Tuesday, February 22, 2011

HOW WE DEAL WITH ADVERSITY.........

Every now and then you get news you probably don’t want to hear. Sometimes the news relates to a person, place, or thing. The news you never want to hear is when someone you know and trust becomes ill.  Well, today I found out a very special person has been battling some serious health issues and he is still fighting the good fight.  While saying I am worried is an understatement, I know that being the fighter that he is, he will prevail, no matter what the outcome.
In life, we all tend to get news we don’t want to hear. It can be something minor or something major, but regardless, we all get news at times that we just don’t want to hear.  I guess the reality is, how do we all deal with unwanted news? Do we bury our thoughts? Do we express ourselves? If so, how?  To whom? What do you say? How do you say it?  There are always so many questions and never enough answers.
I will never forget Thanksgiving in 2008. Our day started off like every other thanksgiving: tired…LOL   We went to the annual Thanksgiving day breakfast and football game. While at breakfast, my daughter noticed my dad just didn’t look right. He looked a little grey. He ate breakfast and was his typical social self. Of interest though, in hind-sight, he didn’t smoke his cigar and he didn’t eat all of his breakfast.  We all just figured he was full and just didn’t feel like stoking up the stogie.  Nothing really unusual…just another Thanksgiving day.   My oldest daughter and I left, headed for home where we would pick up my wife and my youngest daughter and head to the in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner.  My daughter commented that “Grampy looked tired” and I responded with….hmmmm….yeah, you’re right.  So, we went about our business, all the while, what we didn’t know was my father was in the emergency room being treated for a Heart Attack.   Yeah, right…my dad? A heart attack? Sure……

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Hotels and Comfort

Traveling is nice, but staying in hotels and motels can sometimes be a bit much. We all enjoy the comforts of our own home, so wouldn’t it be a great idea if hotels would incorporate sheets and bedding that remind us of home?  Understandably this would possibly increase room rates, but, who really knows until you try.  Of course, the opposite could also be true…that some people like the material of hotel linens and want them for their own home. No matter what, I still feel that when traveling, it would be nice to have the comforts of home.
Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to see if there was really a market for people who want to buy hotel quality bedding, and sure enough, there is an actual market for it. Hotel bedding is offered and the quality is better than I would have expected. At http://home-and-garden.become.com/hotel-collection-bedding. , you can browse various home products, including Hotel Collection bedding. Of course there are many other home goods available, some of which I will have to buy soon because my daughter appears to be headed into her own apartment. Right now, she is looking at a Queen size bed and will need some sheets. So, while browsing, I went back to http://home-and-garden.become.com/red-queen-comforter-set.
I digress. Back to my former traveling experience. When traveling I enjoy the comforts of home and try to set up my hotel room in a way I am accustomed to. Problem is, moving a bed that doesn’t move can be quite tiring. I remember I was in North Carolina for a month. I had a great hotel room, great service, great everything. The problem was, it never felt like home. So, I went out and made a few purchases. I bought my own pillow, lamp, towel, and a few other miscellaneous items. I knew I was going to be there for a month, so I figured…why not. If you ever go lamp shopping, and those who have done this know what I mean. There are so many lamps, lights, wall mounted, ceiling mounted, standard lamps; you just never know which way to look. Then you have your hurricane lamps, regular lamps, tall lamps, short lamps…the never-ending maze can become somewhat overwhelming. So, I say if you want to shop for a lamp, do it on-line. It is easier to look at one or two pictures as compared to looking at hundreds of lamps all lumped in together. http://home-and-garden.become.com/hurricane-lamps.
So, how do you choose the perfect hotel? Do you look at the ratings on-line? Do you read the reviews? Do you wing it?  How do you pick the perfect hotel?  I don’t have the answer. What I can say is do not read all the overly positive or overly negative reviews you find.  Someone who is engaged in business with the hotel probably writes the overly positive reviews; and at the same time, relying too heavily on negative reviews could mean the person writing the negative review is in competition with the hotel.
When my family and I travel, I try to stay at name brand hotels. At least you know the service will be consistent. Some of the smaller hotels, however, do provide the one on one friendly service we all enjoy when we travel. So, big or small, I guess the hotel really does not matter, as long as you can feel, at least in small part, that your room has some of the comforts of home.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Hollywood and Narcissism

Have you ever wondered why Hollywood is so hell-bent on celebrating themselves during award show season?  I mean, really. Do they have to have award shows every week in order for the Hollywood stars to give themselves the gratuitous pat on the back? Yes, we all know these Hollywood stars earn more money than god, but do they really need an excuse to dress up, walk down a red carpet, talk about themselves’ in the third-person, and describe to the viewers that they are wearing Dolce or some other unknown designer-wear?  
I was actually watching the Grammy’s the other night and yes, I too was sucked in to Ryan Seacrest and his Red Carpet gala.  When I saw Kim Kardashian walking the red carpet though, I asked myself….what has she done to earn the red carpet walk at the Grammy’s?  Is Kim Kardashian now some sort of hip-hop icon with a newly released album that I am not aware of? Really…..Kim Kardashian?  What exactly is her claim to fame anyway? I know she has a reality tv show, which yes, I will admit, even I have tuned into on occasion, but, why is Kardashian being hailed as some type of “Star” at the Grammy’s? What impact on society have any of the Kardashians actually had for the positive? 
This brings me to my next point. While it is nice for Ryan Seacrest to interview the “stars”, is it really necessary to ask them who they are wearing?  I am waiting for one star to turn to him and say “Fool, I’m wearing a tux with shoes?”  These stars today seem so hell-bent on self-promotion, I often wonder if they wake up in the morning and actually trip over their egos on their way to the bathroom. Do they rehearse their parade march in the hallways of their million dollar mansions? Do they actually find it necessary to spend 3 and 4 hours getting ready?
I am not completely against the award shows. I understand it is a way to gain attention to their movies, television series, or songs, but what disgusts me is the narcissistic manner in which many of the stars portray themselves. It is almost as if they actually forget that they are human, and not above the rest of society. Then again, with the amount of award shows out there, the so-called-stars probably can’t help but think they are actually better than everybody else.
So, next time you are nominated for an award, I say dress up in your most comfortable jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, and sunglasses, head to the red carpet and in response to the reporter asking what you are wearing, simply say: “I am wearing what I normally do: Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, and sunglasses!”
Hey, it’s just my opinion and for the record, I do watch SOME of the shows.  I’m just sayin’.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

MY STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS.......ENJOY :)

So last night, during the state of the union, the POTUS (President of the United States) gave his state of the union as he is constitutionally mandated to do.  I have watched many of these over the years and often left perplexed and felt the need to listen to the post Speech commentary so I could have a Republican tell me what I just heard, and then in response, a Democrat could tell me what the Republican said about the President.    Of course, neither party ever truly agrees on what was just said and they feel the need to “dumb it down” for us less than intelligent viewers who just watched the freakin speech.
Then we have the news networks with their political experts who come on the airwaves and not only tell us what we just saw and heard, but they put their spin on things….and now I am really confused.

So let’s just put this all in order: The President gives his State of the Union.  A Republican then explains what we just heard.  Then a Democrat comes on to tell us not to listen to the Republicans. Then the news media dissects each and every word spoken by the President, they put their spin on it and then dissect the Republican and Democratic response.    FOLKS, do we now understand why nothing gets done in Washington?  I mean, really, is it necessary to have a political party response to what the President just said? And now, we have the Tea Party response to listen to.   Oh MY God.  So we not only have to sit through the agonizing pep rally speech, but we then have to endure political interpretation of what the President just said.   That is a sad commentary on where we stand as a nation.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

SNOWDAYS AND SNOW

I often wondered what it would be like if people actually took the advice of safety officials and stayed off the roadways during a snow storm. I understand the need to work, hell, I am not rich by any sense of the word. What is bothersome is how many people are forced to show up for work, only to be sent home by their employer.  Will the employer pay for the employees car if they are in an accident and total their car? I think not.  Will the employer accept liability for forcing the employee to go into work? Again, the answer is no.  So the question of the day is: Why would a business force people to work when it is clear the snow and ice will place place an employee in danger of life and limb?  There is no clear cut answer other than business owners think their business is worth more than the life of an employee.
Today we have snow, albeit not too much. We are only expecting between 5-10 inches, with 1/2 inch of ice at the tail end.  I mean...really...It is very important that people clutter the roadways with their vehicles all in the name of business. 

Well, while the snow continues to pile up, I will sit here and ponder my question as I watch the local news and see all the traffic accidents piling up on the highway.  I will watch as motorists lose control of their vehicles, all in the name of business and money.  I certainly hope all who travel in such treacherous conditions drive carefully so each and every person can return home to give their loved ones a hug and kiss tonight.   Drive safe motorists and please adhere to the reduced speeds on the highways.

Monday, January 17, 2011

POLITICIANS AND BANANAS

Call me crazy but somehow politicians resemble bananas in many ways. You see, when you eat a banana, you look at it first to make sure it is ripe. If it is green, you let it sit for a while so the banana can ripen up.  Well, today's politician is very much the same way. They go into Congress ,for example, with good intentions. They are still green and not ripe.  The longer they sit in congress, the more they ripen.  Well, once the banana is ripe, you have to peel away the edges to expose the actual edible portion to determine if it is really ripe.  The same goes for politicians. You have to peel away their phony exterior to see if they are truly ripe. It is only after you peel away the outer shell can you truly determine whether the banana is good or bad.  The same for politicians. You see, during their campaign season, they will tell you just about anything you want to hear.  We have Tea Partiers who will do and say anything to make themselves look intelligent. Unfortunately for tea partiers, they have it all wrong.  See, they coined the name "Tea Party" from the Boston Tea party where, as we all know, the tea was destroyed over the issue of taxation without representation.  Well, I hate to break it to the tea partiers, but we do have representation, albeit not very good representation.   I digress.

So, back to the banana. You have to peel the outer layer to expose whether the banana is ripe.  Well, as it pertains to politicians, it is unfortunate that we can not truly see what is inside of them or what really motivates them.

See, every time you hear a politician talk today, they talk about the House of Representatives being the "people's house" and the elected officials are there to do the "People's" business.   I tend to doubt these overpaid buffoons truly care about the "people". They care about their political affiliation and nothing more.  When we see leaders like Jim Boehner, who by the way looks like a wooden puppet, I begin to wonder....with his thousand dollar suits, exactly what "people's" business is he working on?   When we have  former Speaker of The House Pelosi using government aircraft...how exactly is that the "people's" work?

See, as we begin to peel away the exterior of these politicians, we see they are beyond ripe. In fact, we begin to see they are spoiled. All too often elected officials make these jobs a career....so I guess that begs the question of, How are the career politicians truly doing the "people's" work if these elected politicians have made congress their career?  Hmmmmmm....gives you pause for thought.

I digress once again.  I must admit not all politicians lie. I am sure there are a handful of elected officials in Washington who don't lie and who, if you peel the banana, you would see, is ripe.  It is blatantly unfair to broadly paint a picture of an electorate full of liars...then again, the politicians have brought it all on themselves.

So, this week Congress will take up what is dubbed as Obama care.  Like it or not, this country needs some form of health care to help those who can either not afford insurance, or help those who are denied access to medical insurance.  I agree the plan is probably not the best, but at least this President kept his word. He did not cave to political pressure.  He angered the republicans and now they want to repeal the health care bill. Well, I hope they understand that by repealing health care, the message they are sending is that they don't care about the "people" who are either uninsured or under insured.  By repealing health care, the republicans are peeling back the banana of themselves and exposing themselves as an elitest political party.  Yeah, I know. The health care plan will cost money. It is already costing us all money. Every time and uninsured or under insured party receives emergency room treatment and can not pay the bill, the hospital writes it off...as a tax deduction.  That means less revenue and more from you and I to help fund the uninsured.
So while the Republicans want to claim they will return to the "people's" business by repealing the health care bill, ask yourself one question: What exactly is the "people's" business?  We already know the health care repeal is a purely political posturing technique to show the President the Republicans control the house....nothing more , nothing less....so how is this the "people's" work? It is nothing more than flexing some muscle that these congressmen amass in their private gyms that we subsidize for them....oh, I suppose the congressional perks are "for the people" as well?

Sunday, January 16, 2011

WHY DO PEOPLE FEEL THE NEED TO DRIVE ON YOUR BUMPER

While driving to the store today I just couldn't help notice a nice BMW literally inches from my bumper.  I slowed down to see what the driver would do and he just stayed where he was. When we had the opportunity to have two lanes, he still rode my bumper.  Not one to advocate for road rage, it is people like the driver of this BMW who need to get a lesson in life.  I finally slowed down enough to make him drive around me...of course, he wasn't paying attention to the road. He was texting and drinking a coffee at the same time.  I just looked at him, shook my head, and thought to myself....really....is it really necessary to drive your car while texting and drinking coffee?   Sometimes I wonder how people make it through life with blinders on. They sail through life in their own little world, never stopping to look around to see other people actually exist.

He is probably the type who would sue the coffee manufacturer if his coffee spilled on his lap while maneuvering his fingers around his miniature cell phone key board and driving at the same time.