Hearts and Flowers

According to the advertisers and the cynical media, February should be all about candy, hearts and flowers.  Romance buzzing amongst the population, candy being thrown at loved ones in an effort to show affection despite the detrimental effect on the waistline.  Florists make a killing as swathes of roses are cut down across the world and shipped to the pinnacle consumer countries, in an effort to keep up the illusion of romance.

You might think that I’m cynical and anti-romance.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  I am an incurable romantic.  I believe in the power of love in all its forms.

What I am is anti- consumer and anti-waste.  I see no need for a holiday to proclaim the sentiment of Love, whether it be Eros, Phileo, or Agape (Romantic, Brotherly, or Spiritual).

The practice of love should be year round much like the practices of compassion, charity and kindness.  A holiday shouldn’t the reason to invoke a slew of proposals, marriages or other commitments only so people can remember their anniversaries.

Love is a philosophical lifestyle that doesn’t need to be given flashy accouterments to make it special.  Love is a labor which is rewarding and infinitely satisfying. It is a daily avocation, that fills the heart and flows into the lives of those who surround you.

What’s Wrong with this Picture?

It was dark. That's all I'm saying.

Path to Redemption

I am fill with mixed emotions.  While I do not want to give Micheal Vick any more time in my head, I find myself in a quandary.  You see, once more this man is seeking the spotlight.  His method is ‘The Michael Vick Project‘, a 10 episode series set to air on the BET network.

Look, the man has served his time. He has to earn a living. But it bothers me that he seeks to put himself in a sympathetic light when it comes to life. His track record speaks for itself.

I do believe in the power of repentance and atonement. But, both those principles are private and sacred.  When you seek to rebuild your life, your honor and your name. Actions done without the limelight speak louder than actions with cameras following your every orchestrated move for a few months.

I believe what you do behind closed doors when no one is watching is what defines a person.  Those are the actions that will seep out into the community around him and color the world. No need to bring the artificial construct of the media into it.

You can not build something from nothing.

Boredom

While Quizz romped in the snow with his Maddie, Charlie, the Cat was unamused by the events of the weekend.

Every 30 minutes he lead me to the door yowling to go out, only to be stymied by the falling snow, the cold temperature,  and minions who would not accommodate his wishes of ‘fixing the weather’.

I think this sums up Charlie, the Cat’s entire viewpoint:

Fabulous Neighbors!

Well, as I contemplated the aftermath of the snowstorm.  I looked at my driveway.  The official count was 12 inches.  Fortunately the snow was a powdery mix.  But anyway you cut it, 12 inches is 12 inches.

To put it in perspective.  Quizz just plowed his way through when he wasn’t jumping like a rabbit.  The snow hit him mid-chest.  He loved the stuff.

So I started the driveway.  Fairly unenthusiastically.  after all shoveling is NOT in my lacking fitness regime.  Then my mom felt guilty and came out and started shoveling with me.  Two people are definitely better than one.  My neighbors were out shoveling out their driveways and had just finished.  They came wandering over to our driveway.

It is amazing how fast 50 feet goes when you have 4 people shoveling.  I definitely couldn’t have done it with out them. We’re suppose to get a hard freeze tonight, so the morning commute should be an ice rink tomorrow.  But my driveway is clean thanks to neighborly kindness.

The Squirrels Were Right!

The forecast changed to 8-14 inches.  In the parlance of Charlie, the Cat “Silly Hoomans!”

Here are a few pictures of Quizz & Maddie at play:

Maddie Opens with the first Salvo

Quizz Doesn't Think So!

Let the Games Begin

This went on until there was too much snow in their coats.  Now they’re lounging on the couch snug as bugs in the proverbial rugs.

Squirrel Observation

I don’t know if I should take this as a sign.  I came home for lunch and let Quizz out into the back yard.  He went NUTZ!

The yard was full of squirrels. Not doing normal squirrelly things.  Oh No!  They were doing serious winterizing on their nests in their trees.

Quizz did his best to  free the yard of the tree rodents.  A testament to the squirrels dedication was how they ignored two barking dogs as they went about their weather preparation.

I know that Richmonders panic at a snowflake.  But when the squirrels are doing serious remodeling prior to a storm, I think we might be in trouble.

I’d better find my nuts.

Snow is Coming! | Richmond.com

Karri Peifer

via Snow is Coming! | Richmond.com.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch and every meteorologist in town, Richmond is going to get a nice snowfall this weekend … up to a foot, some people say. The snow is supposed to start as early as Friday afternoon and continue into Saturday.

In case you’re new to Richmond, let me tell you how we do it here.

• Someone somewhere says snow is coming to Central Virginia.
• We Richmonders start paying attention.
• Someone says it’s coming to Richmond.
• We Richmonders really start paying attention.
• Someone brandishes the word “accumulation.”

Done. Finished. Over. We who call Richmond home all-out lose our minds. In the case of this snow, it happens like this:

Tuesday morning: The word “accumulation” is used.

Tuesday afternoon: Accumulation confirmed. All weekend plans put on stand-by or out-right canceled.

Tuesday evening: First trip to supermarket for bread, milk, wine, beer and cookie dough.

Wednesday morning / afternoon: Calls around town for sleds begin (for the record, Richmond.com is one step ahead. No one has them; Pleasant’s is expecting a shipment on Friday).

Wednesday evening: Local news does a story about the run on supermarkets for bread and milk. Second trip to supermarket for extra bread and milk, plus frozen pizzas and non-perishables, because you never know.

Thursday morning / afternoon: Spend workday obsessively checking the forecast. More calls for sleds. Search online for sleds, but decide against them because you can’t believe how much sleds actually cost.

Thursday evening: Meet friends out for drinks or dinner because you never know when you’ll get out again. Realize you forgot to buy bagels. How could you forget bagels? Third trip to supermarket.

Friday morning: Alternate staring out window for snow and consulting forecast for exact snow start time. Cancel the rest of weekend plans.

Friday afternoon: Weather.com reports that it is snowing in your area. Run to window. Spend at least one hour yelling at weather.com because it is clearly not snowing. Ask boss about company inclement weather policy. Complain about said policy. Wait an hour; ask boss if company is closing early.

Friday evening: Fourth trip to supermarket on the way home for last-minute necessities, like chocolate and fancy hot cocoa. Alternate staring out window and watching local news for exact snow start time. Watch the Closings scroll to see if your work is closed on Monday, because you never know.

Friday night: Snow finally begins. Call/text all of your friends and family to see if it’s snowing in their area and to make sure they’re OK in the storm. Update Facebook status to reflect snowfall in case you missed anyone. Order pizza so you don’t have to break into rations too soon.

Saturday morning: Marvel at snowfall. Fling pets / children into the snow so they can marvel and so you have pictures for your Facebook page.

Saturday afternoon: Drive or trudge to nearest hill and attempt to sled on a cookie sheet/shower curtain/trashcan lid/pool float.

Saturday evening: Meet friends for out for drinks or dinner to celebrate snow.

Sunday: Eat leftover pizza and stare out window, watching snow melt. Obsessively watch Closings list. Feel happy when the county you once lived in announces closing and then sad because you never became a teacher and now you have to go out, clean off the car and then go to work tomorrow. Plus you’ve got all that bread and milk to eat.

Big Brother vs. Healthcare

I’m about to be controversial.  I’ll say it up front and not hide from this fact.  But I have a concern.

In the quest to be lean, slim, svelte, perceived as acceptable what message are we sending?   I just read an article regarding Whole Foods Grocery Store’s new employee discount plan based on BMI and cholesterol levels.  That’s right folks, the lower your BMI the bigger your employee discount.

Your eyes do not deceive you.  There it is.

Many work places are asking the employee to actively seek to better their health.  It’s in the interest of the employee and the employer.  Healthier employee means less expensive health insurance premiums for the employer.  The tactics are much less intrusive.

But to come out and say that your BMI and healthy cholesterol levels will make you more elite than the other employees smacks of  profiling and discrimination. You’ll notice how carefully the company states that ‘Team Members who choose to participate, … are not taking away from Team Members who chose not too…” A lawyer made them do that.  I’m still not sure that a really good lawyer couldn’t take this apart and destroy Whole Foods.

Then there is the issue of Privacy.  While the company is saying that ‘the privacy of your personal health information is important to us.“ It doesn’t say specifically that the information is HIPA guarded.  What is preventing the company from using this information in reviews, to determine advancement in the company.  What’s to prevent them from using separate services than your normal doctor to do the testing, then to do additional screenings for thing they might deems ‘at risk’ therefore non-employable?

Soon Whole Foods will only be staffed by svelte attractive clones who will sell you promises that will never deliver.  All because they can get a 30% employee discount based on their BMI.

Not all people are destined to be slim.  Nor have healthy cholesterol.  In fact, high cholesterol runs in my family.  It is often masked by low blood pressure.  How would the above policy work within the parameters of hereditary illnesses that can’t be controlled.  Or heaven forbid, an illness that causes the BMI and cholesterol levels to spike.

How would they enforce the membership levels.  Random BMI measurements? Or random Cholesterol screening?  Would Whole food absorb those costs? Or make the employee pay for those tests through their health insurance plans.  Which then becomes a viciousness cycle.  Because of the unnecessary testing driving up health care costs.

I’m all for being healthy.  I do my best eat a healthy diet, exercise and maintain my stress levels.  But I don’t need nor want my employer poking their nose so intimately into my personal life.

Big Brother watches me enough already, keep him out of my health!

Compassion & Charity

It’s hard not to look at the world and feel overwhelmed by the needs of others.  It’s hard not to see the impact of the economic crisis, the devastation of natural disasters, the depravity of other people who choose to hurt instead of help those around them.  All of this can make a person want to give up on their fellow person.

I say all of this knowing that despite the trial and difficulties in the world around us, we are surrounded by shining beacons of compassion and charity.  People who place others ahead of themselves.  They seek to lend a hand when all other hands have turned against.  They give of them selves when they themselves have so little to give, when asked of their sacrifice they only say ‘it was ours to give’.

With the devastation in Haiti, we are going to hear stories of both ends of the spectrum of humanity. Pleas will come from left and right to help. The reality is that there is only so much we can do.  Some will be able to give of there time. Some of us, only our resources.

I’m a true believer that the art of compassion and charity starts with simple steps that are taken close to home.

Step 1:  Be Kind to Those Around You. Send a smile the way of someone having a bad day.  Pay for someone’s cup of coffee.

Step 2: Treat Those Around You the Way YOU Want to Be Treated.  A little kindness goes a long way.

Step 3: Don’t Walk Away from A Need.  If you see someone in need, don’t assume that someone else will be there for them.  That someone else is you.

Step 4: Be Open to God’s Will.  You’ll be surprised at the opportunities that surround you if your heart and eyes are open.

Each of these steps will cause a ripple that will intersect with other lives in ways you’ll never know.  Your heart will be filled beyond capacity.  Your life enriched.