Does anyone else think this is wierd?

Collin and I went to a buffet yesterday for Christmas because we thought it would be fun. We went with a group of friends and had a great time. While we were there, I noticed a little boy who appeared to be bi-racial eating dinner with his father and other family members. The boy had to have been about 10 or 11 years old, and he was sportin' a mullett. The story gets a little bit more wierd right here. His mullett was of a Jheri Curl type quality. What is worse is that his father kept refferring to him as "honey". It's one thing for a couple to refer to each other as "honey" (I hate pet names, but I can tolerate a couple calling themselves honey) but for a father to refer to his 11 year old son as "honey" was a little strange and kinda dirty. A nickname would have been much more appropriate. Does anyone else think this is wierd?

I teach a group of delinquent juveniles. In one of my grup sessions, we talked about values. We talked about what we would do if someone in the grocery store violated one of my boundaries like pushing my cart or ramming me with their cart. I told the kids that I would not beat the crap out of a person for ramming my cart in the grocery store but I would let them know how rude, unappreciated and disrespectful it was. In my mind, a person who would do that obviously has some serious problems. It's not worth upsetting myself over or even starting a fight. When I told my kids that, they laughed at me and told me that only white people do this. I was puzzled. I said, "you're telling me that only white people believe in the integrity and being the better person and choosing a nonviolent way of handling their problems?" Of course they all said yes.
I was immediately brought back to a segment I saw on PBS or something with Barrack OBama being interviewed. He is the bi-racial Senator form Illinois who may run for president of the US. In his interview, he said that when he was a young man in his adolescence he struggled with trying to figure out who he was (like any adolescent). He said that as he grew older, he realized that honesty, integrity, and basic decent human values were not "WHITE" valeus but were human values. I thought that that was so profound. I wondered what it is in our society that has not changed over the last 35 years or so that would make Barrack Obama feel the same way in his adolescence that my youth are exerienceing today? Is it that we don't teach our children right?
Mr. Obama's mother tried to instill those values in her son yet it took a very long time for him to understand the meaning behind what she was trying to say. I am black. I don't think that these are white values. I think that these are human values. I have the church to help me understand that. I prefer to think that I feel this way about values because that is what is taught in scripture. If most people saw me, they would assume I get those values from a "WHITE" church. What is interesting is that the church has more non white members than white members at this point. Why is it that black kids associate these values with white people? Is it because we have been oppressed for generations? In our quest to be equal, why do we continue to separate ourselves by refusing to emulate basic human values? Why do we continue to perpetuate the negative stereotypes associated wiht our race? How much is society responsible for and how much are we responsible for? Hwere do we draw the lines? Yes, we have been oppressed for hundreds of years, but at what point do we decide not to be oppressed anymore and teach values, promote education, teach our children right?
The most interesting thing to me is that these kids would probably praise Martin Luther King Jr. up and down but it seems to me that they missed the meaning behind his message. He was an advocate for nonviolence even when his boundaries and values were violated. The first solution that came to these juveniles minds' were violent means of enforcing their boundaries. These kids missed the meaning behind the message just as Senator Obama missed the meaning behind his mom's message several years ago.

Oprah and Steadman

So Collin and I decided to dress up for Halloween. We dressed up as Oprah adn Steadman. We went to this party and people did not recognize Steadman. Who doesn't know about Steadman? Do these people live under a rock? Everyone knows who Steadman is. If you do not know who he is, I suggest you take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with Oprah's other half.

David Hasselhoff or David Beckham?

I just read a blog where someone asked who was hotter: David Hasselhoff or David Beckham? Now, I appreciate Baywatch just as much as the next guy, but I was amazed at how many people answered that Hasselhoff stole the cheese in this challenge. The crazy thing is that these people honestly believe Hasselhoff wins hands down! I guess I won't knock him for being attractive to middle aged women....I must be missing something.Do your thing, Dave.

See's Candies

I love See's Candies. When Collin and I lived in downtown Salt Lake City, I would take the trolley from downtown to The University Campus for school every day. Across the street from the trolley station was a See's Candies. I would walk in periodically to get a sample of a new flavor. One day I tried white chocolate lime truffle. It instantly became my favorite flavor of all. When we moved to Las Vegas, I was on cloud nine when I found out there was a See's at a mall on the other side of town. Because of my work schedule, I was unable to drive the thirty miles and back as frequently as I wished, so when I did have the opportunity to go to that mall, it was a treat.
One day, my friend Heather and I went to the mall and decided we would stop at Burlington Coat Factory on the way home. As a special treat to me, she bought me four truffles from See's. I was waiting for the perfect time to eat my candies because Las Vegas can get pretty warm. I decided to wait until we were in Burlington so my candy wouldn't melt while I ate it outside. We make our purchases at the store, and as I walk up to the cashier counter with my See's Candy bag in hand, I realize I can't pull out my wallet to pay while the candy is in my hand. I carefully set down my precious bag and what do you know???? The cashier proceeds to ask me if she can have some of my candy while she is digging through my bag with her bare hands! Now, I am not a germ freak, but she has been handling money all day long and she has been touching the cash register all day long. Her hands are probably loaded with germs and bacteria. Moving on, I couldn't tell her she was not allowed to have some of my candy because her hands were already in the bag. I watched her lick her fingers as she ate two of my four candies. I was dumbstruck. Who has the balls to ask someone they don't know form atom for their food while they are practically eating it? I walked out of the store thinking to myself that I only had two choices form this point on: I could give her the rest of the filthy little candies left in my bag or I could go home and enjoy what was left of my treat. While driving home, I tried to figure out how someone could do such a thing. What I realized at that moment made me understand how so many people can do things like this. It all boils down to one thing: They have no "home training". At home we realize that it is not polite to ask people for their food. We wait for them to offer. We also do not grab people's food with our bare hands. We wait for them to give it to us, or we grab a napkin. Somewhere along the line, this woman's parents decided it was not important for her to learn some basic home training. What a bummer for people like me because I see the fruits of their labor (or lack).
What did I do with my candy? I am ashamed to say that I went home and enjoyed every bite of my two pieces of rich white chocolate truffle.

I was coerced

My friend Jamie persuaded me to create a blog. At first I thought it was the most ridiculous idea in the whole world, but after months of reading her life experiences, I realized that there is a lot we can learn from each other. We all have so much in common, yet most of our lives are focused on creating and perpetuating differences. This website is dedicated to Jame and David Hasselhoff. Why David Hasselhoff? Just take a minute to find his music video on YOU TUBE "Hooked on a Feeling" and you will understand why.