What in the world???

 

 

 

Of all the things we have lost in this country I think the loss of a community sense of shame has got to be the most devastating.

If you watched the music awards show the other evening I hope you were appalled.   I hope you became so irate you wrote a scathing letter to MTV, your congressman, the Alliance of Ministers…..somebody!!

The “performance” of Miley Cyrus was the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in a long, long time….and I didn’t even watch the show!   All I had to do was watch any news program and there it was.  It’s not bad enough this “Sodom and Gomorrah” set to music performance was on once, but it’s being shown over and over.  I’m sure it has gone exactly as planned.

People on TV lament the fact that Miley chose to act this way.  They make it sound as if it were her idea; on the spur of the moment she came up with this tongue lolling, sex reenactment on her own.  Not so.

Miley Cyrus was performing a carefully choreographed “dance routine” that was created by some ‘professional’ who was trying to get a response.  She was paired with other celebrated deviants on the stage, and she’s just young enough and dumb enough to go along with it.

The people at MTV know perfectly well what they are doing because they do it every year.  This stuff is aimed at YOUR twelve year old…MY nine year old grandchildren…the ten, eleven and twelve year old ‘tweens’ who are impressionable, their minds like sponges. 

I firmly believe this type of programming makes those producers, choreographers, and executives nothing better than child predators!  They fashion this porn, put it to ‘music’ with obscene and degrading lyrics, then put it out there for these young kids to watch and emulate.   Many of our children are forming their beliefs using information from a universe that doesn’t even exist.  We allow them to sit in a near hypnotic state and watch this flickering porn to their hearts content.   The sexualization of our children begins the moment they are parked in front of the television and doesn’t stop there.   It’s todays music, advertising, movies, and youth programming as well.  It is an epidemic.

How sad the world that inherits the children that are being spoon fed this nasty broth.  Do not let these people walk thru the minds of your precious children with their dirty feet!  Turn off the noise, turn off the ugliness, and turn off the TV!!

The absolute trash that impersonates entertainment today benefits only those who perform it; but they wouldn’t make a dime from it if there were not people that are willing to hand over their money for the privilege of watching and listening.

I really hope someday Miley Cyrus grows enough to look back on this with shame; the people who are using her to make money very likely will not.

                                                         Life is good

 

What's Left Behind?

Clothes make the man.....
                                       
Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.....
                                                                                             
He who dies with the most toys wins.....

Those little homilies ran through my head as I walked through a lake-front mansion. This was an estate sale that contained the belongings of someone who had obviously lived a financially privileged life.

 
The house sat on three and a half acres of manicured lawns facing the lake; the grounds were dotted with stone terraces and a jewel of an in-ground pool.
 

 I stood looking up at a house that I would guesstimate held twenty five rooms; the huge, etched glass doors invited me in.   As I wandered around I discovered most of the rooms boasted a beautiful, unobstructed, view of Lake Erie. The tag sale was winding down, but some very expensive furnishings still sat in many of the rooms. Tables full of beautiful decorative pieces and monogrammed items, left behind by a man or woman who wouldn’t need them any longer, occupied much of the floor space.

 
It seems that shopping has become our national pass time; we all seem to think what we own is really important. But what can we determine about an individual by the earthly things they have left behind? It was easy to assume this person had enjoyed a pretty healthy bank account at some point in his/her life. Judging by the electric lift chair on the stairs this person’s health may have deteriorated to the point that climbing the beautiful winding stairs was out of the question.

The olympic sized pool remained covered and unused; the hot tub being sold looked as if it, too, had not been enjoyed in a very long time.  The footprint of this house was huge, but one small room in particular was time worn.  It occurred to me that the majority of this person’s days might have been spent there instead of the elegant living room with the sweeping view of the water.  A gourmet kitchen held the most expensive appliances, but the worn out electric fry pan and a dented tea kettle told the story of a person who likely only ate out of necessity. This house had once been a show place, and I'm sure it will be again….but the small details hinted at a very quiet, perhaps lonely, finish to someone’s life.

 A life lived in elegant surroundings; that’s what these things said about their previous owner. But, more importantly, what they did not say spoke volumes. These belongings said nothing about the owner’s heart and soul. There were no comfortable nooks that spoke to the joy of watching the sun rise and set on the lake, no happy faces shining from the expensive picture frames.  Perhaps those personal things had been removed; perhaps they never existed. 

Some of the items seemed to have been collected during travels to foreign countries; maybe brought to this house by a traveling work-a-holic or a happy leisure traveler. Nothing in these things that were being picked over by strangers told me very much about their true owner.   Still and all, the real message was clear:  No matter how much stuff we accumulate, we all die.

I love quotes and snappy sayings. The problem with catchy little phrases is that, while they may scratch the surface of the truth, but they do not penetrate very far.

Clothes do not make the man…I remember my dad’s hugs as he gathered me up in his arms wearing his scratchy work shirt.

 

Diamonds are not a girl’s best friend…a loving spouse, a loyal friend, a caring family; these are jewels.

 

He who dies with the most toys wins is not true at all.    My grandparent’s most prized possessions were their bibles. Both books are dog eared, with passages underlined, scripture and comments in the margins.  They are rich with their thoughts and beliefs, snippets of baby hair, a card from a beloved friend’s funeral, a column cut from a church bulletin.

When I die my loved ones can divide the number of days I have lived by the value of the things I leave behind...and they will learn nothing from doing the math. Some things just don't add up.

 

                                                                       Life is Good

 

Erie Dearie

Over dinner the other evening I was discussing my favorite hobby...kayaking...with a friend. He asked if I had ever fallen out of the kayak or had it flip over on me. I could honestly tell him, "No, I've never had that happen." That won't be true the next time he asks.

Lake Erie can be tricky. She has no patience, so she changes constantly. This morning I set out on a gently rolling lake. The slight undulation of the water only made paddling easier as I headed out along the coast line.

If you do not have a hobby that is always amazing and freeing, I hope you find one. For me that is kayaking. It works the kinks out of the body, puts oxygen deep into your lungs and clears the mind. Blue sky, blue water...the combination is relaxing and invigorating at the same time.

As I glided across the water a glint of blue caught my eye from an area that is fairly inaccessible except by water. The sun shone on this large, blue orb...hmmmm. Could it be a piece of beach glass that large? Naturally, I had to find out!

Pointing the kayak into the beach I realized the undulating water would quickly become white water, and then a crashing wave, as I neared land. Using the paddle as a rudder I positioned the kayak between two big rocks; the wave quickly whisked me past them and deposited me right on the sand. I reached out and picked up the beautiful lemon sized piece of turquoise beach glass that had lured me here, then hopped out of the kayak to explore some more.

I shrugged out of my lifejacket and walked the long stretch of beach, content to be looking for beach glass, cobble stones, and pretty drift wood pieces and fossils. Most days my kayak looks like a garbage scow returning to our home beach.

Finally, I had scoured the sand long enough. Now the waves sounded like slamming car doors as they broke on the huge rocks around me. Looking at the waves I was going to have to overcome to get out of this place, I realized there was a pretty good chance I was going to end up in the water. I tucked my beach glass treasures into the water tight compartment in the kayak; something I'd never felt it necessary to do before.

I pulled the kayak into the water in an effort to get out into some calmer water. Carefully I watched for a break in the waves to hop into the boat. I thought I'd timed it very well until the waves proved me wrong and unceremoniously dumped me out of the boat, and then sent both of us rolling back onto the beach! After repeating this process one more time I pulled the kayak back up on the beach and sat on a big rock to give the whole thing some thought.

I always have a cell phone with me in a water proof envelope, so I knew I could call for help if I needed to do that. But, as I sat there thinking about what that conversation might sound like, I decided it was much too soon to give in. As I sat there thinking I looked down to find another beautiful piece of glass by my foot. It was a sign...okay maybe not a sign...but it made getting dumped into the lake a little more worthwhile. I popped the pretty bobble into my lifejacket pocket and headed out to do battle with the waves once again.

Third time's a charm, they say.....and this time it was true for me. With a great deal of effort I managed to paddle my way back through the waves out into the calmly undulating lake once more.

I remember when I was a young girl listening to guys talk about their cars. "I want to take it out on the highway and open it up....blow some carbon out of the carburetor." I never understood what that meant; but now that statement came back to me as I slipped across the water toward home. I had used every muscle and pushed my energy to the limit...blown some carbon out of my carburetor if you will.  It felt more than good, it felt great.

                                                          Life is Good