Moving on Through Life

                                                                                                                                          

      My daughter is “graduating” from elementary school.   Her feelings are bittersweet.  She loves her school and has had a wonderful experience, but she is excited to be moving on to middle school.    She stated hopefully middle and high school won’t go too fast so I don’t have to attend so many graduations.  My thoughts were more along the line of not having to see her grow up too fast.

     Like most parents, some of the deepest conversations happen in the car.  For only being 11 years old, she is able to comprehend the meaning of many topics I discuss with her.  The main point stressed in this recent talk was to enjoy the stage you find yourself living at the moment.  Being young is great.  It is fun, exciting, and full of energy, but life doesn’t stop at a certain age.  I have known people well into their 80’s, even 90’s that were still having a great time.

      There are bumps along the way.  There are challenges that are sad and/or difficult.  There will be periods of uncertainty, confusion, and disbelief.  The key is to keep looking forward and find a way to change what is not working.  To work towards increasing the comfort and happiness in living a good life.  To surround ourselves with people who are good for us, and constantly take a chance of trying something new.

     My daughter is 11.  I don’t expect her to understand all the challenges and experiences that lie before her, but I do want her to know that change isn’t a bad thing.  People waste too much time worrying and fretting about getting older.  There is nothing any of us can do about it, so live the age you are now.  To everyone who is moving on, remember the past, enjoy the present, and look to the future with an eager and happy heart.  You only go around once.

Supermarket Pet Peeves

     I spend a considerable amount of time in supermarkets.   Part of the reason is that I shop for different items in different stores.  The other part is I there is always something I need, forgot, or have to get before a sale is over.   There are times when I have actually forgotten an item I wrote down on a list.  Other times I didn’t get the main product I went out for in the first place.  Despite these issues, or maybe because of them, I have noticed certain problems in most stores.  They might not bother everyone, but to me, and others I often find myself helping, they are always present.  Move over Letterman…here are my top five.

5.   Narrow aisles.    I don’t understand why the aisles aren’t wide enough to let carts go by in different directions without crashing into each other.  How many times do you have to say “excuse me” or “sorry” when cruising down these rows.  During busy times, this can be a cause of indoor road rage.

4.   Items placed too high.  I am 5’4’ tall.  Ok, maybe a little less.  I cannot always reach the items placed high on a shelf.  It gets worse when they stack the items on top of each other.  My choice is to stand on the bottom shelf, or find a way to knock down a box without the whole shelf coming down.  The dairy section is trickier since milk, juice, etc. are placed on racks.  Once the first two are taken, the others are so far back I can’t reach.  It has been documented that stores place the pricier items at eye level.  My looking up, and down, taught me that trick long ago.

3.  Looking like a department store.    In rural areas I can understand the need to carry products besides your typical groceries.  For those of us who have access to the mall, as well as department and big box stores, we don’t need row and rows of items we can get somewhere else.  How many people purchase those items in the supermarket?  The space could be used more efficiently.  See number 5.

2.  Reading the small print.   I love those little tabs they place near a sale item.  The print has a font size in the negative numbers.   Not only do you have to make sure of the date, but only a certain size may be on sale, and the tab might not be directly under the product.  If the item comes in a variety of flavors….watch out.   Whole wheat may be on sale, but not whole grain whole wheat.  Chunky peanut butter, but not smooth.  100 oz. bottle of detergent, but not the one that is fragrance free.   Why does it have to be so confusing?

1.  Wet produce.   This is the one that irks me the most.  A simple lesson in biology is required here.  Once a plant is picked and separated from its root system, it does not absorb water.  I can’t stand wet lettuce and parsley.  It is drenched, you can’t get it in the bag, and it disintegrates into a mess within days.  I also can’t stand the bags of wet carrots.  I stopped buying the baby ones because they are too slimy.  Even the whole ones are wet at times.  I can’t count the number of times those automatic sprayers have gone on when my arm in fully extended under them.  Please, I don’t need a shower.

     Every now and then, I see the district managers walking around with store management pointing out this and that.  I wonder what they are looking at.  I wonder what study or plan they have developed to make shopping better.  I have an idea or two (or five) for them.  Maybe they should actually talk to the “average” shopper.  Oh well, I’ll be back in their stores soon enough.  Probably tomorrow.  As they always say, Have a Nice Day!

The Main Purpose of a 911 Call

     The State of Connecticut’s Freedom of Information commission has ordered the town of Newtown to release the 911 calls they received on the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.  The purpose of obtaining these calls is to decide if their content should be made available to the public.  There has been opposition by the families of the victims and their supporters, for this material to be accessible to anyone seeking a request.  Included in this concern are photos depicting the scene after the tragedy.   For years now, 911 calls and crime scene photos have made their way into mainstream media and the internet.  We are taught to call 911 only when there is a true emergency to report.  Dispatchers then notify the appropriate personnel to the scene. The purpose of the call is to alert police, fire, and medical responders, not for the media, print, or internet reporting.

     As the years have gone by, more and more of these calls have been played on network news and talk shows.  The fear, anxiety, and sense of helplessness often is heard as the individual at the end of the phone line is reaching out for assistance.   One is often left to wonder what purpose is gained by hearing these voices in distress.   Does it help in any way?  Does it make us understand the trauma those individuals suffered?  Do seeing pictures of victims give us, the public, any more information?  There are reports that some of the first responders at the scene of the shooting are suffering from mental stress.  What benefit will they, the families, and the public obtain from seeing the images or hearing those cries for help.  This is not one  of the many nightly dramas that opens each episode with a horrific crime scene.  What happened is real, with real people, affecting real lives.  The effects don’t end in an hour, but are everlasting.

     We as a public are not privy to everything.  We abide by doctor-patient confidentiality.  Clergy do not have to report information shared from a member of their congregation.   The names and pictures of juveniles are not reported in regards to a variety of issues.  The identity of abuse victims are not revealed in the press or other media.   The media themselves are protected from exposing sources in the reporting of a story.

     Does this really have to be debated?  Do the families, already dealing with an impossible amount of grief, have to spend time fighting to have calls and photos blocked?   What are we possibly going to find out that we already don’t know?   It doesn’t change what happened.   The images that remain with us should be the smiling faces of the beautiful, innocent children and the 6 caring adults who lost their life on that day.   The information in those calls and in those pictures should be restricted to law enforcement and the courts.   The victims and their families have rights too, and their rights should be respected.  May they be granted the peace they deserve.