Taking Rides From Strangers

Mom's Great Grandson
... looks a lot like dad.

It was March 1977 and I was 16.  I had two nephews, one was about a year old, the other was 3 years old.  I will always love my nephews, Joe and Drew.  We grew up together.

It's because of the boys that I had learned the responsibility tied to children; children are forever; not in my cards.  I am grateful for my nephews Joe and Drew for being a guidepost on my life's journey.  I love them.

Tonight, I was thinking of the seniors at the home where Mom lives.  I began to reminisce for all the old folks that left an impression on me... there were so many; most never told me their names.

One freezing cold day in March, I was babysitting for my nephews.  I was bored with their house and decided to hop the bus from the side of town where they lived to City Hall Square in Lynn where I lived.

I bundled the kids up as best that I knew how at age 16.  Andy (now Drew) was about a year old, barely walking and cute as a button. His massively big blue eyes got him lots of action figures when he was older.  Joe was 3 years old and my little buddy; Joe was my first 'real' doll who looked like a little cherub with his pudgy cheeks.

Waiting at the bus stop, it was freezing cold.  The wind was horrible and the kids were crying.  An old man pulled up to the bus stop and asked us if we wanted a rid.  He saw how cold it was and worried that we would freeze waiting for the bus.  It was wicked cold so I said, "OK."  My nephews and I hopped into this strangers car and he drove us to my home.

No problem.  No issue.  Just a sweet old man who helped me.  No wonder I love seniors.

My entire life, seniors have been my guardian angels... now, I get to pay it forward and become the guardian angel for a senior.

Isn't life grand?

Taking a ride from a stranger isn't always bad... it is more than likely dangerous and thinking about it now at the age of 51, it's freaking scary that I even did that with the kids.  I don't even know if my sister knows... well, she does now.

The lesson I hope to teach is sometimes it's OK to take a chance.

Lately, life at the nursing home feels like I'm taking a ride from a stranger...

I Want To Be A Singer

Mom dancing with her favorite activities person, Kathy
Kathy is awesome!

So many people think that they can sing; heck, watch the first few shows of American Idol.  My ears!

I love singing.  I sing a lot, especially when I'm happy because it makes me happier.  I sing Frank Sinatra songs; I know some of the words and all of the melody.  I sing out loud in stores when I'm with my mother.

"Somewhere.... beyond the sea... somewhere, waiting for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

My mom likes it when I sing.  Sometimes I wonder if she thinks it's my dad singing to her... he had an amazing voice.

Last weekend at the home, a few residents were in the hall waiting to be put in their beds.  I was walking with my mom.  I started to sing.  My mom started to have a spring in her step.. bouncing more with each foot forward.  I took her in my arms and we started to dance in front of the residents while I sang.  I was cheered on!

"Beautiful!"  My little friend shouted out as she tapped her foot and hands, smiling as she watched me dance with my mom.

Egged on... I sang more, with feeling and emotion as I danced with my mom.

My other little friend, she started to sing along and tap her foot too.  It was fun to entertain the folks in the hall.  Now, I want to be a singer.

So... I'm going to sing.

I gathered all the happy Frank Sinatra tune lyrics and memorized the words... come this weekend, I will begin to perform for my mom and her friends.

Why I Quit Facebook

I am not mad at anyone.  I am just done with the social madness where folks hide behind a computer screen, playing silly games and sharing way too much information voluntarily.

To me, Facebook seems like a data mining application, one that everyone lines up to be a part of something that doesn't exist while feeding data bases somewhere with information about your political party preference, religious beliefs, purchase and social habits.

Information is being gathered on all of us, every minute of every day there are databases being updated with data on each of us.  Even this blog post will be put into a database somewhere to be used at a later date to possibly sell me something.

Why make it easy for someone to buy information about ourselves and then use it to market to us and sell us things.  All the LIKE'ing for businesses, products and services, has turned Facebook into just another place for me to get harassed to buy this or that or to believe in this or that.

I've noticed that if anyone thinks different than the group, the group turns on the individual in an attempt to discredit them.  Facebook ... who needs it?  NOT ME!

I quit Facebook.

I am tired of reading posts that piss me off.  I am tired of watching all the hours people piss away, wasting precious time that can be used to make ones life better instead of complaining about it publicly for the entire world to see.  Who cares?

I am done with being "sold to."  I don't want to LIKE your products or services anymore.  I don't care how good they may be... I am sick of being bombarded with Ads.

My inbox is full of junk mail.  My email is being sold.  My information is being sold.  All of us... everything that  we do on any social media site is gathered to form an intelligence on us so that we can be the next victim to someone somewhere trying to sell us something.

I quit Facebook and it feels good.

Please don't be offended.  I still like all of my friends and family but I am now only going to talk to you in real life.  No more Facebook.  I'm done with it.  It's creepy and scary to me.  It's morphing into something that is out of "1984", a book written by George Orwell about Big Brother watching.

Big Brother is doing more than watching us... it's gathering information on us, valuable intelligence so that how we think or how we vote can be manipulated.

People are suggestible.  Once your magic buttons of life are known, you can easily be made to believe something that will help someone else have personal gain, even if it causes you pain.

For me, I am not playing anymore.  Yes, the machines in the clouds will continue to gather information on me but I am making a choice; no longer am I going to make it easy.  I am using my power of "NO" and no longer will I willingly give valuable data away about myself.

So long Facebook.  You were a great tool to reconnect me with friends that I had made throughout my life.  You even were instrumental in helping to reunite my cousin and me; just in time for Uncle Al to witness before he passed.

Facebook... thanks for the memories.  I am ending our relationship.  It's YOU, not me...