Last night on the local Detroit tv news they had a story about an 80-something year old woman who got beat down in the parking lot of an upscale Livonia, Michigan produce/specialty market. Her attackers were two young men who wanted, and ultimately got, her purse. Along with her purse (cash, credit cards etc.) they also got her sense of well-being. After she physically recovers from the beating, and she will eventually recover despite the fact that she took one hell of a whupping, my guess is it's going to be a very long time, if ever, before she feels safe enough to get in her car and venture out into the world.
I was talking about this with my Uncle David and, like always, he reminded me to be careful when I'm out and about alone because it's not just the elderly who are considerred prey by todays predators. And I know that. It's not even 'just' women who are being preyed upon, men are being attacked and robbed as well.
I was telling Uncle David that I just didn't understand why, seemingly all of a sudden, this kind of stuff is going on. I mean okay, times are tough. Lots of people without jobs, people losing their homes and cars, etc. But back in the Great Depression people weren't beating down old ladies, stealing copper plumbing from churches, etc.
Uncle David says it's because back in those days we were a nation that believed in God. We, as a people, taught our young manners, codes of ethics, proper behavior, reverence for human life. He says people--mothers and fathers--aren't taking their children to church, aren't teaching them to be respectful of the elderly, to keep their hands to themselves and off of other peoples belongings.
Maybe he's right. Maybe that's what's gone wrong. Maybe that's why as a society we're on the fast track to hell.
Perhaps I'm taking too giant of a leap here, I don't know, but I think all of what Uncle David says also applies to the lousy customer service prevalent in the market place. Surely it's not just my little corner of the world where clerks/cashiers never thank me for shopping at their store when I'm paying at the register. Or never, when they can see I'm searching for an item stop and ask if they can help me. Or…
I've been banking at the same bank for close to fifteen years. No one ever greets me by name when I go inside the bank. No one ever greets me by name when I use the drive-in window. I do believe that I could go in the bank a dozen times a day and they would still look at me as if they'd never seen me before in their life. True enough, I can survive without being treated as a valuable customer. Heck, I've been enduring it this long, right?
But to my way of thinking, right or wrong, the same attitude that causes a clerk or a bank employee or the attendant at the gas station, etc. to not be polite is the same attitude that results in old people being beaten and robbed, buildings being plundered for their copper plumbing or stained glass, schools being vandalized, etc.
What are we going to do about it?
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Snowman Sun
When Tallulah sent me this photo she said it was of a snowman sun. If you look closely you should be able to see the three round rings in front of the sun. It does look like a snowman, doesn't it (smile)?!
Speaking of snow, the weather service is calling for snow up in Tallulah's neighborhood. Originally they predicted up to 15 inches of heavy wet snow, now they say less than five. Five is better than 15, but none would be even better.
It's funny to think of them getting snow tonight when we had highs close to 80 over the weekend. It was so nice here that I had all of the windows in the house open and was able to lie out on the back patio and begin working on my tan.
Other bright news to share with you is this: HSM's #1 son, the college student, has a 3.9 average! And, unless something totally bizarre happens, will be on the Dean's List!
Lets' see, what else is new here.
Oh, here's something I bet you've been sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear about (smile)---I finished the purse I was crocheting! And it turned out really nice. I wish I had a digital camera so I could 'show' you. It came out good; it doesn't look homemade at all.
I've been invited to display and sell my work (all the things I sew and crochet) at a local Farmers Market this summer and fall. The invite surprised me; I hadn't submitted an application or anything. I'd like to accept the offer but I don't know if I can. There isn't enough time for me to produce enough goods to keep a 12-foot table stocked. That's something you have to plan way in advance for. At least if you work solo you do.
Well, that's all the news fit to discuss here (smile). You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Speaking of snow, the weather service is calling for snow up in Tallulah's neighborhood. Originally they predicted up to 15 inches of heavy wet snow, now they say less than five. Five is better than 15, but none would be even better.
It's funny to think of them getting snow tonight when we had highs close to 80 over the weekend. It was so nice here that I had all of the windows in the house open and was able to lie out on the back patio and begin working on my tan.
Other bright news to share with you is this: HSM's #1 son, the college student, has a 3.9 average! And, unless something totally bizarre happens, will be on the Dean's List!
Lets' see, what else is new here.
Oh, here's something I bet you've been sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear about (smile)---I finished the purse I was crocheting! And it turned out really nice. I wish I had a digital camera so I could 'show' you. It came out good; it doesn't look homemade at all.
I've been invited to display and sell my work (all the things I sew and crochet) at a local Farmers Market this summer and fall. The invite surprised me; I hadn't submitted an application or anything. I'd like to accept the offer but I don't know if I can. There isn't enough time for me to produce enough goods to keep a 12-foot table stocked. That's something you have to plan way in advance for. At least if you work solo you do.
Well, that's all the news fit to discuss here (smile). You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Easter Week Musings
The other day I was flipping channels and ran across a really interesting show/documentary on the Sundance Channel. Do you get the Sundance Channel? Used to be, in order to have that channel on our cable system, you had to purchase a whole package of stations that I cared less than nothing about. And then, out of the blue, BrightHouse just tossed it to us as part of everything else!
So anyway, I don't remember the exact title of the show but it had something to do with the lost years of Jesus. You know, those years when all accounts of his life ceased and he sort of became one of the 'disappeared'.
Normally I don't watch stuff like that on TV because, well, I never learn anything from it. It's always a rehash of stuff I already know. But this was interesting.
See I was raised Roman Catholic. I come from a long line of Roman Catholics, generations of them. And, like my relatives and ancestors, I was educated for most of my school years by nuns.
I can remember whenever we were taught something in religion class that didn't exactly make sense, the nuns, when questioned about it, always replied that it was a Mystery and we must accept it by faith.
I always had a problem with the prayer, the Hail Mary. One of the lines in the prayer is 'Holy Mary Mother of God…'. That has always made me stumble because how in the world could God have a mother? The nuns said God always was. There'd never been a time when He wasn't. But if He had a mother, well, that meant there was a time before He was born that He wasn't. See the dilemma???
They explained that by saying that Jesus was Mary's son. And Jesus was the Son of God. And Jesus was God.
I never bought into that. Never believed it. Just couldn't wrap my brain around it then and still can't.
In the Holy Bible Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God. Son of God, not God Himself. Son of God like you're the son of God, like I'm the daughter of God.
In this documentary on Sundance people living in Tibet and India say that in their traditions it is told that Jesus visited their countries during the years he was on the miss tip from the Holy Bible accounts.
I know lots of people have lots of different ideas about why he's not mentioned for what? Around 17 years? Some say that he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary those years, just working with Joseph and hanging with his family. Others say that if God had wanted us to know what Jesus was doing then He would have let us know. Others, like the folks from India and Tibet, and others with no affiliation to them, believe that Jesus was on the move, traveling, learning, etc.
I don't know where he was. It wouldn't surprise me if he was traveling, that would make sense. He had work to do. His Father's work.
At some point in the documentary, towards the end, they showed a series of writings, almost like graffiti, on the sides of modern day buildings. I forget which country but not here in the USA.
The gist of the writings was that the same God that Christians believe in is the same God that Muslims believe in.
Years ago I would have said yes, that is so. But it's really not. Why? Because Christians, almost exclusively, believe what the nuns taught me all those years ago---that Jesus is God. Christians believe in a man god.
Muslims believe in the one God, the God that always was and always will be. They believe that Jesus was the Christ, a very special prophet of the one God.
Anyway, if you get Sundance, maybe you'll run across that show. It's worth a watch.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
So anyway, I don't remember the exact title of the show but it had something to do with the lost years of Jesus. You know, those years when all accounts of his life ceased and he sort of became one of the 'disappeared'.
Normally I don't watch stuff like that on TV because, well, I never learn anything from it. It's always a rehash of stuff I already know. But this was interesting.
See I was raised Roman Catholic. I come from a long line of Roman Catholics, generations of them. And, like my relatives and ancestors, I was educated for most of my school years by nuns.
I can remember whenever we were taught something in religion class that didn't exactly make sense, the nuns, when questioned about it, always replied that it was a Mystery and we must accept it by faith.
I always had a problem with the prayer, the Hail Mary. One of the lines in the prayer is 'Holy Mary Mother of God…'. That has always made me stumble because how in the world could God have a mother? The nuns said God always was. There'd never been a time when He wasn't. But if He had a mother, well, that meant there was a time before He was born that He wasn't. See the dilemma???
They explained that by saying that Jesus was Mary's son. And Jesus was the Son of God. And Jesus was God.
I never bought into that. Never believed it. Just couldn't wrap my brain around it then and still can't.
In the Holy Bible Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God. Son of God, not God Himself. Son of God like you're the son of God, like I'm the daughter of God.
In this documentary on Sundance people living in Tibet and India say that in their traditions it is told that Jesus visited their countries during the years he was on the miss tip from the Holy Bible accounts.
I know lots of people have lots of different ideas about why he's not mentioned for what? Around 17 years? Some say that he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary those years, just working with Joseph and hanging with his family. Others say that if God had wanted us to know what Jesus was doing then He would have let us know. Others, like the folks from India and Tibet, and others with no affiliation to them, believe that Jesus was on the move, traveling, learning, etc.
I don't know where he was. It wouldn't surprise me if he was traveling, that would make sense. He had work to do. His Father's work.
At some point in the documentary, towards the end, they showed a series of writings, almost like graffiti, on the sides of modern day buildings. I forget which country but not here in the USA.
The gist of the writings was that the same God that Christians believe in is the same God that Muslims believe in.
Years ago I would have said yes, that is so. But it's really not. Why? Because Christians, almost exclusively, believe what the nuns taught me all those years ago---that Jesus is God. Christians believe in a man god.
Muslims believe in the one God, the God that always was and always will be. They believe that Jesus was the Christ, a very special prophet of the one God.
Anyway, if you get Sundance, maybe you'll run across that show. It's worth a watch.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Presenting A Pleasant Face
Sort of like the photo here from Tallulah, a very pretty sunrise over Lake Superior, it presents a pleasant face for the city of Marquette, Michigan and, as I'm sure their tourism board crosses their fingers for each night, the sight of it hopefully makes folks want to come and see their own sunrise.
That's how the city of Detroit has been for days, ever since the tourists started flocking in from hither and yon for the Final Four basketball tournament.
The TV news, whether you catch the early morning version, the noon segment, or the evening broadcasts, nothing bad has happened in the entire tri-county area. Nothing. At. All. And certainly NOTHING bad has even been thought about in the city of Detroit, much less occurred.
It's a bona fide hard core Detroit Love Fest.
I listened to a tourist on the news last night exclaiming how people had told him Detroit was a run down city but he hadn't seen anything like that. And I swear, he said it all in capital letters replete with exclamation points.
But if he'd wandered a few blocks from where he was staying and partying in downtown Detroit, if he'd inadvertently made a wrong turn down one of the side streets, well, he'd have told an entirely different story. And probably whimpering as he did.
Contrary to what the TV news is reporting there is a drug war being waged in Detroit. Not the cops against the drug lords. Nope. The bad guys against the other bad guys, fighting for turf and supplies and profits and face; with bodies dropping on both the east side and the west side of Detroit. And stray bullets hitting folks, children and adults, not involved in the drama.
And then there's the car jackings. For months it's been a nerve jerking experience to stop at any gas station in Detroit to fill-up your car. Why? Well, there's been at least one guy preying on those folks. Jacking them at gunpoint and taking their cars.
You didn't hear this on the news the other day but residents living in the area said that the police set up a sting for this jacker. Sure enough, the criminal jumped in the police decoy car. And the police shot him to death. It never made the news.
I understand the concept of putting on a pleasant face. Shoot, we all want to look our best when we're meeting strangers. But it's dangerous to let tourists think that they're in this Happy Land where nothing but milk and honey flows and no one wants to hurt them.
Last week Martha Reeves--you know, Martha of Martha and The Vandellas, the old Motown act-- (now a member of Detroit's City Council) stated on TV, when confronted by a local investigative reporter, that she needed her City paid car and driver, day and night, because it was too dangerous for her to be out and about in Detroit by herself.
Now if it's too dangerous for Martha, who knows the good and bad parts of the city, who's lived in Detroit the bulk of her life and is streetwise and savvy, it's downright treacherous and wicked for the tourists.
Me, I try to keep out of Detroit. My trips are confined to visiting elderly relatives and then it's during the day, never at night. I never stop for gas or a hamburger or anything in Detroit. Yes, crime can happen anywhere, even out here in Farmington Hills where I live, but it's less likely.
If you're coming to Detroit for anything at any time, do not be fooled by the tourism bureau and their 'all is well' crazy mantra. All is not well and you want to make sure you've said your prayers.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Friday, April 03, 2009
Hard Times Help
I don't know about you, but things are a little tight for me right now. No, I don't mean clothes wise (smile); I haven't 'blown up' from too many sweets! I'm talking about trying to maintain a happy, healthy lifestyle despite the fact that every time I go to the grocery store, I swear, prices have increased. Shoot, truth is, prices have skyrocketed everywhere, not just at the grocery store and the gas station, everywhere.
I used to be real good at being frugal. This was back in the day when I didn't really have to be; I just was because, well, I just was. Then things got really good for me and I started slacking off--buying pretty much anything that appealed to me. My self indulgent days are over, time to get back on track.
Maybe I've mentioned this to you before, but it's such a good resource that it deserves another go round - Angel Food Ministries.
www.angelfoodministries.com
I've never used their services, but I've talked to people who have and they rave about them. You don't have to be low income or on assistance or using a Bridge Card (the 'new' food stamps), there's no special qualifying. It's for anyone and everyone who wants to rein in their grocery costs.
Why haven't I used them if they're so great? I don't eat pork and just about every month Angel Food puts some type of pork product in the box. For me it wouldn't be a good deal if I were tossing out some of the food.
Here's a site that aims to help you save money and eat nutritious meals.
www.hillbillyhousewife.com
Yeah, I know, the title is a scream, isn't it (smile)?! But she has a blog and all sorts of stuff on her site, all interesting and helpful if you're looking to make low cost home cooked meals from scratch.
And truth is, cooking from scratch not only saves money but also tastes better. At least it does to me.
This next blog - www.nightstirrings.blogspot.com gives a step-by-step on cooking with as-you-go photos too.
Hope you find some of this helpful.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
I used to be real good at being frugal. This was back in the day when I didn't really have to be; I just was because, well, I just was. Then things got really good for me and I started slacking off--buying pretty much anything that appealed to me. My self indulgent days are over, time to get back on track.
Maybe I've mentioned this to you before, but it's such a good resource that it deserves another go round - Angel Food Ministries.
www.angelfoodministries.com
I've never used their services, but I've talked to people who have and they rave about them. You don't have to be low income or on assistance or using a Bridge Card (the 'new' food stamps), there's no special qualifying. It's for anyone and everyone who wants to rein in their grocery costs.
Why haven't I used them if they're so great? I don't eat pork and just about every month Angel Food puts some type of pork product in the box. For me it wouldn't be a good deal if I were tossing out some of the food.
Here's a site that aims to help you save money and eat nutritious meals.
www.hillbillyhousewife.com
Yeah, I know, the title is a scream, isn't it (smile)?! But she has a blog and all sorts of stuff on her site, all interesting and helpful if you're looking to make low cost home cooked meals from scratch.
And truth is, cooking from scratch not only saves money but also tastes better. At least it does to me.
This next blog - www.nightstirrings.blogspot.com gives a step-by-step on cooking with as-you-go photos too.
Hope you find some of this helpful.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
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