Who Does That

2006-06-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I thought i was going to get a lot done on my day off - as usual, not so!
In fact, my day turned out to be more eventful than I anticipated. I've decided that i don't ever want to get old. Don't we all wish that?! As i learned from my neighbor, Helen, it sucks! Unfortunately, my day took an unfortunate twist when I was taking out my trash and heard my 93 year old neighbor, who lives alone, screaming out for help. Much like the old commercial, she had fallen and couldn't get up. Fortunately, I was able to help her, but it was a little scary. Especially since I had to break into her home to help her and found her face down in her living room. All was well - she didn't break anything and I ended up hanging out with her for a few hours to make sure she was alright. I learned a little bit about her and likewise, her from me. She now knows why I'm never home, since she asked me yesterday. I was glad to hear that I had "answered her prayer." It is still unsettling to think that she lives alone :-(

2006-06-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

It’s sad that so many loyal fans to the best-selling female group, The Dixie Chicks, would turn their backs on them because of a comment one of their band members made while on stage, at a concert, in another country. It’s not that I’m a huge fan of the ‘chicks,’ but I’ve enjoyed some of their songs through the years. In recent weeks, there has been media buzz surrounding the release of their new album, “Not Ready to Make Nice.” In the same week, I heard an interview/story on npr and then got my TIME magazine in the mail at work with the cover story “Radical Chicks” on it. So, I decided to read their cover story article in TIME that came out the week their latest album was released.
I have to admit, I’m impressed with the way they are handling themselves after their two year hiatus from the industry, enduring death threats and being banned on hundreds of country music stations. I respect and admire what they did with their new album. For the first time they wrote their own songs and are singing from their hearts. They use this album as a platform to make the bold pronouncement that they are not willing to apologize for what they have said in the past.
It goes without saying that these three Texas women, who are collectively mothers of seven, are taking the biggest risk that American music has seen in a long time. You could argue that Green Day took the same risk a year or so ago when they released American Idiot. It was a risk for them; who would have ever thought that the same band that sang “Basket Case” in the early 90s would come up with a politically driven album? They ended up winning best pop/rock album with “American Idiot.” The major difference is that their fans hadn’t denounced them prior to that album though. Also, these are two completely different genres of music. Unfortunately for them, the Chicks’ album has officially put their careers on the line. Without their country music fan base to support the album, speculation is now whether the album will make it or not. Personally, I hope it does because the album is really good. What’s the point of a country with freedom of speech, when you can say what you want, as long as it doesn’t upset your fans? There is a larger agenda going on when two years later the majority of country music stations still have a ban on their music.

2006-06-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

I often find myself questioning where people get the nerve to say the things they say. Not that I don't have an outburst here and there, but come on. I can think before I speak and there are certain things that I just wouldn't say to someone.
I use myself as the example because I got engaged a month and a half ago. Would I ever bluntly ask someone if I was invited to their wedding? Absolutely not! Have people asked me that? Sure they have. All the time I find myself responding to the awkward question. Who wants to create a weird situation with someone? Not me; I try to avoid them at all costs and have made a habit of this with my life.
If you're a good friend, of course you don't even have to ask (and you wouldn't that's why you don't!). If you feel the need to ask someone “am I invited?,” there’s your first clue that there’s a problem. Stop right there. Do not pursue the question. Friends of friends, who you don’t even have a telephone number or address to speak of, come on. You should know the answer, don’t make me tell you.
You get engaged, and it’s supposed to be a happy time and it is. All I’m saying is suddenly I have developed a new pet peeve. My advice for someone feeling compelled to ask, is don’t go there! Spare yourself the inevitable embarrassment of the conversation, even if the answer is a simple yes. You will then become one of 'those people'.

2006-06-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

Another Memorial Day weekend has passed. This signals another start to a summer season...loads of fun at the Jersey shore. Or is it?...
I've noticed more and more through the years that people can't wait for it to be summer time, yet they are so quick to complain. The complaints in my area, Ocean County, vary from person to person. However, the number one complaint is about the tourists, a.k.a. "bennies," and the traffic problems they create. Locals blame bennies for bumper to bumper traffic on the GSP and in the shore communities. "What is a Benny?" you ask....well that is the beloved term for a tourist at the Jersey Shore. Specifically, a tourist who visits the Jersey shore from Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, or New York (or anywhere near these places.) Some people think it's an acronym for those towns, I think it's more a coincidence that people choose to associate those 4 towns with those generalized regions. If you were to ask a benny, they "go down to the shore" for the weekend. The shore is a blanket term for anywhere near a beach. It doesn't matter which beach, as long as it has sand and is near the ocean.(Hence depicting the derogatory nature of the term) Locals think that bennies hog parking spaces and take over sand space. I can say that is certainly true. Just last weekend, parking spaces that were $3 and $5, suddenly jump to $20 or better yet $35 to $40 for the 4th of July. It's insane, but they will pay it. The term "benny" is used mainly in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The benny is the equivalent to the "shoobie" of Atlantic and Cape May Counties.
What I find interesting is now that there is an influx of people moving further south across the board in NJ with the geographic shift in our state, more and more the bennies will become locals. They then begin to understand and share the frustration of the locals and voila! They discover the term benny. There are mixed reactions to this discovery, as I have witnessed. I find it funny when people are insulted that they were once referred to as a benny - almost as if they are taking the term personally. Then there are those who join in and share the enthusiasm for the word benny in the summer months. I look at that more as they are considering themselves on the inner circle now and they are sharing the frustration because they can! This only subjects themselves to further insult, because once they are found out by true locals, they never live their benny status down.
The bottom line is this: like them or not, they're back. They come back every year. It's only three months out of the year that we have to deal. Without them, our economy would be nothing! If the locals hated the bennies so much, they would steer clear of the barrier islands. There are ways to get around our love/hate relationship with the tourists. Once again this year, we'll all find it in our hearts to share our roadways and our sand with the bennies. It won't be without a few curses, maybe even a middle-finger wave here and there, but we’ll get through the summer and have our beaches back soon enough!