Ragged Toenails

Ragged Toenails 

Long ragged toenails sharp as a blade
Scratchy and rough that's just how they're made

Unkept and pointed putting holes in socks
Hard and uneven just like rocks

Some lengthy some stubby with no uniform shape
Someone will be injured an imminent fate

To see these toenails you may shrink back in fear
Or make a gross face as you see them come near

For anyone out there with toenails like this
When you cut them off they will not be missed.

HIV is a Big Deal

Back in the 80s, HIV/ AIDS was mentioned continuously. There was the
shock of hearing about Rock Hudson having AIDS. And then the controv-
versy of Ryan White. He was banned from going to school due to the fact
that he had AIDS. There were also ad campaigns about AIDS and HIV
everywhere: commercials, posters, magazine ads, you name it.

In 1991, Magic Johnson announced to the world that he had HIV and people
were shocked. Magic Johnson has been living with HIV for over 20 years.
He can afford the best doctors and the best medication money can buy. No
one should feel like HIV is no big deal simply because it can be staved off 
by medication. It is a big deal.

Easy-E died of AIDS in 1995, and although some people were surprised by
his diagnosis, it seemed as if it wasn't shocking like it had been in the 80s.

Now it's 2015 and Charlie Sheen has confessed that he is HIV positive. It's
the perfect time to make HIV a big deal again. There needs to be a barrage
of ad campaigns to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. There should be ad
campaigns hitting us in the face everywhere we go just like it was back in
the 80s.

Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, and The Tooth Fairy

Even though it's only November, I can't help but think about December. And
December has me thinking about all of the imaginary things and people that
parents often lie to their children about. I decided that I wouldn't lie to my
children about the various creations that have been passed down from gen-
eration to generation, because I'll never forget the feeling when I found out
that Santa Claus wasn't real.

I was about ten years old when my sister and I were trying to open a door.
We could normally open this door with no problem, so we pushed on it
several times until finally it opened. We saw our Barbie houses that we had
asked Santa for, but it wasn't Christmas yet, and that's how I found out Santa
wasn't real. After that, I felt a bit of sadness and confusion, so that day I de-
cided if I ever had children I wasn't going to lie to them about Santa Claus,
The Easter Bunny, or even The Tooth Fairy.

Parents don't need these pretend beings for their children. If your kids have
been good...buy them gifts...give them candy. And go ahead and pay them
for every tooth they lose if you want to. Your children will turn out just fine.

Kissing Being Banned in School

I was reading my son's school handbook, and parts of it were quite amusing.
One section mentioned that it was against school rules to have a jambox in
the bus aisle. Now do they mean a big jambox from the 1980s or a wireless
speaker? I never even thought about taking my jambox on the school bus,
but hey that's just me.

As I continued to read over the 72-page handbook, I came to across a
statement about kissing. Basically, if students are caught kissing it could
result in suspension. Can you imagine being suspended for kissing? I can't
believe kissing in school has become politically incorrect. If kissing is being
banned in school what's next hugging...shaking hands...looking someone in
the eyes?

My Friend's Dress

When I decided to get married, a friend of mine offered to lend me her
wedding dress. After the wedding, I had the dress dry cleaned, and when
I got it back it was in bad shape. It looked tattered. Some of the threads
were loose and a lot of the beads were missing. When I saw the dress all
I could do was cry. I was upset at the dry cleaner and I felt guilty, because
it wasn't my dress.

I took the dress back to the dry cleaner, and I had them repair it. Once the
repairs were made, the dress looked perfect. No one would've ever known
that the dress had been damaged. Now I was confused again. Should I tell
my friend what happened, or should I pretend that it didn't happen? I had
to tell her. I knew my guilt would remain until I was honest with her, but I
was afraid that this situation would end our friendship. When I told her
what happened (as tears ran down my face) she hugged me and said it
was OK. Being honest with her only made our friendship stronger.  

10 Reasons Not to Have a Funeral

I've been to so many funerals, I have no idea how many I've actually been
to. It all started when I was a child. Being dragged to funerals was uncom-
fortable, yet normal at the same time. When I attended a funeral I'd try not
to look at the body, but it was hard not to look. The body was always right
there, prominently displayed with the casket opened, as if it were some sort
of sick entertainment. I don't like funerals and I think they're unnecessary.

10 REASONS NOT TO HAVE A FUNERAL

1. It is expensive. Most people don't have $7,000 lying around for a
    funeral.

2. No one is going to have a good time. So you've gathered your family
    and friends around for this sad event. I'm sorry...but they're already
    wanting to leave.

3. No good can come of it. Not one funeral I've been to has improved
    my life.

4. It is a waste of time. Funerals take hours to prepare and sometimes
    hours to attend, hours and hours of extra unneeded sadness.

5. It will make you feel sadder. If we're not supposed to focus on the
    negative things in life, why must we focus more on a death than we
    have to? Looking at someone's body, seeing and hearing people cry,
    and listening to how someone used to be is all a downer.

6. You may be visually scarred for life. It's not only upsetting to see
    someone you love in box (coffin) but it's also quite disturbing.

7. It creates a negative memory. Why would someone want to create
    a negative memory? Not having a funeral gives everyone one less
    bad thing to think about. Have you ever woke up and said: "I can't
    wait to have a negative day!!!" ?

8. No one wants to go to the "afterparty". It doesn't matter how much
    food is being served after the funeral. The fun has not begun and will
    not begin.

9. The outfit you wear will remind you of the funeral. Maybe you
    already had the outfit, or maybe you had to buy something. It is now
    officially your new funeral outfit. It will be a funeral outfit forever...
    unless you figure out somewhere else you can wear it to. If you can 
    force yourself to wear it to a happy event that's great, then you can 
    associate it with a positive memory. But, chances are you will never
    wear it again, or you will save it for someone's funeral in the future.
   
10. It won't bring your loved one back. No matter how much crying,
      singing, and yelling goes on at a funeral it won't change a thing. The
      person that everyone loved is gone and they'll be gone forever.
   

Getting My Ears Vacuumed

For over seven years, I've had a problem with excessive impacted earwax.
One doctor told me that there's not much I can do about it, because it's prob-
ably genetic. But, the last doctor I went to told me I could do a mix of vine-
gar and alcohol in each ear, and rinse it out with water four to five times a
year. Before I had my ears vacuumed, I tried using an over-the-counter ear-
wax removal aid, but it didn't work. I should've known better because I'd
bought it before and it didn't work that time either.

In the past I've had doctors use curettes, scoops, and even water irrigation
to remove my earwax. Instead of going to a family doctor I decided to go
see an ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor, because I read ENT doctors usu-
ally use a vacuum. I figured having my ears vacuumed would be quicker
and more comfortable than sticks, picks, or water.

Although only one of my ears were clogged up, the doctor vacuumed both
of them. The vacuuming only took about five minutes. It was loud, and I
only felt a slight amount of pain. In the past after having my clogged up ear
cleaned out it would always sound like someone had turned up the volume,
but this time it was different. I couldn't really tell if I could hear better or
not. I read that sometimes the loudness of the vacuum can cause temporary
hearing loss, sometimes even permanent hearing loss if the eardrum is dam-
aged. The next day, I called the doctor's office and his assistant said, "Give
it a week or so. Sometimes it takes a little while for your ear to get back to
normal." She was right; after about nine days my hearing was back to nor-
mal.

If you have excessive earwax I recommend that you go ahead and visit a
doctor, because chances are you probably won't be able to get it out your-
self. I'm going to try the vinegar/alcohol mix, and hopefully that preventa-
tive maintenance will keep my impacted earwax from coming back. Wish
me luck!


 

A Sibling is a Sibling

Whenever I hear someone refer to their sister or brother as a half-sister or
a half-brother, it sounds wrong to me. Why would you belittle your sister
by calling her half? You can't have half a brother or half a sister. A sibling
is a sibling. It doesn't matter one bit if you only have one parent in common.
Your sibling is still one-hundred percent related to you.

Are You a Flower or the Weeds?

Stand tall and bright... even if you're surrounded by weeds.

The weeds don't know where they're going. The weeds have 
no clear direction. They go every which way with no purpose.

A bold flower can attract positive attention while bringing joy
and spreading happiness.

Weeds are often wild, unwanted and frequently destroyed.
Weeds take up valuable space spreading themselves where no 
one chooses them to be.

Blossom like a perennial that gets better, stronger, and more
beautiful with time.

Don't be a raggedy, rude, ugly weed. Be the best flower you can
possibly be.

I Love 'Empire'

I don't think I've ever written about a TV show, but I have to tell you how
much I love the show Empire. Watching Empire is more like watching a
movie than a a TV show. I've seen each episode at least three times...
that's how good Empire is.

Empire has great acting, wonderful music, along with interesting, funny,
and thought provoking dialogue. Plus, the show is so unpredictable. You
never know what the characters will do or say next.

If you're already watching Empire you already know how good it is, but if
you haven't tuned in yet you better hurry because this season is almost over.

Beware Before You Share

I received an interesting and helpful newsletter, so I decided to share it, but
I ended up sharing a little too much. When I checked the link to make sure
that it worked, I noticed that my email address was at the bottom of the
page.


After reading the newsletter in my email, I clicked 'view online' and I shared
it. I had no idea that I was also sharing my email address. Make sure that
you scroll down to the end of the page before you share something that you
received in an email. Then you won't share your email address like I did.

BEWARE BEFORE YOU SHARE

Weird Witty Watchful Design #2

Weird Witty Watchful Design #2

Disputing a Bill

I had a medical bill from January 2013 ( I was paying monthly install-
ments) and it was completely paid off by February 2014...oh so I thought.
In June 2014, I received a bill stating that I owed $75.62. I tried to fight
it over the phone, but she said my insurance denied that amount, so I
gave in and paid the bill. A month later I got a new bill for a higher a-
mount than the month before. This time I owed $188.74. Bills are sup-
posed to go down when you pay them not up. I called the lady again and
she said she'd have my insurance company reprocess the bill. Two months
later $75.62 is removed from the balance. In November 2014 I got my bill 
down to $93.00, so I decide to pay the entire bill off.

After I paid the bill off again (for the second time) I called and requested
a payment in full letter to be sent to me and she refused. She said I still 
owed her guess what?...$75.62. I protest again and she says I still owe
the money, but two phone calls later she sees the light. She's sending me
a letter in the mail confirming that my bill has been "paid in full." Finally
success!

When you're disputing a bill be sure that you keep good records. 

Steps to Help You Dispute a Bill

* Keep every bill that you receive.

* Write down every person that you speak with, the date, and the time.

* Keep every letter that you receive.

* Don't give up. If you know that you don't owe the money you have
   the right to dispute the bill. However, you still need to pay your
   monthly payments while you wait on the situation to be resolved,
   or you will damage your credit.

Pay Phones

I was at a hotel and I saw this pitiful wall. I could easily imagine people
standing there using the pay phones that used to be there. I started using
pay phones when I was about 10 and it cost 25 cents per call. Once, I
called Best Western on a pay phone just for the fun of it, because it was
a toll-free call. They had such a catchy jingle I had memorized the phone
number. When I got a little older, the cost of a call was 50 cents.

I don't remember the last time I used a pay phone, but I have fond mem-
ories of them. You knew you were using a good pay phone when you
could get inside a phone booth and the phone booth was clean, you could
close the door, and there was a phone book inside too. Oh yeah...then you
were set. But, if the door didn't close, the phone booth was dirty, and there
was no phone book, you might want to get out of that neighborhood.

There aren't many pay phones around anymore, but more than likely you
wouldn't need one. I'm sure there would be at least 10 people around that
would let you use their cell phone for free.

Focus

Fairy tales teach you a lesson
Observe this year as a blessing
Create a positive plan
Understand this is a new beginning
So the end of the year you'll be winning