Shipwrecked & Comatose

"It's traditional." "It's always been done this way." If you want me to support your cause, you will never use these phrases with me.  I believe tradition can be more of a hindrance than a help.  Rigid adherence to tradition is a potential impediment to true progress.  If humans always stuck to the belief that things should be done one way because they have always been done that way, we would all still be living in trees.  Everything changes and moves forward and most of the time humanity is the better for it. This doesn't only apply to the big issues.  It also applies to the small ones.  Pop culture needs to be refreshed and reinvented too sometimes.  If it didn't we would all still be watching vaudeville and the Keystone Cops and wondering why were were bored with them. The grand tradition of Dr. Who deserves a face lift as much as any institution.  For the uninitiated, I will clarify that Dr. Who is a TV show that began in 1963...

When I am on the train going home, I do not like to get up after I find a seat and sit down.  I want to sit down and immediately get my ticket ready and read my book.  I don't want to be disrupted.  I want to stay seated until the train reaches my stop.  This means I do what it takes to not have to move to let someone in my row.  If I'm sitting in the aisle seat, I will ask anyone requesting to sit in my what her stop is.  If that person is getting off before me, I will gladly take the middle seat.  It's is much easier than standing up, moving into the aisle to let the other passenger into the middle seat, and then getting up again at that passenger's stop. Today I boarded the train and found an available seat in the two facing rows at the back of the car.  Two people were in this group of seats already.  One was sitting on the aisle and one was sitting at the window.  I decided to take the remaining window seat since I wouldn't have t...

Donald Trump can't help himself.  He has to lash out at everything and everyone.  There seems to be a general consensus among rational people that his recent comment about Mika Brzezinski is a step too far. His minority of supporters are cheering him on.  His long-suffering wife defended him.  This woman who claims to be supporting an anti-bullying project said, "He will punch back 10 times harder." Is this the kind of behavior we should expect from someone occupying the the highest office in the land? Being president - being in politics in general -  requires an extraordinary personality.  A politician needs a thick skin.  He needs to be able to take the high ground when attacked.  He needs to be diplomatic at all times.  He has to walk a fine line between being gracious and saying what's on his mind.  When you are president, you must deal with the media, the public, and the leaders of other countries with consistency and class. ...

Drama, drama, drama.  Everything is drama. I hate that word. Oh, do you think I'm being "dramatic" when I say that?  Well, tough.  Maybe it's time you stopped pointing fingers and started listening. This seems to be the typical reaction to any displays of negative feelings these days: Person #1 - I'm really upset right now by events around me, or the people around me. Person #2 - Oh cut the drama! Another example: Person #1 - I'm stating my opinion. Person #2 - I'm disagreeing with your opinion. Person #3 - Ooh!  Look at all the drama.  I am getting the popcorn to watch this unfold because it's all just entertainment. Person #4 - Oh no.  It's drama.  I can't handle it. What is "drama"?  In the true definition of the word, it is a form of entertainment that is meant to be mostly serious.  The feelings it are meant to evoke are not humor or warm fuzzies.  A play, television show, or movie that is considered a ...

Sometimes I feel weary of hiding. When I make social media posts, I am always cognizant of who will read it.  What will readers think?  Will they be offended?  Will they still like me if they post it?  I want people to like me. What do I do to stay safe?  I don't always say what's on my mind.  I have come up with blog post topics that I would never dare publish .  I have hidden my opinions behind metaphors .  I have specific lists of friends who can only see certain Facebook posts. When you see me online what do you see? The girl who is obsessed with food? The horse girl? The theater girl? The smart aleck? Maybe you don't want to see: The feminist. The secularist who wishes you well, and will help you in any way she can, but will not pray for you. The patriot who believes that the tide of progress can not, and should not be stopped , who believes that one should understand the line between patriotism and jingoism, who believe...

I'm not sure exactly when the bug got up my butt.  I would say it was about 3 or 4 years ago.  I may even have to partially credit reading The Fault in Our Stars .  I can only say at some point Amsterdam became a city that was a major item on the Bucket List .  It seemed like a city that contained a little of everything I love as a tourist: beautiful scenery and architecture, friendly people, and plenty of museums and culture. I put it off for a few years.  I never seemed to be able to get the money together.  Twice my father made me offers I couldn't refuse for other vacations like Prague and the cruise to the Mediterranean .  Amsterdam was put on the back burner again and again. I had no major plans for the back half of 2017, so I considered taking a trip in the fall.  I got Kevin tentatively on board with the idea.  We were planning our usual Chincoteague trip in July and wanted to escape winter in March by going to Hawaii.  I th...

It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, And what the LORD doth require of thee: Only to do justly , and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. - Micah 6:8 One of the strongest arguments against massive border walls and a gestapo-like mass roundup and deportation of undocumented workers is it will have a negative effect on the industries that depend on immigrant labor.  Those industries are crucial to the daily lives of all Americans.  Immigrants provide the labor for the food, beverage (including wine) and meatpacking industries.  It is likely that any food you didn't grow yourself was handled by an immigrant worker at some point.  Thanks to stricter immigration rules, even without 2,000-mile border walls, farmers are having a more difficult time finding laborers in recent years.  Despite the stereotypes of immigrants "stealing" jobs from native-born Americans, the jobs are certainly open to Americans.  The problem is Americans don't wa...