Helping Others

I saw something today that made me cry and feel the urgency to help someone else. An old friend’s niece recently passed away. I have known her family since middle school. I won’t tell you how long that has been, but let’s just say it is a LONG time. It was her little sister’s daughter. I didn’t know this young lady, but she got very sick very fast. She had down’s syndrome. She had a rough life. And rather than getting to finish it happily ever after, she passed away before reaching adulthood. It makes me tear up thinking about it.

Who plans for this? Who thinks about outliving their kids when they’re so young? They weren’t prepared financially and from what I understand, it took it’s toll.

They’re having a spaghetti dinner tomorrow in Pulaski, Tennessee to raise money for her funeral expenses. Asheville, North Carolina is a little too far away to drive for spaghetti. But since I can’t make it, I can send money. I just found out from the bank where there is a fund set up for funeral expenses that I can send a check made out to her mother’s name, Sherry Barr, and notate the account number and name of account on the check. I can mail the check to Redstone Federal Credit Union, 220 Wynn Dr, Huntsville, AL 35893. This is what I am going to do.

Sometimes Ya Gotta Suck It Up

Right now the economy is in the toilet. I’m not going to discuss the political implications of that because I don’t believe it was tanked within the last 3 years. It takes a whole lot longer to do this much damage. Currently the county I live in has an 8.4% jobless rating. It’s not as bad as some of the country and it’s not as good either. I know there are jobs available. Are they great jobs? No. Are they jobs? Yes. Do I know people who need jobs? Yes.

So what is my problem? I tell people about these jobs and they say they don’t want “that” job. I’m sorry but I don’t think in this economy that is really an option at the moment. Right now any money coming in is better than no money coming in. It’s better than them whining to me that there are no jobs when I know for a fact there are. I know they qualify for these jobs and would get them if they would take some initiative and try. We all want to make $50 bazillion a year but most don’t (excluding Bill Gates, that Facebook kid, and the guys from Google).  This is not just one person that has done it. And frankly I think it is a shame that people act like this. It’s a sense of entitlement. It makes me want to ask them why they feel they’re better than anyone else. I’m sorry but in this society no one is better than anyone else and they should be glad that anyone has any jobs.

This reminds me of the story of the flood when the guy is standing on the roof praying to God for help and a row-boat comes by and they say, “Come on! Let’s go!” and he says, “No. I’m waiting for God.” And then a helicopter comes and they drop a ladder and yell, “Climb up!” He yells, “No! I’m waiting for God!” He drowns and goes to the pearly gates and is standing before God and God asks why he is there. He tells God the story. God shakes His head and says, “I DID answer your prayer! I sent a boat and a helicopter! What more did you want?”

The moral of the story, boys and girls, is that when opportunity is there, take it! Quit acting like you are better than anyone. Be glad you have that opportunity. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it is the last opportunity on earth. It just means it is the one available at the moment. I haven’t liked all of my past jobs. Guess what. They paid the bills. I have done telemarketing for a funeral home IN a cemetery. Glamorous, huh? Guess what! It was money. Get over your ego and pride and realize you need money to function and sometimes you have to suck it up.

What Have You ALWAYS Been Told Not To Talk About?

OK. There are certain topics that we have always been told not to talk about. Religion, politics, sex, money. Why some people feel the need to bring these up in a public forum is beyond me. Is it to instigate a fight? It’s one thing to not like someone else’s favorite football team. But when you start actually publicly lambasting someone because of their personal views and beliefs, I feel you are definitely crossing some lines.

Does it really matter how a person voted? Or does it matter what a politician wears? Why does it matter? Does it truly affect you or someone you know on a personal level? I don’t like most of what the majority of politicians say or do but I am not going to discuss every detail with the world. I do discuss some of these things with a very select few people who I know can have a civilized conversation and not berate me for my beliefs. We have discussions about why we like this or that about certain politicians or why we don’t. But the thing is there are very few people willing to do this without trying to make you feel inferior for certain things.

For the record, I am neither Democrat nor Republican. I am Independent. I do tend to lean more to the left but that is because of social programs that I care a great deal about. I will not discuss who I have or have not voted for in the last 20 years. (I will, for the record, state that I cannot believe I have been able to vote for 20 years.) I will say that I have voted Democrat and Republican in the past. But other than that, it’s really none of anyone’s business. Know why they have those booths with the curtain? Because our right to vote is ours and can be done with some semblance of privacy.

So, if you want to discuss your views on religion, politics, sex, and/or money you probably need to go elsewhere. I don’t care to discuss these topics because most people feel their opinion is the only opinion and my response to that is usually that they have the right to be wrong if they want to.

Can Money Buy You Love?

There’s a song about money not being able to buy love. You know the one. But is it true? When I was younger I believed love was the cure for everything. As I have aged, I guess I have become jaded. I think real love is hard to find and most people who say they are in love today probably will say they’re not tomorrow. I suppose I’m cynical. But it’s life experience that has taught me to be this way. As I stated before I used to believe in love and all it’s many splendored things and how it made the world go round and that the world just needed more love because it was the one thing there was just too little of.

What a bunch of hooey! What there’s too little of is money! I need more money. The cost of everything is rising except my paycheck. So at this very moment if I had to choose over money or love, I would pick money! I don’t think I have the know how for love, but I sure know how to spend money! And while love can give you that gooey feeling right in your heart, if you think about it so can money! Think about how it would feel to pay in full for a car. I bet that would make my heart all gooey knowing it was ALL MINE! How bout that relaxed feeling on vacation knowing it was completely paid for and I didn’t have to hock everything I owned for a day or two at the beach? That’s a feeling I’d like to experience!

So can money buy love? No. But it can buy a lot of things I do love. It can buy a house and a vehicle and it can pay the power bill, water bill, cable bill, internet bill, etc. and those are things I love dearly. And while I would love to feel cherished and loved, I have already stated I am cynical. I don’t know that will ever happen. I don’t know that I’ll ever have money either, but I will continue to hope so! Maybe that makes me a material girl, maybe not. I’m just tired of struggling all the time!