Celebration!!!!!

I am not creative enough to come up with a witty and pithy post about my two siblings’ birthday. Instead I will ask that you all join me in wishing them a very Happy Birthday.

Today is Brain Surgeon’s Birthday, my older sister. If someone had told me back when I was in my teens, during the time that she and I just did not get along, that we would develop a very strong friendship that no bond could break. I would not have believed them. I am so blessed to have her in my life in the many facets she represents for me and the rest of her family and many of her friends. Happy Birthday to you Brain Surgeon!!!!!

Also today, we must celebrate my adopted Big Brother’s birthday. Please join me in wishing Monty a.k.a. The CEO a very Happy Birthday. Monty has been a part of my life now for a few years and it is hard to describe the bond we have especially since we have not met in person. Believe me when I tell you it is strong and most important and valuable.

Happy birthday to both my siblings, Brain Surgeon and Monty. I wish you happiness today and ALL days!

Restorative Powers of the Tide

My week at the beach was just what the doctor ordered. That is if I had consulted a physician. I tend to self diagnose and medicate. On my imaginary RX was a week at the beach and I was a very compliant patient.

Back now with a renewed spirit and lingering cold, I am ready to tackle the grind. The weather was good, I had a few days of company followed by the requisite amount of solitude with the tide. Also, the Redskins won 2 games in a row.





Reality, bring it.

Pssssssst

Hey just because I am away doesn’t mean you are not in my thoughts.

How you all are? My tall friend is making sure all is well.

Having a great time, glad I am not there. Salutations from the Beach.

Vacation!

We all have different definitions of a perfect vacation. This picture adequately represents mine. I am off to rest, relax and re-charge. I honestly did not think I would make it.

I am depending on all of you to behave yourselves during my absence. If you have to be bad, make me proud. Don’t do anything I would not do. That gives you all a very wide berth. You’re welcome.

See you soon......

We Look to the Future Knowing We Can Never Forget the Past

The World And Its Soul (Part II)
Allen Jesson

I have been blessed and cursed with perception,
because I can see what life has in store,
and my dreams of eternal peace,
seemed to have been dashed for ever more.

I have this dreadful feeling,
that we, as one, are on the edge,
and peace to you my fellow man,
is what I really want to pledge.

But how can life carry on?
With this cancer held within?
Without freedom of speech and movement,
where on Earth can you begin?

And when I think of the children,
from new born to troubled teenage,
how do we love them on the one hand,
and contain this burning rage?

I keep trying to look for the positives,
and look for hope on the other side,
but then I cry me a river,
and gee, how I've cried.

And hope springs eternal,
and may these days into history fade,
and may we all be very proud,
be proud of the roles that we've played.

We all still have that hate and anger,
but we need to temper that callous steel,
we need to look at our family,
and think of how others might feel.

Retribution won't be denied,
but we need to dilute with common sense,
we need the world to survive,
we still need our children's innocence.

Love is stronger than hate,
and love and justice will prevail, and I hope our children's children,
learn from and live to tell this tale.

So, I am still bitter,
and angry on a whole,
but we need to rebuild, not destroy,
the World and it's Soul.

Breaking Point

Kids can be very mean to each other. Downright ugly at times. I listen to the trials and tribulations that my 13 year old niece goes through with her peers. I have found that the degree of meanness hasn’t changed much it just appears in different forms or with different vocabulary. Let’s face it, kids today are way smarter than the ones of my generation. She asked me if I had any real altercations at her age. I figured while I had it all fresh in my memory I would share it here as well.

My parents raised us to be non-confrontational. The general rule was try to ignore it and they will stop and pick on someone else. If all else fails defend yourself. I was either 9 or 10 had a decent circle of friends from the apartment complex we were living in. We all hung out with each other, rode the bus to and from school together. One day while riding the bus home one of my “friends” decided she was bored and started to pull single strands of hair from my braided pigtails. She was seated behind me on the bus with another girl as her support. The first couple of times, although it was painful, I ignored it. She then began pulling 2 or more strands at a time and it was not only painful but also degrading as the remainder of the bus behind me was now in on the game. Still trying to adhere to the rules set forth by my folks, I decided to get off the bus a few stops early and walk the rest of the way. To my dismay so did Gabby and her friend. I started walking briskly towards our development and Gabby decided to further taunt me by poking me in the rear with part of a long tree branch.

That was my breaking point. On her second pass, I whipped around and grabbed the tree branch and pulled it toward me. It happened so fast that she did not let go of the branch and we ended up nose to nose. I am not sure who was more shocked by this. She dropped her end of the branch and swiftly turned on her heel and began walking away quickly. My instinct was to grab her pony tail and yank with all my might. The force knocked her to the ground. When I let go of her hair I had a hefty handful of her locks. She was stunned, sitting on the ground motionless. Her friend took off running. I calmly shook her hair off my hands and returned to my path towards home. No emotions, no words spoken. I got home, received my regular greeting from my Mom and then I broke down. I don’t think I have ever cried that hard up to that moment.

It is of note that Gabby decided to not pick on me ever again. We remained friends until her family moved away 2 years later. In fact I guess when she got home and told her Mom what had happened, they both came over to apologize. No apology was expected of me but of course I did as well.

To this day, I am not one to fly off the handle. My breaking point remains very high. Once it is broken, watch out.

Here is your Tip.....

.....plant your corn early.

I recently witnessed a few unhappy encounters at my local nail salon. Not sure who owns and operates nail salons in your area but this particular incident occurred at a salon owned and operated predominantly by Vietnamese personnel.

This is pretty much status quo in the area that I reside. I have been frequenting this salon for a few years now and am extremely happy with all services provided to me. I also make sure I have an appointment and see the same nail tech each time. I believe this makes for a pleasant experience. As with all businesses of this nature, walk ins are welcomed. The patron did not have an appointment and was serviced by a very mild mannered woman who has very little control of the English language. Being of foreign descent myself, I do not condone the bad behavior of the client simply because she could not communicate effectively with the nail technician. Similarly, I can understand that perhaps the client felt slighted during her visit due to the constant dialogue in Vietnamese between her nail tech and the neighboring tech who was also working on a different walk in.

Certainly, if you feel snubbed because you cannot convey exactly what you like, then perhaps picking a salon with more English speaking personnel would be of some benefit. However, in this particular case, the salon has a non-Asian receptionist. He is completely fluent in English and is generally the liaison between the customers and technicians. If he can’t get the message across himself, he will seek the aide in another tech who can translate between customer and technician.

Perhaps the customer was having a very bad day. She really treated her tech with much disrespect and then announced to everyone within earshot that no tip would be offered due to sub standard service.

Now I ask you, if you are unhappy with the service being provided do you feel inclined to leave a tip? I ask this because several times I have heard horror stories of service oriented encounters where the customer is furious but still feels compelled to leave a tip. Why not stop the action, get the visit back on track and everyone is happy?

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns?