Tag Archives: intolerance

A Couple of Things…

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1. I kayaked for the first time thanks to my good friend Diana.  She took me out in the Ventura Keys on a gorgeous calm morning recently.  It’s a little cumbersome getting all the equipment together and launching these water crafts, but it’s great for the senses and helps tone those arms.
Next time I’ll not only bring gloves to prevent blisters on the inside of my thumbs but I’ll remember to relax my shoulders and let my arms do the work…Oh! And maybe Bloody Marys in the water bottle.

2. My father celebrated birthday #83 In October.  Dinner at Aloha, a little jazz at Squashed Grapes, it was a good night. 🙂

3. I gave my father a copy of this photo in a frame for his birthday.  Yeah, that’s me and dad on the far left, I must have been around 8 years old.  An old friend from school came across it and sent it to me earlier this year.  She’s next to me with her father, her name is Laura. What a treasure, no?  Look at how geeky we look, and trust me, we worked hard at getting all dolled up like this.  My mother is mostly to blame for the hairdo, however, the dress was all me.

4. Also in October, the Ventura Breeze celebrated their 10-year anniversary.  Sheldon, the publisher, takes the staff out annually to help show his appreciation.  I also celebrated my anniversary with the paper; Sheldon asked me if I would write a Ventura Music Scene column four years ago.  Well he didn’t have to ask twice and I haven’t missed a single deadline either!

5. Making ice tea is a fine art, one that eludes many fast food employees. Too much ice and you don’t get enough beverage, not enough ice and you end up with warm tea. And don’t even get me started on Arnold Palmers and the proper tea to lemonade ratio (2:3 by the way).

6. In September, I saw my first owl in the wild. It was sitting in a tree in the parking lot behind City Hall.  He hung out for several weeks, but I haven’t seen him lately.  I have to say, it was thrilling!  I wish I had a better photo; I took this one with my cell phone camera. Many thanks to Derrick for bringing me out to see it.  This has been crossed off my “to-do” list.  #IDontBelieveInBucketLists

7. I mentioned surviving another birthday last time around, but I came across this photo and thought I’d share it.  A quick toast:  “Here’s to family and friends, missing friends, and surrounding yourself with people who make you feel great.”

8. I saw this photo shared on social media with the caption, “They did not think through this water fountain.”
My response, “Or did they?”

9. Confession:  I took part in Hands Across America.  I had my bosses’ kids in the car with me (yeah I got suckered into babysitting for him) and I saw people lined up with a big ole’ gap in the line, so we all hopped out and took part on that day, a Sunday, May 25, 1986.
9a. Another confession:  I’m glad I did.

10. Could fighting intolerance be considered an oxymoron?
How about being the example: demonstrate tolerance & kindness.  Be mindful about it, do it with purpose.  Sure you can pray about it, and worry about it but how about trying to calm your area (your mind, your body, your home, your community, your country, your world, your universe).  You have more power than you think.

11. Mad respect for Taylor Swift. She counter sued a DJ who was suing her after she complained that he grabbed her backside and he was fired from his radio job.  He was suing for millions.  She sued for $1 and won.

I was watching social media’s response and the one that hit me hardest was a local radio announcer who said, “She should have gone to the police.”  He thought it needed to be reported.
I guess that’s easy for a man to say. But as a woman I can’t even count how many times my backside has been grabbed by male acquaintances and total strangers.
I think Taylor handled the whole event tactfully.  She went to his boss and reported it. She counter sued, and she won.

12.  From my favorite quotes file:  “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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mean-raccoon1.  After my close encounters with the local wild raccoons over the past few years, I’ve come to loathe these bandit-looking vermin; however, I felt sorry for what I assumed was one of our local furry scavengers last night when it apparently slipped between the two fences (about 5 inches wide) along my back yard dividing the property between me and my neighbor.  I heard a scuffle thinking my cat was defending her property, but then screams, weird animal noises, and yelling ensued with a lot of pounding and banging echoing through the 4:30 am silence.  I thought I’d have to call animal protective services when they opened in the morning (they’re actually closed on the weekend), to rescue the suffering animal, but fifteen minutes later I saw a nose pop up then disappear.  I was rooting for the suffering animal watching from my secure viewpoint out my bedroom window. Several attempts later a huge racoon climbed out, then to my surprise, two more quickly followed suit.  They were at least 40+ pounds each and they high-tailed it across  fences and roofs making additional racket along the way.  They’re usually pretty smart, so with any luck at all they won’t be returning any time soon!

Then of course there’s this:

Raccoon-on-alligator2.  And just in case you missed it, Yep, that’s a raccoon riding an alligator. A man was watching alligators when his son accidentally startled an unseen raccoon who ran out onto the gator’s back, just long enough for the man to get this shot.  Pulitzer Prize winning shot?

I’ll be honest, I’m liking the critters just a smidgen more.

3.  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fuck I hate that lesson.
I really need to trust my gut more often.

4.  Somewhere along the same subject line, there are certain people out there, when they open their mouths, you expect not-so-bright things to escape from time to time. It’s the ones you thought were bright, smarter than your average bear and tolerant of others that really floor you when they say something bigoted; and the kicker is, they don’t even realize it.

Definition of a bigot: “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.” (Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2015)

5. I hadn’t followed the story of Tim Donaghy who went to prison for betting on games while working as an NBA referee; however, a recent headline caught my eye when it said he had joined a white power gang in prison.  “Former ref Tim Donaghy joined white power gang in prison.”  The article said he didn’t like his experience there and he was quoted as saying, “Too many criminals.”
Ya think?

6.  I am not the sum total of my experiences.  If I were I would be bat ass crazy.  Wait…

7.  I hope you won’t think less of me, but I was super jazzed to attend my neighbor’s memorial service recently.  I adored my neighbor because he was a lifelong Marine, and he was always there for you; an incredibly decent man with a life well lived.  We’d spend hours talking about basketball and his two grandchildren who played ball through high school, then college, and now the NBA (you know where I’m going with this, right?).  So I got to meet these fine outstanding basketball players, all 6’9″ of them, and even got a hug from one of them.  Aaron plays for Orlando Magic and Drew plays for the Delaware 87ers. I’m still grinning about this, and yes Dave Davis, you will definitely be missed. You rocked sir!

twitter10008.  I hit 1,000 followers on Twitter recently.  Yay!!!

9.  There were many aspects of working in radio that were either embarrassing, or difficult that put me outside my comfort zone.  But the one that always totally introverted me was when someone would ask me for my autograph.

10.  I bought a pair of those biker shorts, you know the kind that have extra padding in strategically placed sections?  I’ve never wanted to wear them because of vanity reasons (like I need extra padding, right?), but OMG, sweet!!

11.  The trick to getting a new set of pots and pans is to actually throw out the old ones.  This is a trick I have heard about, but not yet applied.

12.  From my Favorite Quotes File:  “There is nothing more dangerous than the conscience of a bigot.” – George Bernard Shaw

Thanks for your time!