Beneath the Wraps

               On Monday night Roland and I watched 911.   One of the stories focused on a mother who’d been drinking while driving.   Due to her poor decision to find the bottle (or flask) more of a priority than any other human beings -  including her own child. Because he is a scared-out-of-his-mind passenger not able to communicate with his mom, he calls 911.   By the time the emergency crews arrive on the scene there is a horrific accident involving 10 – 20 cars – all because she had been disoriented behind the wheel.              Toward the end of the show, Bobby, who is a main character in the show, goes to an AA support group and talks about how so many people think they can handle the situation of drinking and staying sober – not at all rational about what their decisions may cost others.   While he was giving his speech I thought about the mandating on mask wearing and the decis...

                                purcaholic.tumblr.com              Cory mentions the facebook post of a friend who addressed concerns about “shaming people” into not agreeing with individual choices.   Some people are designed to be social even though others may feel comfortable with staying at home.   Some people feel the need to open non-essential employment in oeder to make a living.   At the same time there are many employed front-line workers who would gladly trade places with the unemployed in order to get a break.   There are valid reasons that others have for social distancing or choosing not to.   There are valid reasons for choosing to stay at home.   There are those who believe wearing a mask is connected with saving lives. Mask wearers may feel annoyed with ones who don’t.   And yet not all of these non-mask wearers are ...

I’ve been watching the Daily Social Distancing Show because Trevor Noah makes the news entertaining because the news by itself really isn’t.   After watching this segment, I am shaking my head.   Does the guy who filmed the Costco employee truly believe that the sun rises and sets just for him?   Does think he is immune to driving 100 mph on the wrong side of the road?  Does he think not taking  others into consideration is okay?   Because, heaven forbid, someone site him or jail him for reckless driving, does that mean he they have taken away his freedom?   No.   He is still free to make dumb choices.   But he can’t expect the consequences to work in his favor.     If I go somewhere in which a policy is enforced, I can choose to abide by what is expected of me or I can choose to avoid said place because I don’t wish to abide by their policy.   In this case Costco has required each of their customers to wear masks and dist...

Cold and Freezing Fog.  Does that mean a solid fog that can't be driven through?  Interesting. For driving safely in "freezing fog" conditions, see here

                I remember my niece had some kind of surgery and had worn a pink cast in the hospital bed.   Her dad, who is a professional photographer who always takes huge amounts of pictures, did not document any of Anna’s time at the hospital.   It was a sad event not to dwell on and he didn’t want any of the family to have that painful memory.   That doesn’t change what happened.           My sister and I have a great four-year-old nephew has cancer.   His parents (or other family members) have taken lots of pictures.   It’s a sad event – one the family just assume forget and yet it’s a milestone that may need to be documented so one day the family will have proof about facing a challenge and learning things that perhaps they would rather learn another way.   It’s not a pleasant milestone – but there will be growth and learning...

           I dragged my family to the high school last night.  I understood the meeting to start at 5:30, but it must have started at 5:00 as we walked into a mass production that had already obviously started.  It seems that the focus was mainly on just one school, though the elementary next to it had been mentioned.  There were parents there for both group.  I saw several youth but not a huge number.  The meeting was at the high school library and it was filled and overflowing.           Three separate events had taken place.  The first was a threat made by a person that was being bullied.  The threat made was toward the bullies and not the entire school.  On October 23 a "prank" phonecall had been made to 911 about a shooting.  Two youth were arrested.  Last week there a note had been left in one of the bathrooms lea...

             Lockdowns, shootings and bomb threats were unheard of during my youth - not in my neighborhood.   It was such a foreign concept by yesterdays standards.   Today it is the beginning of norm.             We were living in West Valley.   Jenna was in the fifth grade. I had been working on the scrapbook that I mention here .   I find it ironic that I had come to a page to explain about how life was then, and what makes her life experiences different from my own when I received a computerized phone call from the school.   The school was on lockdown and no one would be coming in or going in until whatever cause for lockdown was lifted.             As it turned out, there had been two teenage girls in the area who had been going from residential door to door to steal what they could from houses that seem...

          Everyday school crossing guards put their lives on the line – whether intentional or not. With the guard at Jenna’s school it is intentional.   Oh, sure,   there is more than one crossing guard, but Mr. Ruthless is stationed at the main street populated with cars and drivers with led feet.           Drivers might not respect Mr. Ruthless, but I think as I parent I would feel honored to have him as Jenna’s crossing guard (if we were near enough to go on foot) but because my usual route is to drop her off behind the school,   my encounters with Mr. Ruthless have been brief.           Mr. Ruthless is one who will intentionally put his life on the line.   I am floored whenever I see it happen.   And yet I can’t help feeling a sense of pride that he is seriously willing to lay down his life for our children. ...