Reckless Drivers

I’m tired of reckless drivers using the residential roads as their own personal speedways, particularly in the early morning. The posted speed limited is 25 MPH for a very good reason, FOR SAFETY. Every morning I walk my dog in early in the morning and I witness no less than four cars that consistently speed through my neighborhood at speeds greater than the posted speed limit of 25MPH. Oftentimes I find myself dragging my dog onto the grass as cars speed toward me, not slowing down, trying to identify what I am.

I am a safe walker. I wear light colors with reflective stripes, my dog is white and easily seen, and I walk by the curb to maximize my safety. I live in an active neighborhood filled with children, runners, and other dog walkers. Reckless drivers are not only a problem in the early morning, but in other more well lit times. In broad daylight I see the moms in the mini-van with kids in the car, phone to their ears bombing down my road faster than the posted speed limit only to slam on their brakes at the stop sign at the bottom of the hill, because she wasn’t paying attention. If a child, a dog, a teenager on a skateboard/bike, or an adult had suddenly stepped out in front of her, a terrible tragedy would have unfolded.

As I see these reckless drivers in my neighborhood I send up a prayer every time that no harm will come to anyone in their path, and that all four wheels will come off their vehicle to stop them from driving. The damage that a vehicle can do to a human body is horrific. Until you have personally witness this, you have no clue.

Everyday that we get behind the wheel, we are responsible for what we do. We operate a formidable machine that can be of great help in our daily lives and used irresponsibly can cause terrible damage. Please think before you drive.

Unwelcome Guests

So Gisele Bundchen has stated that she wants to be paid, a lot, just not in American Dollars. It must be nice to be able to make such demands. After all, a good portion of her revenue comes from the unwanted American Dollars. She has deigned to date an American, and she lives in the country whose currency she doesn’t want to be paid in. Is it me or is there something terribly wrong with this picture.

America has been good to her its citizenry has paid handsomely for her to live here. Men have paid for the privilege to ogle her. Women have paid for the privilege of wear the lingerie she is paid to sell, in the hopes to look like her. Why would she spit in the face of those who worship her? Because she has absolutely nothing invested here. She will take and take and take then leave.

I can guarantee if I were some famous wealthy international figure who was living in Ms. Bundchen’s native country of Brazil, enjoying the hospitality of the country and made a fuss over what currency I was being paid in, I’d be vilified in the press, escorted to the bordered and tossed out of the country with numerous boot treads imprinted on my derriere.

The reality is that won’t happen to Ms. Bundchen, mainly because her target market (males 14 to dead) are all lining up to change their dollars into whatever currency she is demanding at the moment. But like a sweet looking apple that is rotten at the core, the packaging might be attractive but the first bite will tell all. Ms. Bundchen thinks that she is more important than she is. She is only as hot as the next pretty sweet thing, and will be forgotten in time.

Fie on her! Fie on her and everyone like her. She has abused my hospitality in this country. If she doesn’t like the currency, thereby the things she can get with it (i.e. shelter, food, cars, clothes, etc.) as she lives in this country, then she can trot her derriere out of the United States of America and go live in a country that has the currency she wants to spend.

I’m tired of guests of my country crapping all over us. She may have money but she has no couth, and like all ungrateful and tiresome guests, when their welcome is worn they are shown the door.

I'm Sorry

I find it a disturbing trend happening where people are saying they are sorry to try to make amends for heinous acts and sway public opinion.

First example is Michael Vick’s apology note left at the podium of his press conference, stating over and over to apologize and say “I’m Sorry”. No one bothered to ask Vick what he was sorry for. I want to know Sorry for what? Sorry for the dogs he killed? Sorry for the embarrassment he has heaped on his teammates and family? Sorry for being a sad excuse for a human being?

Second example is the young man arrested in the shooting of two Delaware State University students and he says, “I’m sorry” to the reporters. One reporter asks the young man for what is he sorry for and the young man mumbles something about one of the victims being in the hospital. Being in the hospital! Not that he put the victim in the hospital. Not that he shot the victim, but that the victim is in the hospital. What kind of crap is that! Sorry does not cover the trauma, the heartache, the hurt nor the angst caused. Sorry does not cover the hospital bills, or the future psychiatric bills in dealing with the fact that this young man felt justified in dealing with his disassociated behavior by shooting people. After all in computer games and video games all you have to do is hit the reset and they all get up again, good as new. No blood, no trauma, no hard feelings.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the work ‘SORRY’ as the following: feeling sorrow, regret, or penitence. I think that the word sorry is over used and not used in the correct context. Very rarely is the word used with a penitent heart and a desire to change the wrong that has been wrought.

If a person is truly sorry, they will find a way to fix what they have broken. Owning up to their actions and accepting the consequences. Sorry does not erase terrible acts of violence, of hatred, or jealousy. Saying you are sorry doesn’t even start to make anything better.

What makes things better is not acting in an egregious manner in the first place. Not acting violently, resolving your disagreements peacefully and thoughtfully. Seeking to replace feelings of hatred with those of love, because we are all God’s children therefore we are all equal in the eyes of the One God. Understanding that loving truly leaves no room for jealousy, jealousy is the sign of a closed heart that is withering and rotting from inside.

If you are going to say you are sorry, you had better mean it. There is nothing worse than saying something you don’t mean. Saying you’re sorry to sway public opinion is prostitution of the worse degree.

Running Away

I am annoyed. Scratch that. I am overwhelmed, annoyed and generally irritated and I want to run away and leave all my responsibilities, with the exception of my dog, behind and not look back. I want to light a match and flick it over my shoulder and let it catch in the kindling of my life and let it burn so that I might start anew.

Walking away and not looking back is such the polar opposite of my core personality that it has such appeal. But the bitter reality is that I am too much of a responsible person to every do such a thing. So I face my responsibilities and I work to resolve any issues that I have. I work to improve my situation, my self and any talents that I have, knowing that self-fulfillment will be the end result. A quick fix is a sweet and tempting fantasy, but the filling nutritious reality of hard work and perseverance are enduring and eternal.

I can’t leave my family or my friends. My life would be empty without their love and support. Really, if I was to be completely honest, I would take them all with me, then they’d take all their loved ones with them and in the end the whole world would be right back in my space again.

So, while I might be annoyed and overwhelmed at the moment with life and the world, it’s my life and my world and it is what I choose to make of it that makes it worth living in.

Remembering the year 2001

Today is the sixth anniversary of September 11th. For Americans, this date is associated with so many emotions. For those whose birthdays fall on this day, for those who have other celebratory occasions a shadow mars marking of their rites of passage a pall now falls over a day that should be a day of celebration. But for every one who lost a person, whether it was a father, mother, brother, sister, daughter, son, lover, spouse, or friend, and their lives were irrevocably scarred, the way that a soldier is when wounded, a hole torn in their psyche, always there. For me it was one more thing to mark a terrible year. My father’s passing marked the beginning of the year; then six months to the day the terrorist attack of September 11th added heartbreak of the year. September 11, 2001 is a day that is now linked with infamy, like December 7, 1941, or April 19, 1995. The date cannot be said without people thinking about where they were or what they were doing.

But here is what I take away from the year 2001. The human heart and mind are resilient and amazing organs. Because, despite the devastation and personal loss suffered by so many that year. People are still filled with hope. People’s hearts still have holes where loved ones lost should be, but their hearts continue to function and their capacities to love and learn have not been diminished. Those lost are remembered through the great and small works that are being done in their memories to honor them.

To dwell on the events are not productive. To protect ourselves from events repeating themselves again is prudent. To remember is human. To live our lives is to show those who would harm us that they may not control us through fear. I will not live in fear, but I will do what I can to make this world a better place.

Tragedy will always happen, but how we respond to its aftermath will show us who is touched by grace. We have enough knee-jerk reaction in the world, it is time to see the world by the heart that has been broken and still beats for it’s brother. It is time to see our brothers and sisters through the eyes of divinity.

Mandalas

There are times when words cannot calm the complexity of the mind the way that shape and form can. Please enjoy my shape and form.

Bearing Witness

I know that a lot has been said about the state of affairs of Michael Vick, but I have to say my bit. I hope that the man serves time in jail and that he loses his NFL standing. Because as 5 p.m. today the owners of the 50 pitbulls, seized from the property owned by Michael Vick in the State of Virginia, have to step forward to claim dogs if not, all fifty will be euthanized. Now, I’m not saying that I believe that the dogs could be rehabilitated. They were all in a dog fighting environment, that will have affected them in some fashion. I do not know if I could ever trust one of those dogs with a child in my care. I believe that it is 95% environment that effects a dog and 5% temperment. And their formative environment has been too traumatic.

But back to my point. 50 innocent dogs, 50 innocent creatures, are being put down because of the greed and profiteering of this man and his friends. I do not feel that he should represent any sport, product, or group. He should be shunned and stripped of his possesions. He should not be afforded luxury nor fame. He should be treated just as those dogs were treated. Fought to exhaustion, patched up and fought again and again. If he showed that he was strong enough, maybe forced to breed. Until one day he failed, then he would be put down unceremoniously. Unmourned, uncared for, his body dumped in a hole in the ground in some back field. Callusly discarded, as he discarded life.

Some might say that I am valuing the dog over the human. I say no, I am not. I am valuing life in general. It has been proven over and over. Men and women who abuse animals turn around and abuse people, thereby creating a terrible cycle of abuse. The Michael Vick story is not just about dogfighting and animal abuse, it is about abusive behavior and an entire sub-strata of culture that glorifies violence. There is an entire sub-strata of our culture that has bought into the glorification of violence. The pimp’s and ho’s, the objectification of the body, both male and female. The denigration of holy things and the acceptance of the unholy.

Michael Vick has said “I’m guilty”, but nothing about his demeanor has changed. He walks to and fro in his designer suits knowing that he will have his money when he gets out of jail and that his reputation will only be enhanced by his encarceration.

Here's the thing, the ONLY thing that matters, this life is the key to the next. Our Father in Heaven marks every deed and every action in our individual books of life. How we conduct ourselves here in this life will lead us to glory or damnation. Those we help and those we harm will bear witness for and against us during our final Judgment. They are the witness of our lifes. The innocent animals will also bear witness of cruelties and kindnesses borne. After tonight, I would not want to be Vick. Not after 50 more dogs are ready to bear witness on his judgement day.