Summer's Begun

Whew! A busy Memorial Day Weekend so far. Today is just a relax at home, eat a few burgers and sit back!

Started the weekend on Saturday planting flowers. Bought my favorite Begonias. Easy to care for and very hardy. Began at my significant other's (henceforth known as MyGuy) house turning the soil and preparing the flower beds. I was much surprised because it turned out an easier task than I expected. Not too many weeds, and the soil turned easy. A cute little robin would not leave us alone. He kept jumping around us, never seeming to mind that we were humans and his enemy! I believe he was a pretty smart robin because he knew the worms and bugs would be easier to get to after we prepared the soil. After a few hours there, I brought the remaining Begonias back to my apartment and planted some pots on my apartment balcony. I was not going to "waste" the money for plants on my balcony this year, but I am glad I did. They look fabulous!

Saturday night, I kicked off the summer season by joining some friends at The Pier Shops at Caesars, first having a beer at Trinity, the Irish Pub, then eating a fantastic meal at Contintental. MMMMMMM!!! Seared tuna! Then, off to one of the AC beach bars to have a beer, listen to the music and watch the crazy drunks dance! I wasn't really in the dancing mood so I just sat and enjoyed. One rather drunk young man kept coming over to our table to dance, jiggling his ass and saying, "what do you think of that?" Still not sure if he wanted Joey or Patsy, but I don't believe he could have done much with either, being so wasted. But he was having fun, and so were were.

Sunday night it was Woodys Bar in Philly to dance the night with the boys. I really did not want to go but was talked into it and I am glad I did. Been awhile since I've been to Woodys, and it was actually fun, fun, fun! Ran into a nasty thunderstorm as we drove over the Ben Franklin Bridge and the winds and rains kicked up once in Philly. I have never experienced Philly in a thunderstorm and it was quite interesting. I enjoyed watching the pedestrians running for cover once the rains came.

So the Summer has begun. Looking forward to NYC for a weekend in June, and Boston and PTown in August for Carnival. That, and hopefully the usual poolside and beach side adventures, in addition to the BBQ's and family gatherings that make summer so much fun!

The Question

It’s 2017. The US has been so busy in the Middle East that it has let its guard down and not been able to protect its borders as well as it should. China launched the attack in 2014, and overthrew the existing President and Congress, and has now helped the US establish a new government. The US people were able to vote, but that government, of course, was created by the Chinese authorities and it’s pretty ineffective. What do you assume the reaction of the people of the US is?

There are, of course, insurgent groups carrying out attacks against the Chinese troops occupying the US. These insurgents attack when most inconvenient to the Chinese troops. The insurgents are called “terrorists” and the varying insurgent groups often fight each other as well; each wants to be in power. The Americans call for the occupying Chinese to leave, but the Chinese government insists it must stay because that is what the American people need and want. The Chinese government tries to decide what to do with the US in order to leave so its people are not killed and the US is not left in utter chaos.

A fantasy? I hope so! But it does sound somewhat familiar, doesn’t it? The US in Iraq. Today I read in the paper that another Senator, Sam Brownback, is calling for Iraq to be divided into three states and separate the warring factions. Brownback is not the first to call for this division, but what hit me was, “Why is the US, anybody in the US, telling Iraq what should and should not be in a country that is not the US’s in the first place?” Who is the US to decide what is best for Iraq? And what makes the US not understand why the Iraqi’s hate it? Would the US just sit back if China or some other country overthrew the government and occupied the country? I think not!

Trying to Redeem Himself

Isaiah Washington of Grey's Anatomy does a public service announcement to be aired on ABC. Every little bit of help for the GLBT community helps.

What Choice To Make?

Yesterday I wrote about making choices. I stated that we all have choices to make in life and we choose what our lot in life is. I also admitted it's sometimes easier said than done to make good choices. It's not always easy to figure out which choice is the best. Today, in Parade, the magazine that comes in the Sunday newspapers, I was given a realization why it is so hard to make the right choice in life. In Parade there were 2 articles that puzzled me. One article was titled, "How to Jumpstart Your Diet," by Michael O'Shea. O'Shea gave tips in the article on dieting, one of which was to eat foods that make you feel fuller than foods that leave you hungry soon after eating them. O'Shea said apples are nutricious and make you feel full. So eating apples is good, right? Well I always thought so. Then a few pages later in Parade, was another article titled, "How to Stop the Sneezing," by Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld. In the article, Dr. Rosenfeld summarized 4 ways to help allergies, one of which was to "avoid certain raw foods-like apples, pears and carrots-which contain a protein that resembles pollen and causes a reaction in people who have pollen allergies." Well, I thought apples were nutricious and good for you? Which choice to make?

The Choice Is Yours

About 8 months ago, Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, died after swimming with sting rays and getting stung. About 3 weeks ago in Mays Landing, a guy who had robbed 2 banks in the area was running from police, smashed his vehicle, got out of the car and fled on foot, was confronted by a police officer, was shot and killed. Yesterday in Mullica Township (Atlantic County), a 30 year old Hammonton man riding a dirt bike was being pursued by police, when he ran a red light and hit a vehicle, then was thrown from his bike and smashed into another car, being killed! What these 3 guys have in common is that they all made a choice, then paid with their lives by the consequences of these choices. All our choices come with consequences!

We have all made choices throughout our lives, some of those choices good and some not so good. We have all had to live with the consequences of the choices we have made. If you choose to swim with the rays or chase after crocodiles and pull them by the tail, you may become famous and have your own tv show, but you also risk getting hurt! If you choose to rob a bank, sure, you may get away with a ton of money and live happily ever after, but you also may get shot and killed. If you run away from the police, you may get lucky and return home safely, but you also may end up in jail or dead!

The more of life I experience, the more important it becomes to me that the choices we make are so very important. We hope to make good, smart choices that get us ahead in life. We all want to do things that make life easier and more enjoyable. But we're all human and making bad choices, out and out mistakes, happens! We can make all the excuses in the world we want to as to why things have happened, but the bottom line is we all make choices. I am not so naive to believe that it's easier for some people to make a good choice than others, and I also realize that depending on your situation in life it is easier to make some choices than others. I know it is easier for a 25 year old to leave a job he is dissatisfied with as opposed to a 45 year old with a family and kids depending on him/her to bring home the bacon. Speaking of which, I hear coworkers all the time moan and groan about their work. Quite honestly, I often come to the point where I just feel like saying, "Get a new job then!" Again, it's one's choice to be in a certain line of work, and if it makes ones life that miserable, then get out and do something else!

So we all make choices. And we've all made those horrid, life-altering choices that can really mess things up. So what? Where do we go from there? Well sooner or later, you have to stop the pity party and choose to alter things and make them right again. We all get knocked down in life, but what we do after getting knocked down is what's important. Do we lie on the ground, crying, "Whoa is me!" Or do we get up off our asses, dust ourselves off, and make another choice to get things right again?

You're A Rich Girl

"You're a rich girl, and you've gone too far 'Cause you know it don't matter anyway. You can rely on the old man's money..." (Rich Girl, John Hall and Daryl Oates). Let me try to find some sympathy. Let me try to shed some tears! Hope Daddy's proud of you now!

I would usually show some compassion to a young person being sent away to jail, but somehow I cannot in this case!

Hate Crimes Bill Faces A Veto??!!

Sometimes it's hard to believe we live in 2008! Sometimes it's hard to believe we live in the US, supposedly one of the most advanced societies on the face of the Earth. Sometimes I am just flabbergasted and at the same time appalled. To think that Congress yesterday passed a bill that extends federal hate crimes to include crimes against gays and lesbians and gender-based hate crimes, but the bill faces a Bush veto is simply so very hard to believe. And the main reason why the bill faces a veto? Conservatives and religious groups feel the bill will target ministers who speak against homosexuality. Others think the bill will elevate the status of homosexual to that of other minorities! A hate crime is a hate crime! And whatever group is included in the law is just a plus in my book!

I am so sick of the "holier than thou" minority forcing its beliefs on me! I am so tired of the religious right running this country! It's time we all stand up and say, "Enough is enough!" I don't oppose any one's religious beliefs, so don't oppose my freedoms either! I hope, and pray, that Congress has enough votes to override any veto of Bush.