Pet Peeve

Here's one of my biggest pet peeves ... people who look down as they walk.

I can't even begin to put into words how much this bothers me. Nothing says someone has a serious lack of self confidence more than walking along with their head down. I can think of only a few instances in which you should be looking at the ground as you're walking:

1. You're in an area frequented by dogs or Canada Geese.
   
2. There's a genuine safety concern about where you are walking.
   
3. You're retracing your steps looking for something.
   
4. You have a physical ailment that prevents you from looking straight ahead was you walk.

I was never aware of this issue until I studied karate as a pre-teen a looooong time ago. My instructor, Rick LeClair (I still remember his name!), was forgettable in many respects but he did teach me this one thing that I'll remember for the rest of my life. And ever since I was made aware, it's the first thing I notice about someone whether I know them or not ... for me, it speaks volumes about a person.

So I was in a class one Saturday morning and Rick would start each session talking about what we had learned so far, how to conduct ourselves inside and outside the class, etc. One day, he said the following (I'm paraphrasing, of course, but the essence of his message remains):

"Whenever you walk alone or with others, you should always hold your head high and look straight ahead. You all work hard and you should be very proud of that. People who look down as they walk often have little self confidence or feel (consciously or subconsciously) that they have accomplished nothing in life. You are not one of those people because the very fact that you are here means you have accomplished much ... you have done something you should be very proud of. I don't want to see anyone walking with their head down."

For me, this was one of those "Ah, ha!" moments people talk about and I'm amazed that 25+ years later, I think of this every single time I see someone walking with their head down.

So this is what it's come to ...

Just read this story on cnn.com and I'm speechless.

In a nutshell, the story is about women in the Santa Barbara area of California who sleep in their cars after becoming homeless because they lost their jobs.

What amazes me is that the problem is so bad that there actually are programs in place now that designate parking lots in which people can park and sleep in their cars overnight.

"There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness. These lots are believed to be part of the first program of its kind in the United States, according to organizers.

The lots open at 7 p.m. and close at 7 a.m. and are run by New Beginnings Counseling Center, a homeless outreach organization."

Why do I get the feeling that this won't be only such program of its kind in the US?

Prom night

Kell's high school (well, it's not her high school, it's the one at which she is a teacher ... I digress) held their prom last weekend and I went along as a chaperone because it was a free date night and it was good to see some of the people she works with.

Anyway, it was at the prom that I came to a disconcerting realization ... I'm old.

I base this epiphany on a few observations:

• It never ceases to amaze how many girls (and they are girls, not women) go for the slutty look. Just astounding that their parents would let them leave the house like that.
  
• Apparently, the new(?) thing is for guys to wear new baseball caps as formal wear. There were a few kids there wearing caps with the flat brim, slightly askew. Now, this was bad enough, but what was even worse was the fact that they didn't take off the caps when they sat down to dinner. Drove me absolutely insane.
  
• Seeing kids practically fornicating in dark corners of the hall was ridiculous. But Kell had fun going after them, so that was fun to watch.
  
• Aside from the few teachers' requests that the DJ played, I didn't recognize a single song I heard. They all sounded the same ... bumpa bumpa bumpa ... thumpa thumpa thumpa ... crapola crapola crapola. Ye gods.

But, all that being said, I had to give credit to the few kids who go for that goth/Marilyn Manson-type look. It may be really bizarre to me, but you have to admit that these kids really don't care about conforming to the norm. They really have a unique style ... hmmm, I guess in their own way they're conforming to others like them, but it certainly isn't mainstream.

Anyway, this is a different generation to be sure and never is it more evident than when attending a high school event.

Quack quack

So today I picked up Joey from daycare wearing my green Red Sox cap.

We went to the park and had a grand time on the swings. After the swings,we grabbed some crackers and went to feed the mallard ducks in the nearby pond.

Joey's having a blast talking to and feeding the ducks and I explained to him the difference between the mommy ducks (with the brown heads) and the daddy ducks (with the green heads).

So Joey looks at my hat and then at the ducks and says, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy ... you're my daddy duck!"

Yup, I gave him a big smooch.

I love being a dad

So I'm giving Joey a bath right now (this just couldn't wait) and he's sitting in the tub (I'm on a laptop) playing with his dinosaur toys.

Parenthetically, Joey's in potty training and when he uses the potty, he gets a sticker. Collect enough stickers and he gets a prize (like a book or small toy).

So while he's in the tub, I had to ... use the potty. So I'm standing there giving the Fitchburg Water Dept. something to do (Joey can't see me from the tub) and here's the convo that just took place:

Joey: Daaaaaaady, I can hear you!
Me: Yeah, Daddy has to use the potty, Joe.
Joey: Congratulations, Daddy! You get a sticker!

I'm hoping to get enough stickers to get an Xbox 360 game. Go me!

Seven seasons in nine minutes

Man I miss this show ...

It just keep getting worse ...

Was zipping around the news websites this a.m. and read about the earthquake damage in China and caught this story on cnn.com.

For days now we've been hearing about the devastation of the latest earthquake and its aftershocks to hit China and I didn't even think about this angle of the story.

In a nutshell, the story talks about China's law that parents are only allowed to have one child. Now we're seeing that included in those tens of thousands of people who have died are many children ... which means that there are so many parents now without kids.

At any point in my life this story would have affected me on some level, but since Joey was born, stories like this take on a whole different meaning. Looking at the woman crying in the photo accompanying the picture and reading about parents standing outside a destroyed kindergarten, I couldn't help but put myself in their shoes and I just can't begin to imagine what that must be like. In an instant, your family is gone ... just like that. You'll never hear your child's voice again, never hear them laugh again, never hold them again ... you'll never hear them say, "I love you" again.

Seeing and hearing about this just reminds me again how you can't take anything for granted. I hug my son and kiss him every day and I tell him as much as possible that I love him. I can't imagine life without him.