Over the Top...

After reading this blog about getting a tattoo, specifically a "Tramp Stamp" check it here, I got to pondering the entire idea about adorning our bodies in a permanent fashion and how extreme we've become...

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not against tattoos or piercings, per se, but I do wonder "what were you thinking" when I see how outrageous some people are these days!  I marvel on how I once thought a tongue or nose pierce was excessive or a full sleeve tattoo was radical.  Compared to the goings on today, these are now considered moderate, conservative, normal...

Would you date a guy who sported this tattoo...

Honestly, what would you think when you discovered this one?  Or...

How about dating this guy?  Well...maybe if your name was Brenda...

Then what about the world of piercings?  Why would a pretty, young gal do something like this to her face...

or this?

 I get wanting to be unique, distinctive, decorated...  But, I don't get why anyone would go to such excess?  I'm especially distressed when it's a young person because most will come to deeply regret the follies of their youth. Plus, there may not be much that can be done about it.  Or it could be very expensive and painful to fix. 

I wish common sense would prevail and our youth would realize that these permanent ornaments may not be so "sick" when they get older but, in fact, might make them sick that they ever did it!

Then there are the piercings and tattoos that are really OVER THE TOP...

CRAZY...

WACKADOODLE...

FREAKY...

NUTSO...

Nobody in their right mind would do this to themselves!

Nopers!  This is truly sick!

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Ta Ta!

Just for Fun...

I received this email awhile ago and thought I'd post it to brighten your day...

RETIRED HEALTH MESSAGE

As I was lying in bed pondering the problems of the world, I rapidly realized that I don't really give a rat's hiney. It's the tortoise life for me!

1. If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.

2. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, and is fat.

3. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.

4. A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing, yet it lives for 450 years.

And you tell me to exercise?? I don't think so.

I'm retired. Go around me.

Now that I'm older here's what I've discovered:

1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.

2. My wild oats have turned into prunes and all-bran.

3. I finally got my head together, and now my body is falling apart.

4. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

5. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

6. If all is not lost, where is it?

7. It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

8. Some days, you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.

9. I wish the buck stopped here; I sure could use a few.

10. Kids in the back seat cause accidents.

11. Accidents in the back seat cause kids.

12. It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.

13. The only time the world beats a path to your door is when you're in the bathroom.

14. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he'd have put them on my knees.

15. When I'm finally holding all the cards, why does everyone want to play chess?

16. Its not hard to meet expenses . . . they're everywhere.

17. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

18. These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter..

I go somewhere to get something, and then wonder what I'm hereafter.

19. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.


20. DID I SEND THESE TO YOU BEFORE..........??????

Get You off Your Mind...

Me thinks I know the basic, fundamental reason why so many people these days are unhappy ...

narcissism...

selfishness...

egotism...

vanity...

self-absorption...

In other words, we are our favorite subject to talk about, think about, hear about, worry about...
and do you know what the real truth is?  Most people will forget you five minutes after you've left the building.  Seriously!

You are not that important!

Far too many people today live their life as if the world was created just for them.  They feel entitled to the  "Good Life".  You know the one...

...the big house, new car, perfect job, highest salary, best vacations, model family.

And we make every effort, regardless of who may get hurt, to possess it.  Many succeed.  Yet, never have we lived in a time when relationships are more strained, divorce rates higher, families more estranged.

Is this really the "Good Life"... 

Today's culture supports us in the belief that we are numero uno...special...top dog...extraordinary...

Honestly???  How can that be?  How can every single person be the best?  Quit believing your own press. 

The grocery cashier who has spent 6 hours on her feet, with an aching back, could care less that you put in an extra hour glaming up for your visit to the store.  She doesn't care and never noticed that your hair is perfectly coiffed or you wore 300 dollar designer jeans.  She is just looking forward to going home and putting her feet up.  You are just one of several hundred nameless, faceless people she's ran through her till today.  Really!

Really!

Fellow motorists may notice your fancy new car as you go speeding by...or not...most likely not.  They too, are heading to work, following their dreams, thinking about themselves, believing in the "Good Life".  They really aren't interested your new car...except...unless...

they're planning to buy one themselves.  Only a much newer version...yes, indeedy.

STOP the madness!  A contented life isn't about who owns the newest, biggest, best.  It isn't about what you want or need or what everyone can do for you.  You don't have to feel special to be special.

Try thinking of others more than you do yourself.  Try putting other's needs ahead of your own.  Get your mind off yourself.  Then...and only then will you truly be a big deal in the eyes of others...and God's.

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Tha...that's all folks! 

I felt Shame...

This past Labour Day weekend Miss J invited me to join her in taking in Lee Daniel's movie, "The Butler".  I had heard of it and seen some previews, but otherwise didn't really know what it was about.  It's loosely based on the life story of a Afro-American man, Eugene Allen, who served as a butler at the White House for 34 years, through 8 administrations.  Much of the movie's content deals with the civil rights movement during the the 60's, 70's and 80's.

Although the movie is fiction, there is plenty of actual news footage interspersed throughout the film, depicting some of the real conflict and challenges Afro-Americans withstood during this tumultuous time.

The blatant hatred and prejudice toward black persons was extremely difficult to watch and on several occasions I was brought to tears.   Tears of shame for the atrocious actions committed by my race.  Shame that this ever happened.  Shame that it continues to happen. 

And not just white racism, but the discrimination many races feel toward anyone not their own...

"The Butler" is an excellent depiction of  what occurred during the civil rights movement.  There is an all-star cast including awesome performances by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.  It is eye-opening and heart-wrenching.  It is well worth going to watch on the big screen (something I don't usually do). 

I give it 5 stars and predict several academy awards!