Halloween Learning Lesson

On a previous post I remember writing about having very few halloween experiences because of usually getting sick. But a recent internet story about halloween and punishment caught my eye for two reasons.

One that it was a wonderful way to administer a punishment in hopes that the person would learn from the experience. Especially in times when a slap on the hand or verbal reprimend doesn't seem to work. This young man had went into a local halloween costume store and attempted to steal it. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the owner he was caught before he exited the establishment. The owner decided a most unusual punishment would be for him to wear the stolen costume and carry a sign stating "I tried to steal this costume from the store and this is my punishment". Some might think this is cruel and unusual but hey if the young man learned a lesson and didn't get arrested so be it.

This also made me remember my one and only time in my attempted crime. I was I believe eight years old and had went on a shopping stop with my parents to a local Newberry's store. I wasn't often allowed to look around on my own but for some reason I managed to get away from my parents and explore in another department of the store. I came upon a leather fringed thin belt that for some reason caught my eye. To this day I still do not know why I thought I could steal it but steal it I did. I managed to make it come with my prize in my little purse and proceeded to hide it in a hope chest that belonged to my mom that was in my room. I opened it up and hide it in a safe place at the bottom of the chest. Several weeks later when I got home from school my mother greeted me at the door with the fringed item in hand and wondered how it got there. I wasn't able to lie my way out of it so I confessed that I had stole it from the store. She immediately got on the phone and called the store and asked to speak to the manager and handed the phone to me and made me tell the man that I had stolen the item from his store. The only thing I do remember most vividly was that that fringed belt probably to this day is still in the bottom of that chest. A little reminder to me that stuck with me and I never attempted to steal from a store again.

For today it seems pretty mild, but I couldn't imagine parading in front of the store with a sign admitting my guilt. Hopefully this young man will learn a lesson like I did that he will carry with him forever.

Happy Halloween....

Dividing Lines or Should we be Hung Out to Dry?

It was that time again to spend the morning in the transformation shop or as most people call it the beauty shop to transform my greys into color again. Its amazing how happy that can make someone, I guess I am admitting I am a little vain and trying to hang on to youth as long as I possibly can. I mentioned to the guy who does this transforming for me that I will probably end this process when I turn the magic age of sixty. I figure maybe by then I will be more willing to let age take its course. But for now I will continue going sometimes more often that I want too.

While sitting under the dryer to let the process take its course, I grabbed a magazine to read, instead of zoning out and taking a quick nap as I sometimes do. It's something I have always done. I can remember as a kid putting on the plastic helmet and turning on the buzzing dryer and tuning the world out. But today I thumbed through an older People magazine and the one story that really jumped out at me made me a little mad.

Several town across the country, as part of their HOA rules have made it not politically correct to hang laundry on the line in their yards. Are you kidding!!! What once was a part of most of us growing up is now wrong! Come on. Apparently these associations feel it brings the property value down and is not pleasing to the eye. I'm sorry this would make me made enough to thumb my nose yet again.

As a kid growing up in sunny California at least 3 times a week my mother would through loads of clothes, sheets, etc. in the wash and forgo putting it into the dryer because it was such a great day out we would hang it on the line.(That's a little untrue, the actually reason was because my father didn't want to waste money by using the dryer. Of course we had a completely fenched in backyard but everyone pretty much was a clothesline verses dryer type family.

In this article one of the interviewed stated "they didn't want to see other's underwear and unmentionables". Gee the trick to that is hang the sheets and towels on the outside and the clothes on the inside, no one would ever be the wiser. And besides who cares!! In this era of "being green" I would think people would be jumping at the chance to hang things out to dry.

I guess the people of the by gone years were too much ahead of the times. My opinion those HOA people need to re-think and put themselves on the dividing line to be hung out to dry.

Annual Business Women's Week-Off and Running

Each day I have so much scheduled on my multitude of calendars I am really not sure if I am coming or going. This busy week started off yesterday with our Woman of the Year/Past Presidents Brunch. It's always nice to surprise someone with being recognized for the good they do and we managed it yet again. Our receipient was very surprised and speechless.

Today my partner in crime and I did an early morning radio spot advertising what our club has done and will be doing this week. We were both surprised in that we managed to cover alot of what is going on and really only made one tiny omission but we get a do-over at another radio station later in the week so that will get covered too. I was surprised in that my brain could cover so much so early in the morning. To me it was early but for her it wasn't.

Zumba Exercise, Friendship Luncheon, Membership Tea, food drive is a few of the things we will be doing. I tried to make it a point this year as president that we wouldn't as I like to call it "Eat our way through the week" so we tried to schedule a couple different activities.

It's always nice to hopefully get some new contacts to mix with our hard working current members. I hope each will be a success but hey what am I saying women are always successful in what they do. It may have taken us a little while but we are determined, never give up and wear our successes proudly. If in doubt just remember with November 4th and voting coming in just a few weeks remember it wasn't so long ago we were given the opportunity to vote.

So as our Business Women's Week begins locally and also nationwide get involved in a women's issue or come to Business Women's Week, we would love to have you.

Repondez s'il vous plait (Please Reply) RSVP

I guess in the age of technology and time being spread so thin, this has become a pet peeve that seems to have gone way beyond it for me.

I can remember getting invited to parties when I was growing up and at the end of each invite the letters RSVP with usually a specific date to let the invitee know if you were or were not planning to attend. The funny thing about this is I always got so excited to be invited to parties but I never attended many parties due to usually getting to excited and getting sick so I could attend.

I find it funny now how most people seem to neglect these four letters at the end of invites today. I don't exactly know the reason why. Some of the reasons I have got in the past are mere excuses. "Oh, I forgot", "well you know I would be there anyway", or my favorite "I was wondering about that, what does RSVP mean"..I find not RSVPing very rude. When someone invites you to a function they need to make plans. Just because you have been invited you can't assume that you will come.

I find it interesting that etiquette has gone out the window with the lack of verbal communications these day. We e-mail, we text message, no verbal communications with your inter circle seems to be non-important these days.

I have come to the point that I wouldn't feel bad if I sent out invites and if I didn't getting a verbal response, I would enjoy people showing up for a function to be surprised if without telling anyone I decided to cancel the event because gee I didn't feel like put forth the effort to do it after all.

Does it sound like I am upset, well yes I am. No matter what we do, people don't respond to anything these days. They only thing they seem to respond too is if you get upset and rant and rave. Guess that's what I am doing, it probably doesn't do me any good but I've layed it out and threw my feelings on the world-wide web. I would be glad to say it in person, if you respond to my invite.

The Best Years of Our Lives

Last night while channel surfing later than usual, I came upon one of my favorite movies of the 40's. The Best Years of Our Lives was an Academy Award winning mega hit of its time. One of the first such movie to award I believe Best Supporting Actor statute to an unknown non-actor. Homer Parrish played by Harold Russell was a true veteran of World War II who had lost both arms in the war. In later years he actually had to auction his award off for financial reasons.

The story is timeless in that it reflects on the lives of three men coming back from the war to a much different small town. Frederic March, Dana Andrews and Harold Russell did a wonderful job in portraying what it was and still is like to return home after years in a war.

Several of the parts in the movie made me think it doesn't matter when it is be it any war things never change. Talk about how it would be harder on people's jobs because the soldier's were returning-some incomes had been higher paying than they would when they got back, the GI Bill for veterans returning home for housing loans, and people returning to jobs they once did and it just wasn't the same. How attitudes changed on why we fought in the war.

The title of the movie comes out at one point when Virgina Mayo who plays Dana Andrews war bride who married the uniform and not the man who came home so candidly puts it "Why I gave up the Best Years of My Life" while you were gone. Somehow I am sure than as in now, movie goers didn't agree with her statement but it goes to show things really don't change.

Harold Russell battled with whether he should marry his high school sweetheart, Wilma who felt arms didn't make a man, it's what is inside and working together to figure out how to continue was all that mattered, that still holds true for a lot of people even today who see loved ones return minus limbs and a load of psychological issues.

That old movie really isn't that old in my eyes. It still holds a lot of truth today. I am sure the next time its on a classic channel I'll make sure I watch it again..

Bullying Has Reached A Whole New Dimension

Sad to say its not hard to have an opinion about what has been not only plastered on the news and just about everywhere about what the degree of bullying has taken recently.

First, it is never acceptable to do any type of bullying. I am sure everyone at one time or another has experienced some form of bullying. My experience was mostly in grammar school and pretty much tapered off as I got older. I was teased for my last name (Boothe) with "You know your great-great grandpa killed President Lincoln". Or the other major one was "Do you live in a telephone booth?" I was also teased for having to wear shoes other than what everyone else wore because I had bad feet. I was picked on for being little, wearing home-made clothes, etc. Sometimes it would bother me more than other times but it never got to the point that I wanted to die.

One of the usual comments my parents would make was "Just ignore it". Today's kids don't seem to be able to ignore it. Why? It could be a number of reasons, poor self-esteem, peers not taking it seriously, it seems to be a number of reasons.

I think a lot of times the bullier has poor self-esteem and thinks negatively of themselves and to help them feel better they chose to put other's down. I have never understood how poking fun at others could make you feel better but some individuals choices are a little one sided at times.

With Facebook those who lived through bullying have a chance to see what some of those who bullied us have become in society. Some are still the same, some have went down the wrong paths in life but one thing I think I can be sure of, taking a life is not the answer. Also it seems when they do this they are letting the bullier win the situation. It's a losing situation really for both sides. Most times the bullier never cares or thinks what they are doing is wrong.

It used to be a part of growing up but it has just taken a horrible and sad turn for today's society. Face to face confrontation has been replaced by Facebook news feeds. It has become easier to just plaster lies and half-truths on the Internet where everyone can be a part of the upturn of this situation.

It has been said that it's the parents/teachers faults. In part this might be true but has anyone ever considered that those who were bully's continue to be so even as adults? Some never grow up or out of being mean. No one is perfect but it is something to consider.

Think before you speak--There is several quotes that come to mind but I have put my own spin on one "A leopard doesn't change his spots--only if he takes a brush and does it himself".

We can all change if we try and/or want too...

Not A Day Goes By-Giving Thanks

This week has been filled with a lot and its only Tuesday. Yesterday was one of those days when you just wish you could get back into bed and start the day all over. But the one thing that seemed to make me think as it usually does how wonderful life really is was this week was my week to deliver for Meals on Wheels. It had been a while since my last week of volunteering to deliver and I was wondering how much my route had changed.

Yes, there were some that either no longer needed delivery due to various things, but its always nice to see some of the usual faces too.

It doesn't seem, my how time flies that I have been volunteering for the Meals on Wheels organization for almost five years. Although now I am not only on the board of directors in my community and also deliver, it is not the first introduction to the organization. Many years ago my grandmother benefited greatly. So I was excited to be able to giving back and I continue to do so.

Today was one of those days that things just seemed to overwhelm me at once. While driving to deliver 1 of the 9 meals I do in town, a song I hadn't heard came on the radio. "Not a Day Goes By" by Lonestar. The original group is no longer together but the song still moves me each time I hear it. Just some of the song

Not a day goes by
That I don't think of you
After all this time
You're still with me its true
Somehow you remain
Locked down deep inside

A lot of the song relates to a couple, but for some reason this song lyrics hit me as I was driving and thinking not only about my grandma but also about how you think about people who come in and out of your life.

Most people never like to admit to anyone that they may need assistance in some way. A lot is due to pride or not wanting to be a bother to others. I admit I am that also someone who does like to always ask for help. But I guess most of that thinking is because of being raised to be independent.

It's good to know that there are many, many organizations who are their to provide a little help when needed and even in these tough economic times their are a lot of people including myself who will give a little of their time to help. I give thanks that I am able to do so and will continue to support whenever and however I can, in the memory of those who have done the same.