Making America "great" again?

Oh the good ol' days! How good were they? With the election rhetoric in full swing as the country nears the day when we choose the "next leader of the free world", this question has brought up images of violent discriminationary practices to before women had the right to vote. I have a bit of a different view of making America great again but I'm sure its not what a particular candidate is speaking about. Okay, let's make this country great again - starting with minimum wage earners being able to afford the basics like food, clothing, shelter, medical care and transportation. My parents bought a house, a car, furnished that house and paid the hospital "cash" for my birth with jobs that paid just cents more than minimum wage; that's impossible today. Make America great again, when a growing economy needed skilled workers of all sorts and strong labor unions ensured decent wages, safe working conditions, medical care and pensions. Make America great again when college students could pay their tuition with money earned from summer and part time jobs and they graduated debt-free. Speaking of colleges, remember when students demonstrated for peace and saving the environment, not protesting guns in the classroom. Make America great again, when Congress, state and local government officials cared about their constituents and not the lobbyists' money. Make America great again when our schools produced scientists and mathematicians at a higher rate than the rest of the world, when we invested more in education than in prisons, when science wasn't the devil's work! Make America great again and impose those safety programs that led us out of the Great Depression and stabilized the stock markets and guaranteed social security. Make America great again when companies stayed here and paid their share of taxes, when CEOs were happy making millions not billions by screwing their workers......  Let's make America great again by fostering a sense of patriotism that includes caring for ALL of us, not just some. Our children are watching, what is there for them to believe that this is the greatest country?

Hey Dads of teenage girls, we want to too!

I get so sick and tired of the angry, possessive, scared dads of teenage girls who spew the archaic warning of "the only thing boys want" of your speech - get your head out of your ass and face reality - females, like your daughters, want to have sex too! GASP! Yes, females, as part of the human species, like, desire, and ENJOY SEX just like their male peers. So Mom, you too have to stop with the "good girls don't" speech because none of us would be here if our sweet grandmas didn't do the deed. Stop shaming our girls for NORMAL feelings and please, PLEASE stop making them responsible for the actions of MALES! This double standard of egging on boys to "become a man" while shaming our daughters for the VERY SAME ACTION is bullshit. Instead, why not teach our sons and daughters about respect, boundaries, and factual, valid facts about human sexuality.

And once again I find myself a single mom; perhaps I should've never married the second time . It seems as though we would've been better just dating , I mean we had so much fun together ! He was a high school boyfriend and I was his first love . He claimed to have always loved me - I thought he was everything my first was not - not overbearing, not demeaning , not controlling, not selfish, or immature but in the end he turned out to hurt me just the same . In the end it's just me and my children and of course my loyal dog Max . How could I have been so stupid to make the same mistakes again . I guess it is true that love is blind and dumb and deaf. And what they say about karma is true and that what goes around comes around . I was very mean to my first husband when we were getting a divorce and I did things just to hurt him. And now with the second separation my second husband is being mean to me , saying and doing things just to hurt me . And all the while I'm trying to be good , trying to be nice, above all trying to be fair , trying to be me . I hated that my emotions get the better of me sometimes , okay many times ! Especially when it comes to love . I am very busy now taking care of my son and trying to maintain a roof over our heads but deep down inside I miss him , I still love him. But at least this time I saw the warning signs and it didn't take me 20 years to get out of a bad marriage ! I did things I swore I would not do again like go against my beliefs or do things I was uncomfortable with, or even going as far as sometimes putting my children behind his needs and wants. What was I thinking !? My number one job is mom and I'll never forget that again . Oh I want to dance, I want to sing, I want to be loved and made love to but not at the cost of my soul, my spirit, nor my children . I am a crazy, singing off-key, recycling, tree hugging, moon worshipper, river loving, book reading, herb growing feminist who is proud of her Tejano roots; that pyscho bitch you never know what I'll do next but you always want me on your side kind of friend. And if that means I might not always get a date, so be it - THEIR loss!

Making the impossible

Ok, I'm just thinking outloud so to speak but here's my impossible - the perfect man! He would be adventurous and open minded as Anthony Bourdain; intelligent, articulate and insightful as Jon Stewart; funny and cuddly  as "Fluffy"; classy and good hearted as the current POTUS and have thighs like Dwayne Johnson.....just saying

And then there was one.....

At some moment in my life, the time came when I realized that I'm alone, it's just me. Not alone like an orphan or not married or live by myself but alone in my belief, my views, my goals. Alone like I can't really tell anyone the crazy thoughts or tormented feelings of emptiness in my soul. No, it's just me and the weird, incoherent trains of thought racing uncontrollably through my mind, I can hardly hear them much less understand, how can you tell anyone else what's going on? I always, always seem to feel more,  be more offended, know more about the other side than anyone else. I take nothing at face value and am convinced that whatever words, however dripping with sincerity, have some other meaning, must have some dark hidden meaning that must be figured out, I am alone in my crazy alone in my delusional thinking that nothing is to be taken at face value.

A 4 foot teddy bear??that's the PERFECT Valentine gift?

Uh only if I am 16! I mean really if I found out that my man spent $100 okay only 99dollars for a 4 foot Teddy bear it better come with earrings or a bracelet or a really nice purse. What is a grown woman going to do with a 4 foot teddy bear? And then the love of my life spoke those words because he knows me so well, he said " what if it were made of chocolate?" Hmmmm, I thought, it would be really good chocolate for that price. And then because he knows me so well he said "what if it were made of brisket?" Oh that man has my heart :)

Why saying "Happy Holidays" doesn't mean I hate Christians

 It never fails to surprise me how elitist, judgmental, intolerant and just plain MEAN some Christians can be..... there's the whole "not saying Merry Christmas but Happy Holidays is an attack on Christians" thing that rears its ugly head each year around this time.... I find myself shaking my head in disbelief every year. SIGH, if only, if ONLY those who claim to be followers of Christ would 1. follow his commandments (he said LOVE your neighbor, not judge them)  and 2. learn a little bit of history. When I say "Happy Holidays" to people, its because I don't make judgments on people's faith just by looking at them - Happy Holidays" is shortened from Happy HOLY Days because believe it or not (as some Christians refuse to) there are HOLY days besides those celebrated by Christians during the month of December. And they have been celebrated for many, many years before JC was born.  By insisting to respond "Merry Christmas" to those who have offered the greeting "Happy Holidays", Christians are basically saying "I refuse to acknowledge any other belief system than my own and I don't care about yours"...Of course, this is just my humble opinion, I could be wrong and I guess I will know when I die and join all the others who were tolerant of other belief systems than Christianity in heaven because you know, God appreciates a good person, pagan or not, than a hateful Christian any day.