A Little South of Sanity

I am a person who tries to understand and respect the differences that we all share, and try to embrace the fact that just because it’s ‘different’ than what we’d call the ‘norm’, that it doesn’t make it wrong.

With that being said, I was a little surprised this morning when I read about a ancient ritual in India, which is now being blasted by rights activists, because Muslim and Hindu’s are dropping babies 50 foot from the top of a Mosque onto a ‘sheet’ below being held by parents and other believers.

The ritual of the fall and ultimately being ‘caught’ in the bed sheet is believed to insure good health and prosperity to the families. The children, on the other hand, are upset.

Do you blame them?

What do you think? Personally, I think it’s crazy- but then again, maybe we have things in the good ole U.S. of A. that they would deem crazy.

More information on this and other news can be found at FoxNews

I survived the ellliptical, but let me tell you- I think at times that being on that thing is seriously like being on an episode of Survivor. Granted, I’m not in the middle of the jungle with only rats and rice to eat, but WHEWWW yesterday I felt like I was in the middle of a challenge- only this one was within me.

I am trying to get back into the daily routine though, and determined to do so by August 1st, which is Saturday. It isn’t going to be easy- but then again, anything worth having never is.

Anyone have anything exciting to report?

Guess what’s hovering behind me, just over my shoulder? My elliptical. He’s been a stranger to me that last while, and today is the day that I reconnect with it.

I can do it… I can do it… I have to keep telling myself that.

Sometimes the smallest mentions can trigger memories from days gone by that bring a smile to my face, or occasionally even make me shake my head and wonder what I was thinking. The latter is the case in this situation. If you grew up in the south or any other ‘tropical’ local, then you know that summers are so sweltering hot that one pretty much can’t survive without an air conditioner.

In 1993 I believe it was, the summer was coming to an end, and I noticed that my a/c stopped working. Diddy checked the freon levels, added a little, but that didn’t help. He checked belts and hoses- this and that, but came to the conclusion that it must be the auto ac compressor.

Right about that time, my then husband and I were in the process of moving to Virginia, where I was sure it would be cooler, and indeed it was, so we pretty much forgot about the a/c issue until the following summer. When the wamer days rolled around we kept thinking that we should get the a/c checked, but things were tight financially, so we struggled through the sweltering heat for an entire summer. Granted, it wasn’t as bad as the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but it was close.

The following year (and the last year I owned the car before buying a new one), I was determined not to go through the summer without an a/c, so was prepared to fork out the cash for a new air compressor. I took it to the garage, and within two hours I received a phone call from the owner who said that my car was ready to be picked up. When I commented about how fast they were, he said that it wasn’t the compressor, but instead a small bolt had come loose and needed to be reconnected. Everything was working perfectly after that minor repair.

I believe they charged me less than $25.00, and when I think about it I can’t help but laugh. I sweated and was horribly grumpy for two summers thinking it was something huge, when in reality it was practically nothing. Needless to say, I learned a lesson from that experience.

I’ve noticed some comments have been getting a little out of hand, so I’m really going to be monitoring them until they become more in line with the standard that I want for this and my other sites.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy comments, and interaction, but when boundries are continually crossed, I am going to draw a line in the sand, and trust me- when it comes to this place, I AM the keeper of the key of what IS and ISN’T going to be allowed here.

Generally, I’m not one to censor people, but when they’ve been asked repeatedly to keep it clean and not drop innuendos, and they can’t respect that, then I’ll censor their comments- I don’t care WHO it is.

If they continue, I’ll ban your ip, and any other ip you attempt to log on here with, and your access will be denied.

The choice is YOURS.

Marcel loves fishing, and now that he’s finished with school he has more time to sit outside and relax in hopes of catching a fish.

He always tosses the fish back in the water, but occasionally he does feed the herons if they show up to give him a little company.

A couple of days ago, I came home from Deseres house and stopped by to see how Marcels fishing was going, and I noticed that he had a heron waiting in the wings for a free meal.

Notice him sitting in the background- waiting, watching, hoping.

I’ve been so happy that since Katrina, the Gulf Coast hasn’t seen much in terms of hurricanes. I know it’s a little early to say, but I’m hoping this year will be another year that no storms threaten the coast, because even though they are recovering, they are still a long way from being where they were ‘pre-Katrina’. In fact, I honestly don’t believe that the MS Gulf Coast will ever be the same- so much was lost during that horrific storm.

I do believe that most people before Katrina never really knew much in terms of emergency evacuation routes, but since they lived through the devastation and the horrific traffic jams of people trying to ‘get out of Dodge’ at the last moment, something tells me they know now, and also know to get out when they start suggesting, as opposed to waiting.

It still breaks my heart when I drive along the Coast and see where so many landmarks ‘used’ to be. When Marcel and I were home for the holidays, we ate at Mary Mahoney’s French House, one of the few landmarks that survived Katrina, and inside- they showed photos and a watermark of how high the water was inside. It’s unbelieveable. The news definitely doesn’t capture the reality of what it’s like ‘being’ there.

I pray they never have another one of those again.

As most of you know, we have dinner at my mom-in-laws every Sunday with the family. My mom-in-law generally cooks, unless she asks me or my sister-in-law to make something that she isn’t sure how to make. In fact, I think next week she wants me to make some fried chicken breast tenders, so looks like I’ll be bringing something else along for me to eat.

When you have a table full of people who love to talk during dinner, you sometimes have the most interesting and sometimes colorful conversations.

Today over dinner, I had the pleasure of hearing that Michael Jackson wasn’t really dead, and as if that weren’t enough- neither is Elvis. I had plenty that I ‘could’ have said, but sometimes (which is rare for me, who loves to talk), just sometimes it’s more interesting to sit back and listen- and that’s exactly what I did.

So if you ‘think’ you see Michael walking along somewhere with someone who looks like Elvis but think, Nahhh it couldn’t be….. according to my sister-in-law.. it could.

What do you think?

I would love to say that I can actually read or see things in the news these days that would actually ‘surprise’ me, but I honestly believe there isn’t much out there that could happen that would actually render me speechless with surprise.

Ok, that isn’t 100% true- if the media suddenly started reporting ONLY positive things happening in the world- that would most definitely render me speechless at least for a little while, and then I’d start celebrating.

I remember when I was in Jr. College, oooh so many years ago, iand for an assignment in a writing class we were asked to write about whether we had become desensitized to things happening around us in the world. Truth is, I don’t remember what I wrote, or even know what made me think about this- because when I logged in here I had intentions of writing about something entirely different, but while I’m on the topic- I’d say that we have all become desensitized to what’s happening around us, because it seems that our society has turned into a circus of sorts, where ‘anything goes’ seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

Don’t believe me? Just think back over the last ten years and think about the things you see in the news that are now the ‘norm’ and considered ‘ok’ that would have been considered scandalous back then.

Webster says it best:

Desensitized

–verb (used with object), -tized, -tiz⋅ing. 1. to lessen the sensitiveness of.
2. to make indifferent, unaware, or the like, in feeling

What do YOU think? Is it just ‘progressing times’ or have we truely become desensitized and ‘addicted’ to this ‘circus society- drama queen/king’ life?

I’ve decided to start doing a Freaky Friday entry on Fridays, which will include things that I (or YOU if you send them into me via email) come across in my travels both online and off that I find to be just plain freaky.

With that being said- it seems fitting that the first Freaky Friday installment would be about none other than the King of Freaks- or King of Pop depending on how you look at it- Michael Jackson.

Now before you start sending me comments and email hatin’ me, know that I did like some of his music, and I do believe that he’s a definite POP legend, but I still think he is (or was) a freak. Yes, I do think he died too young, and I think it’s sad, but I’m also getting a little tired of other, more important news taking back seat to whatever happens to be taking ‘center stage’ with Michaels death.

Forgive me for shaking my head when I saw the latest NY Post article titled “Jacko’s Fake Nose Missing“.

Ummm, seriously??? Apparently so.

According to the article, Michael wore this prosthetic to ‘mask’ the effects of decades of plastic sugery, and the fact that he apparently had no ‘real’ nose left.

Personally, I have no idea if this is true, and truth is- I don’t care, but there is someone out there who does. If you are that person, keep your eyes peeled on Ebay- who knows, for the right price, you could actually own a ‘piece’ of the King of Pop, or then again, maybe the person who cleaned up after the autopsy thought it was a ‘toy mask’ and tossed it in the trash.