Welcome to Summer

     It’s summertime.   The days are long, warm, and full of sunshine.  The grass is lush and green.  The lakes and oceans warm up, and the beaches become populated with people enjoying the season.  What makes us love summer so much?  Most likely it reminds us of what we did when we were kids.   Is it the same now?  Do we let our kids go outside, roll in the dirt, sweat, and swim in the lakes and ocean?  For some the answer is yes, but for others the outdoors has become antiseptic.

Now that designers have convinced everyone what is needed in their kitchens, they have moved to the outdoors.   The trend now is to create an outdoor living space complete with stone surfaces, built-in grills, hot tubs, fireplaces, and expensive furniture.  If someone lives on 10 acres, so be it.   For the average homeowner, this would cover the whole yard.  So where do the children play?  Where is the grass?  Having nice plantings or an area to sit is appealing, but it should complement the outdoors and not overwhelm it.

I actually saw one report on these designs that stated people enjoy being in the outdoors.  This is somewhat humorous considering all that is being promoted are areas for entertaining.  Enjoying the outdoors goes so far beyond these limits.  One can only experience nature and all it offers by hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, or camping.  There is an inexplicable feeling that comes over you when spend time in the simplest of settings.  Children notice so much about their surroundings when given the opportunity to experience it in the way nature intended.

My younger daughter enjoys attending a half-day program at a local nature center.  Every year we sign her up for 2 weeks of classes.  There was one day 2 years ago that I will never forget.  I went to pick her up at noon.   Having been a hot day, they had run under a sprinkler fully clothed.  Her clothes were wet, her shoes were soaked, her hair was sticking to her face, and she was covered in mud.  What was most noticeable?  There was a huge smile across her face which for a shy child was a major accomplishment.  She was as happy as could be, so much that I still see the image today, and treasure the memory.

This past week I got a wicked case of poison ivy.  It itches, burns, and is driving me crazy.  I am also one of those people loved by mosquitos.   Even so, it will not prevent me for enjoying summer outside.  We will get out those rickety folding chairs, eat on old wooden picnic tables, and swim in the lake.  I will watch my kids run around, having a great time covered in dirt and sweat. That is enjoyment of the outdoors in its purest form. Welcome to summer.

Equal Pay for Equal Work is Overdue

This week, the senate rejected a bill that would have guaranteed equal pay for equal work.  Naturally it wasn’t a major headline in the news.  The reasoning by some is that employers will have a hard time making up the difference, or that there will be an onslaught of lawsuits filed against business owners.  It is outrageous that this issue even exists.  When was it decided that one worker, doing the exact same job, with the exact same skill, is paid more than another.  Oh wait.  That’s right.  The other worker is a woman.

Woman fought for the right to vote.  The feminist movement in the 70s, worked towards providing rights in the workplace, and society at large.  Title IX was passed to insure equity in providing sports for female athletes.  Yet here we are today, in 2012, still fighting for what is fair and equal.  Why is it that every group in this country has to fight for what is granted by the Constitution?  How many times does the same script have to be written and played out before the ending comes out satisfactorily?  The call for equal pay for women has been going on for decades.  There have been some acts passed to help ensure it, but the fact remains that women are still being paid less than men.

Most single parent homes are supported solely on the income of mothers.  They are working hard to support themselves and their children.  To think that they, or any woman, are getting paid 77 cents to the dollar because of their gender is ridiculous.  What happens when women go in for the interview?  Does a skirt mean you need less money to survive?  Is their education or training of lesser quality than that of men?  Women have come a long way since the 20s, the 50s, and the 70s.  This type of pay discrimination should have been settled a long time ago.

My last thought lies with all the young women who are studying and working towards a career.  Of women who are working to make a better life for themselves and families.  How do we tell them that the work they do is not on par with their male counterparts.  There are actually some who have stated that women are looking for a handout.   That they have to work for what is fair and even.   Women have been working hard for years.  In some cases even harder than men, because they knew they had to in order to prove themselves.   In reality, many have been doing more than the guy sitting next to them and getting less for it.  The male dominated senate needs to understand the terminology.   The keyword word isn’t “more”, it is “equal”.   Now is the time to pay up and do what is right.  It is long overdue.

Rachel, the Credit Scammer

Hello!  My name is Rachel.   There is nothing wrong with your credit card, but……

Who is Rachel and why does she keep calling?  Yes she will lower my credit rate as soon as I hand over all my personal information.  This woman gets around too.  She has called from numerous locations and phone numbers.  She is also persistent in her attempts to reach me.   In a short over the phone interview, she can aid in my financial situation.  Oh Rachel, please stop calling.  I know your game and I’m not falling for it.

How can it be that these credit scammers are able to exist for such a long period of time?  Are they really that techno savvy that they can eliminate all possible means of being detected?  I usually don’t answer these calls when I don’t recognize the name or number on the caller ID, but there have been times in which I have been fooled.  Once, the incoming call was identified as coming from Florida.  I was hesitant to pick up, but my mother-in-law lives in Florida and I didn’t want to take the chance that something had happened to her.  Of course, it was Rachel once again reassuring me about my credit.

These people prey on those who are having financial difficulties, or are just plain lonely.  They offer a kind, helpful voice that sounds sincere.   No matter how many warnings are reported, there are individuals who fall for the offer.  The ones that hurt people the most are the ones that ask for money upfront with the promise of a greater fortune in return.  As the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.   Many of these scams target the elderly making it all the more of a disgrace.  There have been reports of individuals masquerading as grandchildren or friends in immediate need of funds.  The money is wired, never to be seen again.

I had an aunt who was convinced that the woman who answered the phone for the Home Shopping Network knew her.  This isn’t a scam, but it operates on the idea of making someone feel good about the great bargain they are getting for their money.   My aunt would show me necklaces that had “real diamonds”.   Maybe they were, but you had to have a microscope to see them.  Most likely they were chips left over from cut diamonds, or pieces not used for the end of drill bits.   Aunt Mary didn’t spend a lot of money on these items, but she did believe that she had scored a big one.

In a time when much of the nation is suffering through an economic downturn, scams such as Rachel and friends are benefiting.   I am surprised that there aren’t more reports exposing their tactics.  The phrase “Buyer Beware” should be promoted on a greater level, and more should be done to track these vultures that bring harm and loss to people already surviving on a limited income.  This isn’t the kind of “help” they need.