Hindsight

Need to vent...

Mother Nature can be tough to handle, you cannot win that fight. You can survive it, and find ways to make it through, perhaps with a struggle. I had a professor in college who was a firm believer that anyone who would put a home in an area that was known to flood, or slide, or quake - well they were idiots in his mind. 

And those of us who have chosen to live near the ocean, in a hurricane area keep our fingers crossed that the next Andrew or Sandy does not come and visit us. But... most of us know that it could, can/probably will happen. In the back of our minds we do [or should] have some backup plan. And we respect that it may happen at any time.

I lived on an island when they said a hurricane was coming right for us. And it did. I packed up as much stuff as I could - fit it into my Prelude with my two cats and went to a friends parents house hours north. I slept on my own air mattress in the dining room, my cats stayed in the garage. I waited until they said we could get back in four agonizing days...then drove back wondering what happened there [as I could not get in contact with anyone]. Pulled up to my apartment, and found 6 inches of water - luckily I was on the second floor and the roof held! No power -for over two weeks. I just went to work, ate at work and enjoyed the cool there for the 12 hours I put in. Then went home and did not sleep in the heat.  I took care of my elderly neighbors downstairs - got them water and ice from where I worked. I believe in Karma.

But I also lived up north where a snowstorm might trap you in your home for several days, and perhaps take your power down too. Have supplies for several days, and a plan was the only way to survive in all these situations.

And I have been visited by at least three hurricanes while living here in Ft Lauderdale. Each different, yet damaging. Power out each time. And Wilma took down most traffic lights, no gasoline, no water, no grocery stores [no power or refrigeration]. It took a long time to get things fixed. Eating cereal or PB&J for meals...not ideal but we survived.

So...I completely understand what the people in the NYC metro area are going through. I would hate it up there now as cold weather and I do not get along. But...   quit yer bitchin!  Time to work together and you will get through this. You do not have it any worse then New Orleans did, or Homestead did after Andrew. Many people lost everything there too...and they kept on keeping on and made it through. Some houses were complete losses and never rebuilt. There was a reason people had the shore houses as summer homes only...they knew they were on borrowed time and Mother Nature was lurking.  

Every area of the country has sent help, many of us have sent money. But at some point many of those people need to look in the mirror and answer why they did not do the things the gov't told them to do. OK...so they have been wrong before but they got this one right. Wouldn't you be better off if you had listened and reacted? Yet...in all the reports have we heard anyone say anything like "boy, I wish I had been better prepared!"

Bully

the buzz word is Bullying but I think we need to examine some of the things going on. The most recent, caught on video was the harassment of the older woman on a meddle school bus. First, if she was doing her job she would not have just let it continue and take it. But the biggest issue is...what is up with today's youth?

These kids were, what, all of 12 years of age? So mom and dad are in their mid thirties? They need to have their parenting licenses revoked! Those kids need to have everything removed from their lives, no TV, no internet and grounded. Extra chores and volunteer work for each one of them who was there, contributed or even kept their mouths shut while it went on. One of those little punks, who seemed to be the leader, needs to be punished hard and publicly.

Note to parents: it is not what you tell your children, hearing what you say is not likely. It IS how you lead by example. So every time you trash talk the TV, every time you make a hero out of an individual who belittles another, each time you applaud someone denigrating another person you are SHOWING you children how to behave. I does not surprise me that the highest ratings on TV are programs that are filled with people "dumping" on others. It does not surprise me that the WWE and MMA are so highly rated. Somehow beating up on others - even in video games - has become the norm and OK for kids to watch.

It is time for the parents of kids- RIGHT NOW- to lead their children. You are the boss and set the rules. Get your kids in line!

Driving me Crazy!  well If I changed this up a little it is their driving that is making me crazy. When I grew up you took driver's education and learned how to drive properly. Things like not crossing solid lines [-ever!-], keeping right except to pass, merging, and how to operate a motor vehicle safely. On any given day...almost all of those go out the window in less then an hour.

First, I had no idea that in some states [apparently FL] it is not against the law to just drive the entire way in the left lane. I know in NY State...you could be pulled over and ticketed [seen that]. In our state....this is such a horrible idea - we have plenty of people who feel the need to be out driving in rush hour and get the whole highway clogged. Really, if you are retired...you do not need to be ANYWHERE when the door opens. Stay home and relax, you have earned it and let the rest of us get to our jobs with less stress. Head out after lunch!

We have frequent tropical downpours. It makes seeing the road tough, traction a bit sketchy and rightfully slows folks down [well most of them]. Well...it slows some folks to a crawl because they do not maintain their wipers and windshields. One word.....Rain-X!  Others are slowed because they drive around with tires that have no tread left. I will drive behind them cause I know they will not be able to stop!

The third worst thing...merging is an alien concept to most of S FL. Let one person into traffic in front of you. We all will get there faster, that one person and the rest of the line behind you. Treat the other drivers the way you want to be treated... isn't this a basic principle we all were supposed to learn WAY before we ever get the privilege of driving?

So as I get ready to hit the roads again, migrating through the hoards of distracted drivers ... I hope they are having a good day!  Be nice to one another!

when did the sportsmanship leave sports?

I have now "experienced" 50 years and have participated in many sports, individual and team. As a kid I was often "the smallest" on teams and now as an adult I am often in the group of "the oldest". I have been on teams that finished dead last and only won one game [my HS basketball team] and I have been on teams that have won tournaments and championships, undefeated. It is the lessons learned that were far more important then the ribbon, trophy or Tshirt that awaited the victor.

I am now perplexed at the idea that even the youngest kids these days are rewarded for everything. They have graduations in elementary school. They are all winners in little league. Everyone gets a medal or a trophy. Really? What exactly are we teaching them with this?

Most of us went through things the old way. Someone won and someone lost, and you learned how to be a good winner and how to not be a sore looser.  But there are some people who just don't get it. Case in point... one softball team [unnamed] in a league [unnamed] that is for RECREATION has usurped all rules, ethics and civility and stacked their team with top tier players. They go through the season and whip most other teams, only loosing two games, playing with 9 players against teams using full rosters of 10.  They use illegally altered bats in doing so. For what? A t-shirt!

While other teams select/draft players who are children of women on their roster, players who are friends of someone, or just a player who no one would draft they are busy finagling a way to add another top tier player to their roster. While other teams want to win they concentrate on having it be about having fun. It makes it harder to have fun when you loose or get run-ruled but as I always say "karma will get them". And it did!

Great to see that in the year ending final game of the playoffs "that team" technically got run-ruled [which is not allowed in the championship game] and outplayed, to loose their second Tshirt. I wonder if they understood that all the people cheering for the winners were motivated mostly just by the fact that it was against them?  I hope they figure it out one day....

TV

What has happened to television?

It used to be used for entertainment, to make us laugh at the end of a hard day. It grew into a fantastic educational tool, a way to see far off places and exotic species.

Television has "evolved" into a voyeuristic way to watch others lives. "Reality TV" that is so unreal that people cannot pry their eyes from the screen. But why do we find it so enthralling? Really? It is closer to unbelievable then believable, closer to appalling then it is to something we just cannot miss.

As we head into the summer of the Olympic Games I am filled with angst. In the US it will be carried by the stations of NBC. Watch most programs on there and pay attention not to the show but to the commercials. Look and see just how many there are. For the first time in a long time they have lost their first place rating in the morning time slot to ABC. Why? My belief is they have become too contrived. Couple that with an over abundance of commercials...and people change the channel. I do. The network fails to remember that while they may be centered in NY City, the rest of the country really is not all that invested in the rat race there. The hosts have come from other places but have become NYers. Note to Networks: there is a lot that folks in the rest of the country that do not like NYers and their methods ....and attitudes!

I digress...have we really evolved into only being able to watching "snippet TV"? Does the average American TV viewer have ADHD? And is the average American TV viewer dumb enough to believe they will actually see LIVE coverage, in primetime, of Olympic events. Your hint.... London is 4 hours ahead of east coast time. Those 8pm primetime events would be taking place at midnight in London.... I think not. Is it any wonder that the majority of Americans watch 200 channels on cable or satellite?  And always feel that there is nothing on?  And this summer I have to watch the reruns of programs of recent shows...or here in S FL we get to see infomercials in primetime on the weekends. Give me a break....

Sunday Funday

not wanting to clutter up my facebook with too much but sometimes I just have things I need to say....or vent about...so this will be the place!  And feel free to join in or ignore as you see fit...

• baseball game at the brand new stadium yesterday [Sunday June 10]
   - my very first impression was "weird lighting" 1 o'clock sunny hot day outside in Miami but the game was technically indoors. You could see the blue sky out the glass end wall that faces the ocean. Very Odd.
• Marlins Park - brand spankin new, opened in April. Natural grass field in S Florida, the sunshine state, at the beginning of its rainy season which makes us lush and tropical. What horrible grass! you can see big areas where they have had to re-sod it. Really? Immediately after the game the roof was retracted, our customer satisfaction person said "so the grass can breathe"  LOL [sure I will fall for that, NOT!] Rumor has it they will switch to a more northern grass type that will do better with less light. At least the A/C kept us very comfortable compared to them playing in the Dolphins football stadium. There you felt like you were on a grill.
• Our group of tickets ended up being $30 each even though the "list price" was $90. We were 4 rows from the field surface - awesome - on the third base side. A hot dog was $6, a heineken was $9, bottomless soda [pop] was $8, crackerjack [in a bag? just wrong!] was $4. Nachos in a batting helmet $15. And they wonder why the place was maybe half filled and of that, 50% were fans who came to root for the Tampa Rays?  And can I mention parking....$15 So...per person - a $130 day [list]. Gulp
• The Marlins....they needed some of the softball women to hop on the field with their bats....the way they played it was not worth the $$$. At least seeing the place and spending the time with pals made it fun!