Mindy Memories

Monday, August 06, 2007

Sick of hearing about the Duggars

OK, so they had another child. I personally don't agree with it, but people don't personally agree with everything I do, so there you go. They appear to be cared for and doing well, so that's that.

What bothers me is that this one family gets so much attention when there are others out there who do more for this world. Whenever I hear about the Duggars, I think of a kid who used to work for me at Burger King about 12 or so years ago. Stuart was 18, one of 21 kids -- yes, 21. He was the second oldest so you can imagine how many little ones were running around. Some of them were her natural children. However, the vast majority were adopted and some were foster kids she was planning to adopt. I was never at the house so can't speak for it. I do know that Stuart was a great employee. He was funny and helpful, pitched in where I needed him, and the customers thought he was great. He wasn't surly or grumpy.

Stuart's parents, to me, are examples of real heroes when it comes to kids. They took in kids who had nowhere to go and gave them a loving home. I also think of the people who take in kids who are born with all sorts of mental and physical problems and addictions. You don't hear about them very often, do you? No, we only hear about a woman who has the ability to give birth to 17 children and wants more. Again, I really do think they are cared for, but it bothers me that this one family gets so much attention when there are others out there scraping by just to help kids who aren't as fortunate.

I also think of a woman I work with, who was telling me about how her mom used to teach kids in Camden, NJ (one of the worst if not THE worst places in the country). Not only were these kids living in horrible communities, but they were mentally challenged in various ways. This woman, and others like her, didn't have to do this for a living, making mediocre (if not worse) pay. Yet there they are, doing what they can to help kids in unspeakable situations, trying to help them get as far as possible.

I really wish the media would focus on people like that, people who are helping the kids in awful situations and those already here, rather than focusing on one family simply because it's large and the kids all dress alike. I know I could not do what Stuart's mom and my coworker's mom do. I don't have that in me, which is why I am so in awe of people who can give of themselves in such a way.

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Monday, June 25, 2007

OK, what's going on up in Bucks County?

I already posted about the snakes, one of which appears to be still on the loose.

I heard about one gator someone found in, I thought, Montgomery County a few days ago. Apparently I was misinformed and it was in Bucks, and now they've found another gator up there.

Another Gator Found in Bucks Creek

This is too strange, I think, to be coincidence. I wonder if there's some strange person letting these things loose. I have no idea why, or even it that's just paranoia talking. But really -- we in the Philly area don't normally have boa constrictors and pythons slithering around, nor gators in our creeks.

Makes you wonder...

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Saturday, June 23, 2007

EEK! Glad I'm not in Bucks County

I heard about this a week ago and haven't heard anything since, so I don't think they've actually caught this thing yet. Seems to be a 12-foot boa constrictor that's loose in Bucks County and has killed some animals and they think is living under a house. There was also a 9-foot albino python recently caught in the same county. Very strange. This sort of thing used to happen quite a bit in FL, but I'm not used to hearing about it around here. ((shiver)) I'm on the lookout for news that they caught it, but I haven't seen it. Seems it's a bit faster than they expected.

Killer puts squeeze on neighborhood

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Monday, February 19, 2007

Ah, poor Britney

You know, I've never been a fan of Ms. Spears, but I was hoping that what happened with Anna Nicole Smith would open her eyes a little. Hey, I can dream.

I wish Britney would take her kids (or leave them for a while with a RESPONSIBLE adult) and go somewhere on her own for a while and figure out herself. Apparently she checked into a rehab place recently, but left the same day. I think if she could go somewhere and be completely by herself for a while, where no media knew where she was and no "friends" were coming around, she might be able to straighten herself out.

It's not so much about the latest "news" (I hate when they lead with this crap) about her shaving her head, but the fact that shaving her head is so high on the news reports. I don't think it was the smartest thing she did, but I don't think it makes her irresponsible, by itself. But everything she does is watched and she seems to be descending rapidly into some sort of pit, and she wasn't that high up to begin with.

I would just like to see some of these young women figure themselves out before they, or their children, end up dead.

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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Oh wait, that's just snow.

Once again, the local news makes snowfall into the leading news story for the day, and probably for tomorrow, too. They get everybody hyped up. North and West of us is different, they're getting more snow than we are. Philadelphia area is supposed to get 1-3 inches, than it's supposed to turn into freezing rain later, than rain. I know, the freezing rain can be tricky, and so can the snow. But c'mon -- 1-3 inches? That's hardly worth getting everybody riled up. They were in the stores this morning, showing people buying shovels and people stocking up at the grocery store because, you know, those 3 inches of snow may force us to stay inside for two weeks. Whatever will we do?

C'mon folks! This is the Northeast! Snow happens! I'm sure the Upstate New Yorkers are laughing their butts off at the silly "city people" down in Philadelphia.

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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Always something going on around here

OK, there's so many "What the hell?" questions in my mind surrounding this case I don't know where to start.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10836672/detail.html

Apparently, a college student was pregnant but in denial, had the baby at her mom's house in Upper Darby, and somehow the baby ended up dead and in Mom's car in Grandpa's driveway in Drexel Hill, where I live. The biggest WTF? comes from the fact that the police aren't getting any information from the family.

What a mess!

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Friday, January 19, 2007

Doomsday Clock now at 11:55PM

In case you hadn't heard, the Doomsday Clock has been moved two minutes closer to Midnight. The move is in response to a combination of concerns regarding both nuclear weapons and the climate. The last time the minute hand was moved was after 9/11.

The closest we've come to Midnight was in 1953 when the US and USSR tested thermonuclear devices within nine months of each other. In the 1990s, the minute hand was at 14 and 17 minutes before Midnight.

Yes, we've come a long way in the last 10-15 years, haven't we?

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Friday, September 22, 2006

Miscellaneous stuff

1. Well, yesterday was an interesting day in Philly. I was at work and I kept hearing helicopters. Finally, I started wondering what was going on and I checked the news online and heard about the explosion under One Penn Center. It was electrical, something about an overloaded cable. Apparently there were anywhere from 3 to 5 explosions and lots of that icky green smoke. Manhole covers were blowin into the air and the footage showed flames shooting out of the manholes. One person was sent to the hospital, but I think it was because she was so scared, not because of physical injuries. I imagine that many people in those buildings thought at first that it was terrorism.

My building is about 2 blocks over, and luckily we didn't lose power or have to evacuate. A 36-square block area was shut down. Luckily, everything is somewhat back to normal today. They say that one retail store near City Hall still is without power, and parts of Ranstead Street are closed, but other than that things are fine.


2. You know, I really used to like the Today Show. It had nothing to do with Katie Couric, as I was never a big fan, but I guess I like Matt Lauer. But in the last few years I've been getting more and more annoyed by the "news" reported. Most of it isn't news at all, but infotainment. I know, it seems that all of the news shows are like this now. The ruckus over Brad&Angelna and Tom&Katie having babies was a bit over the top, among other things that drive me nuts. Now that Meredith is on the show, there's all this talk about her kids, how she lives, etc. Today they said they were going to "look back" on Meredith's first week on the show. Good grief! She's been there ONE WEEK, not fifty years! It's just so annoying. I guess other people care about that stuff, but I frankly don't care if somebody has a kid, no kids, 5 kids, 10 grandkids, 16 dogs, where they live, how many houses they have, the colors used to decorate her bathroom, etc. Just tell me the freakin' news so I have a clue what's going on. I'd just watch CNN, but I don't always trust them to give me the whole story. Then again, I don't think any news source gives you the whole story, so I may have a lost cause there.

3. Once again I have to say: Just because a person doesn't agree with your politics does NOT mean that person is stupid. It's so stupid. I know some people would like us all to be little clones who all think the same (the same as them, of course). Well, we don't. I don't go around calling all Republicans stupid, or conservatives stupid, or non-Presbyterians stupid, but maybe I should. Obviously, trying to be respectful of another person's opinions gets me nowhere as some are happier throwing around generalizations.

Meh. That's all I have time for today. I gotta get ready for work. At least it's Friday and I can wear comfy clothes today. :)

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Thursday, August 24, 2006

Genetically altering people to be happy?

I heard something on the news previews this morning that really disturbed me. I can't find an article to support it, but they mentioned that rats had been genetically altered to be more happy and that it had some sort of application toward humans. Now, it was one of those teaser things, so I honestly don't know the "application" mentioned. However, I can't help but think of "The End of the Whole Mess" by Stephen King where the guy came out with something to make people happy and non-aggressive and put it in the water. Years later they found out it caused Alzheimers in everybody who drank the water. The thought of being genetically altered to be Happy Humans really disturbs me. Sure, it would be nice if less people were Prozac and similar drugs, but I'm sure there are better ways to deal with it.

Ick.

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