Perspective

I posted a few days ago about the government shutdown and the World War II veterans from Mississippi who stormed the National Mall so they could see the WWII Memorial. Their memorial. As the shutdown continues, it means lots of different things to different people. Although D.C. doesn't have its own "state" budget, Mayor Vincent Gray has deemed city employees essential, so our trash is getting picked up and we're still getting parking tickets (and in all honestly, a host of other government resources that I'm too lazy to enumerate). So far, for me it's more of an annoyance than a life-altering incident.

It's easy to complain and moan about how ridiculous Congress is acting over this, and I think [most sane] people across the political spectrum agree that a government shutdown is in fact, ridiculous. Trash building up on the National Mall is a sad sight to see, tourists spending money to travel to national parks and memorials that are closed are understandably frustrated, and many businesses are losing money because of reduced spending. However, this is a good time to keep things in perspective and differentiate between irritants and actual tragedies, like cancer patients not receiving treatment, veterans and their families not receiving benefits, and other harmful, serious and potentially life-threatening effects of the government shutdown. 

A friend (not the author) shared this Facebook post about keeping things in perspective. It's a good reminder for everyone.

Perspective. Got stuck in the lone checkout line at Safeway behind a woman buying groceries with her EBT card (food stamps). She had her teenaged son with her and a huge stack of coupons. I’ve been having a frustrating week. I was wearing coat and tie and probably had a grumpy look on my face when I arrived. The woman working the register kept looking at me apologetically as time went on and the line grew.  

The shopper had a coupon for almost every item. She went through that stack of coupons four times slowly because she was missing one. I think she had coupons for apples, soup, pasta, rice, beans, and bread. She was missing a 60 cent coupon for her two cartons of almond milk. She had a list and had calculated to the penny what she could buy, had $70 on her EBT card and $20 or so on a check she had written but she was $1.20 short to finalize the purchase. 

I was tempted to pass the woman two bucks but she was already starting to radiate with awkward embarrassment. Her son stood behind her and stared at the floor. Finally the shopper asked the register worker if there was any way she could look through the weekly flier and find the coupon she needed and the worker started paging through it for her.  

My irritation dissipated the longer I stood there. Its been a long time since I agonized over $1.20 for food. I’ve never had to do it with a crowd behind me. I could see the time and care she had put into her shopping trip, calculating the cost, clipping coupons, buying cheap healthy food.  

I relaxed. I smiled. The coupon was finally found and the sale made. The register worker kept thanking me for my patience. I suppose these days most folks expect a certain amount of eye-rolling and grimacing when a customer is inconvenienced for a few minutes. We’re very busy people. 

By Monday the shutdown will have cost me enough from a plane ticket change fee and a lost weekend of National Guard wages that it will sting. But I won’t miss a meal, or even skimp. I won’t miss a mortgage payment. I won’t fear for my phone or electricity being shut off. I have friends that may. I’m grateful for all that America has given me. I’m glad my wife has a good-paying job. 

Not everyone is so lucky. We have young National Guard soldiers here in Washington State that rely on their drill pay for food and lodging and on military tuition assistance to pay for college. They won’t be getting either due to the shutdown. Each of them volunteered to serve in their nation’s military during time of war, uncertain of the cost.  

This will likely, hopefully, be resolved before my young soldiers or friends in federal service even have time to apply for food stamps or unemployment. But not, perhaps, before a few missed payments, missed meals, and sleepless nights. It bothers me to see them treated this way.

The Legislative Branch of our government has its work cut out for it. I’d like to see them take up that task with the same zeal, teamwork and selfless sense of service to nation and community I see in the young soldiers and law enforcement officers that work for me. I’d like that a great deal. 

All I did. The best I did today, was to stand patiently in line behind someone less fortunate than myself and not act like a complete ass. The woman at the register seemed appreciative. Almost like she expected me to be annoyed. Is this what we’ve come to? Is this what people expect.

Patience. Compassion. Persistence. Teamwork. I expect these attributes of my most junior employees. I expect them of myself. I expect them of my government.

Shutdown, Schmutdown

Well, the federal government officially shut down this morning at 12:01 a.m. I was awake catching up on Nashville (OMG DEACON) and reminiscing about Snood with my fellow insomniac Kelly when the shutdown began. The earth did not tremble, the lights did not go out, and sirens were not sounded. Basically, the government continued to do nothing, as usual. (If you're wondering what happens to us folks living in the District of Columbia since we are not a state, our illustrious mayor Vincent Gray has deemed all D.C. government employees "essential", meaning parking attendants will still be waiting for your time limit to go over by ONE MINUTE before ticketing you. If you weren't wondering, well, now you know.)

Anyway, the #shutdownpickuplines hashtag on Twitter has been entertaining while the finger-pointing and mud-slinging from both sides reminds me a lot of pre-school.

The best thing I've read today is the story of the Mississippi veterans storming the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. Located on national park grounds, the memorial was officially closed today, but National Park Service personnel and perhaps a Congressman or two simply move the metal barricades and let the veterans inside. 

via Buzzfeed

F*ck yeah, America.

Presidents and Assholes

Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one. I am reminded of this in life generally, and around Presidential elections particularly. Typically, I enjoy casual political discussions, but I loathe the name-calling and mudslinging that these conversations can turn into at times. The advent of social media has made it much easier to sling aforementioned mud, and it's been interesting to see how this growing medium has factored into the three Presidential elections in which I've been eligible to vote.

Politically, I'm moderate.  I can usually see both sides of an argument, and as such I identify with values represented by both the Democratic and the Republican party. There are numerous articles, analyses, thoughts and rants about this election on the Internet for you to peruse at your leisure. That's not what I'm writing about. What I'm writing is the drunken and immature student protest that occurred at the University of Mississippi after the announcement that President Barack Obama had won the Presidential race. You may have read about it, as the Washington Post posted an article about the "riot" that occurred.

Folks, this was not a riot. Unfortunately, Mississippi knows its riots all too well as it has a very sad, very horrifying, very bloody past. This event was a group of 30-40 drunk students (mostly freshman, so teenagers) who weren't happy with the way the election turned out; instead of acting like rational human beings, one person burned an Obama/Biden sign and several others yelled racial slurs. Once the initial group gathered, word spread of the protest via social media, so the crowd of onlookers, not protesters, grew to between 300-400 people.

I'm not pardoning nor condoning this behavior at all--I'm embarrassed that this occurred in my home state, I'm appalled that our president (regardless of his politics or skin color) was disrespected in such a significant way, and most of all I'm saddened that racism still exists on any level. While I personally would like to see these kids held accountable for their actions, I'm not sure how feasible that is considering our First Amendment protects the freedom of speech.

However, one obnoxious asshole burning a sign and a handful of immature and irrational college kids do not speak for our entire state or for its children. Mississippi certainly has a long way to go, and its violent past will never be forgotten, but I wish that it could also be remembered for something other than our troubles. I wish that the national media had also spent the same amount of energy publicizing the 600-participant We Are One Mississippi candlelight walk to condemn the protest. A candlelight vigil in and of itself won't solve bigotry or any other problem, but it's a great step to show that the vocal minority does not speak for the majority. (More here, here, and here.) 

UPDATE: Read the first-hand account of the protest.

Photo: Bruce Newman, Associated Press

In closing, one of my favorite quotes from a fellow Mississippian:

"Mississippi is like my mother, I am allowed to complain about her all I want, but God help the person who raises an ill word about her around me, unless she is their mother, too." Kathryn Stockett

On Weather

Well. A lot has happened in the past few days. Frankenstorm, also known as Hurricane Sandy, the collective of storms that recently battered the East Coast, has come and gone. We were mainly spared in the D.C.-metro area. There were downed trees and branches, some flooding of businesses and basements, and extensive power outages, but the damage we faced was nothing (nothing) compared to the devastation in New York and New Jersey. As with many natural disasters, there aren't words to describe what's left in the wake of the storm. The Atlantic has some vivid photos of the aftermath here and here and here. (Side note: Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, has earned his Super Mayor title.)

Breezy Point, Queens

Manhattan without power

Queens, NY

Seaside Heights, NJ
(photos via The Atlantic)

As a Mississippi gal who grew up visiting the Gulf Coast, from Houston to New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle, I'm not a stranger to hurricanes. I was at school in Tuscaloosa when that bitch Katrina came barreling through, and we had substantial damage even then, several hundred miles from landfall in New Orleans. My family was vacationing near Destin, FL when Tropical Storm Alberto came through back in 1994. There are countless other storms that caused my hometown plenty of residual flooding and damage; Andrew, Ivan, Rita, Camille back in the day, and of course the innumerable tornados that hit the Southeastern U.S. each spring.

I don't mean to say that I survived these storms, because that's not at all fair to those who actually lived on the Coast and lost homes and loves ones. My point is, this storm was such a rare occurrence that it would have been terribly devastating to those who expect weather events like this; I can't imagine what it must feel like for the NYers and NJers who were blindsided by this storm. (Kind of like in 2009 and 2010 when D.C. experienced record snowfall amounts and the city shut down. President Obama, a Chicagoan, couldn't understand why three-plus-feet of snow sent D.C.-ers into a panic and received some flak for it.)

The District has experienced some pretty odd weather events over the past several years. There was SnOMG in December 2009, which dropped 16 inches of snow in D.C.; Snowmageddon/Snowpocalypse in February 2010, responsible for three-plus feet of snow and an epic snowball fight in Dupont Circle; an earthquake in August 2011; Snowtober on Halloween 2011; a derecho in June 2012; and now the Frankenstorm in October 2012. The Washington Post even wrote about it, and here's another breakdown.

Anyway, my neighborhood tends to lose power at a brisk gust of wind, so I packed up and camped out with my sister and her boyfriend in Arlington. We were lucky enough to maintain power the entire time, and had our own three-person hurricane party, complete with beer, PlayStation, scary movies, and homemade pumpkin waffles the next day. All in all, not a bad way to spend a couple of days.

Please consider donating to the Red Cross's Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. 

50 Shades of Don't Waste Your Time

Let's talk about 50 Shades of Grey for a minute. Maybe a couple of minutes. I read this book (and the two that came after it). I know, I'm hanging my head in shame. I'm normally pretty strong about not reading the hot new thing in books (except for Harry Potter... and Twilight... and Hunger Games...), but Amazon was having a three-for-one sale and I gave in. Sorry, I'm not sorry, except that I kind of am. Sorry, that is. This book was terrible. I mean it. 

First of all, they call it mommy porn for a reason. It is definitely porn-o-graphic. If you're a Puritan or a Jehovah's Witness, this is not the book for you. Probably Southern Baptists, too.

Secondly, the trilogy started as Twilight fan fiction; I really didn't enjoy the Twilight books, so I don't know why I thought I'd enjoy this series. (Confession: I only liked a lot, not loved, the Hunger Games trilogy. I know, I'm a horrible person.) 

Thirdly, the writing is just Gawd-awful. The main character has just graduated college and has neither a smartphone nor her own laptop. This is 2011; what kid doesn't have a smartphone or a laptop (insert desktop or iPad if that's easier to swallow)? And don't get me started on Ana Steele's inner goddess and/or her subconscious; her inner goddess is a tart and her subconscious is a school marm. She literally has named the voices in her head. I cringe thinking about it. Maybe she's Schizophrenic.

Fourthly, Christian Grey, the mysterious protagonist, is really just a creepy stalker. He randomly shows up on her family trip; he wants her to sign a contract to be a sex slave; he has her followed; he wants her to sign a contract to be a sex slave; he bugs her email; he wants her to sign a contract... you get the point.

In fact, I'm going to tell you what happens, minus all the S&M stuff. Ana and Christian meet, they fight, things get weird, they have sex, they date, they have sex, they break up, they have sex, they get back together, they have sex, Christian has a helicopter accident, they have sex, they get married, they have sex, she gets a stalker, they have sex, the stalker gets arrested, they have sex, they move into a new house, they have sex, they have two kids, they have sex, and they live happily ever after. The end.

You're welcome.