will future plumbers and electricians come from? Where will we get truck drivers or diesel mechanics or people who repair lawn mowers? In fact a lot of necessary positions can be filled by people with shortened higher education. Barbers and beauticians have to have some basic health classes as well as technique. Preschool teachers can get by with a two year associate's degree. So can CPN's, of which there is a shortage. Medical offices need good people to process insurance, and it only takes a few classes. Such a person will be in demand. Dental hygienists are in demand and require a shortened term. A college degree doesn't give you everything you need in life. I got my bachelor's, but I never learned how to tell if the auto mechanic was lying to me (only the hard way) or how to invest my money or balance the budget. It didn't teach me to cook or do job interviews or handle problems on the job. It never got me a good-paying job. I'm not attempting to deal with the college debt problem here. I want to clearly state that college education for everyone is overrated. One can always change careers later on and pick up college classes at some later stage of life. It's hard for most 18 year olds to decide what they will do for the rest of their lives. Maybe coding a computer works for now, and at age 30, or later, they want to prepare for law school. Everyone is unique and needs to follow a unique path, which doesn't have to be supported by all the taxpayers. |
| What is it about kids and "hate"? They love to use the word, and, frequently use it loudly. I remember my baby brother shouted outside to my mother "I hate you!" It crushed her. It was so embarrassing, because she was convinced that all of the neighbors inside their homes had heard him say it. I was just a teenager and tried to convince her that he didn't mean it, and, in fact, didn't know what he was saying. But nothing could calm her. She was hurt to the core, and felt this little kid had accused her of being a very bad mother publicly. As a child myself, I had once found myself thinking that (I knew not to say it out loud; I liked to avoid confrontations even at an early age.) I remember being alone in our unfinished basement. I cannot remember what caused the moment or where anyone else was. As soon as I thought the words, I thought, "No, I love her. I love my family. I'm just mad. It feels like hate, but it isn't." I guess most kids figure that out somewhere along the way, and stop or never say it out loud. You can be angry or disappointed with someone you love, without losing the love. My great nephews are now going through a hate phase. One is four, and one just turned two, so the older one has influenced the younger one. We actually have a "Hank hates me club" to which his mother, his aunt and I all belong. And he screams it. Give him some time, and he'll be leaning over my chair to look at the book I'm reading to his little brother, or he'll giggle when I play with him or tickle him. He even asked me to zip up his jacket after yelling he hated me. The two year old doesn't yell it yet. He had just told his mother he wanted to stay with me one night because I'm nice to him. Then before he went home, he told her he hated me in a calm, matter-of-fact voice. He obviously doesn't know what it means. So I know not to take either of them seriously, but I confess it stings a little. I suppose that growing up involves figuring out the basics of love and hate, and how anger fits in all those complicated relationships with friends and families. Learning that words can hurt is a harder lesson, and apparently, some grown-ups haven't passed that particular class. |
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I marvel at the things I'll be able to tell my grandkids about someday. Life is accelerating - or maybe it just feels that way!
I completely sympathize with your desire to declutter. I have more stuff than you can shake a stick at that didn't actually belong to just my wife or myself throughout the house.