Reminder

Sometimes I need a slap on the forehead.
Sometimes I need something less forceful.
Today I got the second one.

I was cranky today.
My back and right leg hurt from driving to one of our facilities.
I didn't like something that was in an email.
I really wanted some chocolate but I'm trying to get my blood sugar below 136 fasting.
I was cut off in a parking lot.
Yeah, I was cranky...
Until I saw a man standing near the exit of the Target parking lot with a sign:
"Will work for grocery money for family."
I stopped the car - letting anyone behind me wait. And I gave him $40, saying "I wish I had a job for you."
He thanked me - a lot.
Yeah, he could spend it on drugs or booze or both.
But even if he does, my life is so much better than his.
And maybe that $40 will go to food for his family.
That's a chance that was worth the two twenties to me.

Vain Vanity Fair

I’ve had a lot of things to muse about but not the time to write about them—until now.

I just finished perusing the latest issue of Vanity Fair. I usually go through it quickly and mark the articles I want to read. I then keep it around for a month and read the articles at my leisure—when I have some.

I went through this month’s VF faster than usual and I wanted to share some of my thoughts:

1.      Sumptuous ads of beautiful young, thin people in clothes I will never be able to wear, let alone afford.

2.      Sumptuous ads of clothes, jewelry and perfume while the country is in a recession

3.      Only one article that I really wanted to read.

Thoughts on the above:

1.        I know I’ll never wear Ralph Lauren, etc but just once I would like a magazine that caters to the middle class (if there is a middle class left), over 50 female who’s a size 14 (or larger).

2.               Yes, I understand that the companies make these things for people who can afford them and the making and the ads provide jobs, etc. That’s what my brain says. What my heart says is something altogether different: We have a country where people can afford a watch costing several thousand dollars that’s also a country where people sleep on the street.

3.                I bypassed the article about how the US missed the ability to stop 9/11. I read the article about Jerry Lewis by James Wolcott. I grew up watching Jerry Lewis. He made me laugh and sometimes he still does. I read it even though I knew that Jerry wouldn’t be manning the MD Telethon like he’s done for more than forty years. It was just good to know that someone from my past still rated a VF article, even at 85. Reading that article was almost like having a bowl of mashed potatoes or mac and cheese. It was comfort, even if it wasn’t all glowing.

And sometimes you just need comfort - even if the mashed potatoes are a bit lumpy.