Thrift Store Treasures Are Recycle Awesome!

My grandson's parents buy them most any brand of designer jeans and shirts and accessories they want but   they don't really like them that much until they are worn, faded, and have a few rips and tears. When they find a pair of sneakers they love, they will wear them until they are shredding off their feet and leave newer ones gathering dust in the closet. "Worn out" seems to be when what they wear become "favorites." They become really special if I have to add a ziz zag patch, they even invite their friends to bring their worn jeans over so I can sew them a "badge of honor" over almost impossible rips to repair that show too much skin in the wrong places. I patch "accident" holes on my old Singer sewing machine....whatever floats their young boats. 

Both boys have friends who have turned them on to "thrift" store clothes shopping and occasionally they come home with something that makes their Dad grind his teeth and roll his eyes...like the neon chartreuse  short bathing suit one walked in with ...or the tangerine  pull up walking shorts the other brought home  and wears quite often claiming they are comfortable. I discovered in the wash they are likely ladies shorts but I don't want to burst his manly bubble so I haven't told him. You wouldn't know it unless you read the label and a lot of clothes these days are unisex. Fine with me.

Seems they couldn't please their Dad with their thrifty bargains until one of them came home wearing a cartoon colorful shirt he proudly proclaimed cost only 50 cents. Dad seems to think one of them finally made a wise purchase. There is a nice label in it that says it

was hand-made by a shirt company in Austin Texas so I think that makes it worth at least a dollar because the

previous owner evidently never wore it. It

looks brand new and is well sewn 

made of my favorite cotton...I'm thinking it may

be one of those you only "wear 

once to shock" shirts...we will see.

Oh well, it's a fun and colorful boat to be in in your teens  and I think learning to be "thrifty" at a young age is a good thing. It comes in handy in your old age when the stock market keeps messing with your portfolio.

Another mans trash can become someone else's treasure. I think we should all recycle and keep the earth green...and purple and red and yellow and orange!

“Judge Not That Ye Be Not Judged TOO Harshly!”

    I still wonder if the first set of Commandments Moses smashed in anger were the same as the second set he presented after he furiously slayed so many thousands of the flock when he came down from the mountain and went berserk at them partying with a golden calf. I also wonder where all that gold came from if they had been slaves just prior. So much to wonder about in the Bible! I've wondered almost a lifetime and still haven't figured it out.

   I wrote this post and then went searching for a copy of the Commandments that read as I had been taught them in parochial school. I couldn't find one, in fact, I couldn't find any two that read the same...as in most interpretations of Biblical passages. After researching religion for most of my life, I am still amazed at how folks  judge others according to what religion and interpretations they follow.  Ancient religion certainly hasn't promoted much peace on earth.

    Research became my religion after I no longer had faith in the one I once knew well. I am at peace with it…but most of the world is not at peace with religion and I often wonder why. Folks judge each other harshly for not believing what they do. I have acquired a rather wide open mind on the subject and even on Moses’ Ten Commandments and will explain why.

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     1.   “I am the Lord thy God…thou shalt have no strange Gods before me.”

     Seems to me after reading the Bible a few times, there is no stranger God than the one that it promotes…the one who created devils and demons and hell and is wrathful with no empathy if you break "his" commandments.(As Moses proved) Native Americans had a number of interesting Gods they worshiped before missionary’s introduced them to the harsh one and even harsher consequences.

2.  “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord God in vain.”

   When I think God ought to damn something, I have no problem with saying so              and neither do a lot of other honest folks. “Goddammit…we have had enough wars  and mass murders ever since Genesis law was enforced on humanity!”

3.  “Remember to keep holy the Lord ’s Day.”

   I sometimes go shopping on Sunday and most all the stores are open for business, so I’m thinking jillions have long forgotten that commandment. I think Saturday remains the Jewish “holy day” and their stores are busy also that day. I can remember the “blue law” that required certain business’s to close on Sunday but I guess it was cutting into the profits and causing a problem for those who work the rest of the week. My Mom used to not want Dad to work in his hay field on Sunday, but if rain was in the forecast…expensive to grow mowed alfalfa fast became "unholy" till it was in the barn.

4.     “Honor thy Father and thy Mother”

    This one I totally agree with….unless your parents beat you to the point of having to be put on life support, or starve you and eat plenty themselves, or in any way  sexually abuse you…then let them rot in jail and go to hell!

5.      “Thou shalt not kill”

    Thou usually shouldn't...unless it is in self defense, or you are a policeman or soldier who needs to take out an enemy or bad guy…or if you are a hunter or meat processing plant seeking to put food on the table…and I’m not sure Dr. Kevorkian was a sinner helping terminally ill patients in agony go painless and peacefully.

6.        “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

   This one can be sticky since it was alright for a man to have more than one wife... though not OK for a wife to have more than one husband, way back when Moses came up with the law…and some Mormons and Muslims and others still think  that prejudice is alright. There are also certain marriages I have heard of that one decides they prefer a secret “gayer” lifestyle but want to remain “socially acceptable” and remain married to a straight person for the kids sake and economical reasons. Makes sense to me the straight person might want to find another lover of his or her "now" preference also.

Genesis [6] But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts. Well that was sure nice of the original prophet of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. And Abe did allow his wife to marry another man so the prophet would prosper. The story's of the two faced Biblical “holy men” makes my head swim in wonder as to how the  Bible became so popular.

7.     Thou shalt not steal

     This is a fairly good one…but a lot of folks still admire Robin Hood’s ethics…robbing from the greedy rich to help the hungry poor.... or some "holy preacher"robbing from the pockets of the poor faithful to enrich their own greedy lives. Ethical?

8.                 Thou shalt not bear false witness.

     True…but if I feel a little white lie is better than hurting someone’s feelings and no harm will come of it…I’m not above it. “Honey…you look much better today!” …when they still might look like death warmed over. NOT a sin in my prayer book!

9.    Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.

( Refer to the "sticky" Commandment # 6 up above)

10.  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

I see nothing wrong with wanting the same merchandise your neighbor has as long as you don’t steal the material from him or anyone else. 

  

The Doctor's Midlife Crisis Is My New Alarm Clock

Several months ago we got a new neighbor. He saw me out in the front yard and came over and introduced himself as Doctor Reggie, a seemingly nice guy I estimated to be in his 40's. I proceeded to  tell him I lived with my daughter and her husband and three grandchildren, a preteen girl and two teen age grandsons. He remarked he bet the boys would like his Corvette convertible. I told him I was sure they would, they were both already muscle car crazy. He told me it would be here tomorrow, his daughter was driving it in....to tell the boys to come over and he would take them for a spin. 

I told the boys and they were of course, anxious for it to get home. I found out I wasn't. 

I was in my bedroom the next afternoon and suddenly thought our cul-de-sac was being invaded by a Harley motorcycle gang on "speed." I walked outside and discovered, no, it was just the doctor sitting in his pride, his hot silver Corvette had arrived at it's new home and evidently needed it's pipes blown out. I supposed his daughter hadn't done it well enough. What do girls know about "man" cars?

I told the boys and they ran out for an introduction and found out all the pertinent details, as to what kind of high performance racing motor and loud duel exhaust system he had installed in it. They were excited. I wasn't. I now refer to it as "the darn doctor's Daytona midlife crisis "Vette."

They have three other nice cars and he usually drives his little black Mercedes to work and I like it fine, it's runs very quiet. But at least once a week I am awakened early in the morning by the only car he thinks enough of to put in his garage every night, the noisy metallic-glitter silver one. The one that requires him to rev it up for at least five miserable minutes before he races off to work. The boys in the cluttered with rock guitar paraphernalia room next to mine can sleep through a tornado...I can't anymore. I want to open my bedroom window and scream at my friendly neighbor, "What the heck is your problem Doc?...these are the best years of your life!"

I should know. I left them sitting in the dust in my hot silver Camaro 

over thirty years ago. 

Should We Fear For Our Children Because Of New Technology?

I received one of those emails folks pass around that are sometimes funny and sometimes  interesting or simply boring. The quote above was at the top of one of those pass around emails and below it were a number of photos of kids in various social settings all looking at their cell phones. At first I thought..."How true!"

But when I lie to myself with compliance to someone else's perception, my annoying mind doesn't allow me to get away with it. It keeps showing me pictures of what's wrong with the instant theory I was willing to accept. The concept  nagged me until it dawned on me what didn't jive with the idea our children might be developing into a generation of "idiots" due to obsession with new technology. 

Living with a preteen and two teenagers who excel in school and other activities and keep "smart" phone's on their person almost 24/7 kept gnawing at me because I know they are no exceptions. Most of their many friends and peers do as well as they do and some even better. We have scores of A  and A/B honor roll ribbons earned over the last decade lying around in scrapbooks and these kids are all very social, involved, and have a multitude of friends, many more than I was ever able to reach. They still communicate with friends they made on vacation out of the country several years ago.

I remember how surprised I was the kids were able to pick up on computers and the Internet much faster than I did with very little instruction. They did it by trial and error, eager to see what they could accomplish. They conquered rather quickly.

At first it was just for playing games but by the time they got to fourth and fifth grades they were able to do projects and write essays using the computer mostly without help. One of the biggest advantages computers gave them was learning how to type without ever taking a typing lesson. They may not use the "proper" finger positions I was taught but they can type fast and correct it later...usually without looking at the keyboard. 

So after giving it more thought...no, I don't think we have to fear for our children because of all the new technology. They easily learn how to multitask while communicating on a little hand held device I still find annoying...and they do it extremely well. I consider my cell phone a necessity only when I travel. This generation considers it a necessary research and communication tool with great camera and music capabilities 24/7. My generation had to go to the library to do any kind of research and we were not allowed to "communicate" there at all. Strictly a quiet zone.

Idiots?...Far from it!