THIS IS FUNNY...I ALMOST PISSED MYSELF

I know that hurricane Katrina is no longer the hot story of the week now Rita has taken her place.  I received an e-mail with a funny picture and an interesting quote from comedian Wanda Sykes.  Most have already seen this picture, but you can never get enough of a good thing.





Jay: “But President Bush took responsibility.”

Wanda: “I don’t think the President should have taken responsibility…I don’t blame the President.  I blame the American people.  Y’all knew the man was slow when you voted him in.  You can’t blame the blind man for wrecking your car when you’re the one who gave him the keys.”


I could not have said it better myself.  I did NOT vote for this fool.  I cried shamelessly when he was elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.

ANOTHER SMALL STEP FOR MANKIND

     In the first post, it told a story of a twelve-year-old boy who committed suicide just so his siblings would not have to live with their father.  The father as you may remember left guns and ammo in plain view where the children could easily gain access.  Well good news, the father is finally being criminally charged.  He was charged with one count of felony child-abuse neglect causing substantial bodily harm and two gross misdemeanor counts of neglect. Yippee! We would also like to see the family court judge who made the initial ruling allowing joint custody be held accountable as well.  Hey, a baby step here is fine with us.

     In another related development, the federal government has announced an annual 400K grant for 3 years to help Nevada with suicide prevention.  Governor Kenny Guinn has suggested that a statewide suicide prevention coordinator and a trainer be hired.  I found it very odd that back in 2003, the Nevada Legislature approved a suicide prevention program but the money was never materialized.  Therefore, I guess it did take the suicide of a 16-year-old girl in juvenile hall to get the state and federal governments to stand up and take notice.




     

BATTLE OF THE BULGE

As I was entering the parking lot of the gym, I noticed that it was unsually full. I thought to myself that everybody's here working off all the beer that they drank over the weekend. I was thinking, why do I come to this place five days out of seven anyway? The answers were painfully obvious; to try and alter my distorted body image of course , and to make myself more attractive to the male eye. Let's face reality people, most men are attracted to good looking women with nice bodies. I guess this is an attitude I have had ingrained into my head at an early age and it has been difficult to emancipate myself from it.

I, like most American women have bought into the poor body image trap. I have suffered with a poor body image since adolescence and it has followed me into adulthood. That is one of the sad realities of my life. You would have a poor body image too if your father constantly told you to stop eating or you will get fat enough so you cannot fit through the front door. I am permanently damaged and shallow. Thanks so much!

Shannon wrote about this issue of women's problems with body image on her blog (which is one of my favorites on the blog circuit). She attributes women's issues with poor body image to men's images of the ideal woman and Hollywood's obsession with perfection. I think she may be onto something here. You would think in the year 2005 society's attitudes on this issue would change for Christ's sake !

I just have one thing to say to thoes men out there who want a woman with a salmming body; if you can expect it of us we have just as much right to expect it of you. I am in no way bashing all men here, I am merely trying to make a point.

How do you like me now?

ATTENTION ALL BLOGGERS!

I have recently be experiencing some comment spam on my blog. I find this very annoying. I did not start my blog to use as a advertising ground. I do not know how may others out there have encountered this, but there is a feature that can help prevent comment spam, word verification. I am sure that everyone is aware of it. To let everyone know, I have utilized this feature. If this is an inconvenience to anyone I am very sorry. I will miss your comments.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

This is something I have been working on. This is just the beginning of it. Please feel free to comment and critique. I cannot improve without constructive criticism. Enjoy!


BEHIND THE LOOKING GLASS (WORKING TITLE)


She is getting ready to face another day in her routine life. She walks slowly down the hall until she sees the looking glass. She is standing there looking at her pretty woman face. She is wondering where she is and why she is here. She asks herself "Who am I? How did I get here? Is there something better waiting out there for me?" As she stands there and ponders these questions, a hand reaches from the glass and a voice says "Come, it is all right, you have nothing to fear". With the eyes of a child, she takes the hand and steps into the looking glass not knowing what is ahead. Is she ready to see what might be revealed? Is she ready for her questions to maybe finally be answered?

Now she is behind the looking glass. She sees a pathway and wonders what she has gotten herself into. Suddenly she hears a voice say "If you do not go, you will never know". With hesitation and fear she walks slowly down the path until she sees a small green house. It is wintertime, she sees children playing in the snow, faces red from the bitter cold.

IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY THERE IS TRIUMPH

Just out of curiosity I researched the name Katrina and what I found was a little scary. The name Katrina means: one of purity, beloved. As we all have been watching and reading about the loss and devastation that Katrina has left behind, she is anything but pure and beloved. The story I am going to tell makes me stop and think that maybe we should all at least try to find the good in a bad situation instead of constantly focusing on the negative.

During lunch at work we were all watching news coverage after Katrina hit and my friend informed us that her grandmother and aunt live in New Orleans . I could instantly see the fear in her eyes. A couple of days later she and I were on a break she told me no one has called with any news. I tried to reassure her that no news is good news and that it is really difficult to get to phone at the moment. I guess what was really freaking her out was not knowing and that her grandmother is confined to a wheelchair and needs her daughter to take care of her. As friends do, I told her if there is anything can do please let me know. I knew there was nothing I could really do.

I came back to work from the long weekend and asked her if there was any news and she told me that she got word that the Red Cross was going to fly both her grandmother and aunt to Las Vegas.
I was very happy to hear the news. I asked her how that happened. She told me that her mother knows someone who works at the Red Cross. So through connections and networking these people are coming to Vegas to be with their family.

It made me think of the phrase: it doesn't matter what but who you know. Often times we hear that phrase used in a negative context. In my friend's case who her mother knew was used for a good thing. I also thought that in the face of tragedy we as Americans can unite. That is one of the things that makes this country what it is.

ANOTHER AMERICAN EPIDEMIC

Here in the land of the free and the home of the brave we have AIDS, the homeless, the "war" on drugs and any form of debauchery known to man (specially here in Las Vegas). Something new has joined the ranks, adolesecent suicide.

I had dinner last night with my soon to be sister-in-law. We were talking about different subjects until the topic of her daughter's recent suicide came up. As the conversation progressed, she told me that since her daughter's death, at least 3 more young people under the age of 18 have taken their own lives.

She told me a story of a 12 year old boy who has a family history of violence and abuse. The parents are divorced and the family court judge decided on joint custody for this boy and his siblings. The children clearly did not want to live with the father. The father is a ex-marine with a history of abuse. He also kept guns and ammo in the home where children could easily gain access. Before this boy took his life he said to his brother "I am doing this so you don't have to live with dad."

As I was sitting there listening to this story, I could not help but be appalled by some of the obvious flaws in the family court system. How could any judge in his/her right mind mandate joint custody when it was clear that these kids were being subjected to abuse? Something else disturbed me as well. How could any responsible parent leave guns and ammo in the path of children?

There is such a need for change here in Nevada on how troubled adolescents are handled by the judicial system. My sister-in-law is slowly becoming a advocate for these long overdue changes. It had to take the suicide of a 16 year old girl to make the Nevada legislature finally stand up and take notice. My only comfort is that she did not die in vain.

I have included a link to "Out of the Darkness" a website dedicated to suicide prevention and awareness. Their annual fundraiser/walk is scheduled for October 8, 2005 in which I will be participating. Hopefully we will have raised some awareness for the latest American Epidemic.