Tellin’ It Like It Is

I’m just tellin’ it like it is for me and maybe for a lot of other folks, too.  THANKS for the cudos to those who have written saying they like the post.

As I said in ‘About’ – I’m not going to pull punches.  If I want to rant on the slugs who collect welfare, who have no right to, or spread the knowledge I’ve gained on the food industry – hey – I’m just writing here.  Hopefully somebody will listen.

If what I write   b-o-t-h-e-r-s you, well then maybe you need to look at yourself.

If the stuff about food or chemicals upsets you, perhaps it’s time you learned something.  I sincerely HOPE that I can get you to put down that diet soda, and toss that microwaveable meal in the trash.  Maybe the next time you want to eat out you’ll opt for a healthier choice than the drive thru at Wendy’s, KFC, Hardees, McDonald’s or Burger King! When you’re thirsty you’ll realize your body wants water – not - poison-in-a-can: SODA!

I hope I’ve rattled your cage about pesticides and chemicals.  It ain’t pretty, but YOU PEOPLE have to GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR BUTTS about pesticides.  We ALL have to do our part.

If you go to blame someone else for something that’s happened, you might remember my post on stupid lawsuits.  Slap yourself one upside the head  because you’ve probably been a dumb ass anyway. The world does NOT revolve around you and as Mick Jagger once said…, “You can’t always get what you want.”  Here in the U.S. you’d never know it, though!

So – off to another rant.

Rock on, fellow ranters!

WAKE UP, People!

I am AMAZED every time I go to the grocery store or (infrequently) out to eat.  I watch what others are buying on the grocery line and eating in restaurants.  It’s SCARY !

Yo —-  300 pound woman over there on the checkout line;  her groceries consist of – CASES of DIET soda (yeah.., like that’s gonna make a difference!) bags of chips, frozen this, frozen that, canned goods, ‘flavored’ coffee and (oh gag…) the flavored cream stuff for coffee. Then she’s got SPLENDA, which she may as well be injecting friggin’ anti freeze or something because that stuff is POISON… literally!  She’s trying to get SKINNY eating this CRAP?????

The woman with the kids:  I want to smack the shit out of her for buying  garbage to feed them!

Again – SODA…. what the hell IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?????  Do you wonder why your kids teeth are rotting, why they’re so hyper, and why they – at such a young age – have gastrological problems like ACID REFLUX?  Not to mention these kids look like little blubber people!  This is why!

Here’s some info on ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS:

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners Nutra-Sweet, Equal and Splenda in diet sodas and low calorie foods are ‘excitotoxins’, causing neurons to fire spasmodically. They are linked to headaches and allergic reactions. “Splenda” has no sugar compound in it rather its molecules are bound with chlorine. Researchers in Britain were looking for a new pesticide formulation when they ‘discovered’ it.  Aspartame metabolizes into formaldehyde.

There are many side effects associated with artificial sweeteners which include: mood swings, anxiety, headaches, increased incidents of hyperactivity, itching, cancers, ringing in the ears, fibromyalgia, dizziness, and as recently discovered, tendency to overeat.

Isn’t THAT lovely?  Isn’t this what you want to eat?

Make sure you’re giving them the recommended dose of CHEMICALS in their food.  Did you know that over 3,000 chemicals are added to our food?  Over 10,000 chemicals, solvents, emulsifiers and preservatives are put into the food we eat.  Is it any wonder why cancer is so rampant?

Parents: Please, PLEASE LOOK at what you are feeding your kids.  Look at what you are feeding yourselves.

Mothers-to-be: You are harming your unborn child with every mouthful of chemicalized, preservative-laden, pesticide coated food.  If you are eating JUNK food – STOP!  Your baby is at risk!  If you still drink soda while pregnant you are, in effect – slowly poisoning your child even before it’s born.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!  Every day you have another choice!

What will YOU CHOOSE TODAY – especially for your children – who cannot choose!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/02/19/common-toxins.aspx

RANT: Medicine Bottles & Kids

WHY is it MY RESPONSIBILITY to struggle to get a bottle of aspirin open because some kid ate it and died?

Some ‘childproof’ containers are adult proof, too!  Vitamins, pain medication, household cleaners:  everything is sometimes so difficult to open you want to smash the container rather than have to try to get it open.

Back to the RESPONSIBILITY thing.  If YOU as a parent, leave the medicine or cleaning solutions where the kids can get at them – it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY – not the manufacturer’s!!!!  The manufacturer did NOT come into your home and shove half a bottle of medicine down your kid’s throat!  YOU are the idiot!  YOU left it where the kid could get into it.  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE!

When I was a kid everything was kept out of reach.  There were no ‘kid locks’ on the cabinets.  All medicines were kept where my sister and I could not get to them.  We were TAUGHT – ‘never take medicine unless Mom, Dad or Grandma gives it to you.’

Nobody wants to be inconvenienced!  Nobody wants to take ANY responsibility for anything. It’s ALWAYS someone else’s fault.

No, America – YOU are a bunch of IDIOTS!  Quit pointing your fingers at manufacturers, blaming them for what should be YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.  Whatever happened to ‘buyer beware?’  The legal system has turned it into ‘manufacturer beware’ because of the stupidity and irresponsibility of consumers.

We should go back to having lids on things that we can open and if your kid eats/drinks something – as the irresponsible parent – you should be fined or thrown in jail!

Stupidity Clause in Lawsuits!

I missed my calling. I could have been RICH by now!   I should have gone to college and been a lawyer because in our society if something happens,  it’s THE OTHER GUY’S FAULT…, not ours!

Case in point:  I just heard about a mother who is suing the Chuck E. Cheese franchise because her kid was hurt when other kids fell on her in the play area.  BTW – this happened in 2006.  This sounds like a case of the PARENT not assessing the situation and getting the little darling out of the group because of overcrowding. Instead, this woman says is is the establishment’s fault.  DUH???  Whatever happened to PARENTING?

We’ve ALL heard about the McDonald’s coffee-in-the-lap lawsuit.  That seemed to be the landmark turning point for ridiculous litigation.  Sure…, coffee is hot and of course you don’t want to hold up a line in the drive through so you tuck it between your legs to get out of the way.  OH !!! It’s HOT???? Gee – isn’t coffee supposed to BE hot? You dumped it on your crotch?  Now, thaaaaat’s a shame.  As much as I dislike Mickey’s for some of their food lies they’ve proffered and the crap they sell – I side with them on this one!

We’ve become a nation of sissies…. of whiners, of finger-pointing opportunists.  We’ve forgotten that SOMETIMES, something just may BE an ACCIDENT!

The parents of a boy injured in a Little League game when he was struck by a pitch (an ACCIDENT) feel that they HAVE to sue.  Why?  Yes, their son was seriously hurt, but the boy who threw the pitch was a best friend of their son, who admitted tearfully that he didn’t mean to do it.  Now, though, the other boy’s parents are out for blood.  WHY?  This was an accident…. an ACCIDENT! What is so horrific about that?  It’s not like the kid picked up a bat and intentionally pummeled the other kid!  For God’s sake – have you people lost your minds?

Unless you keep your kid in a plastic bubble, they’re GONNA come home with injuries.  It’s a part of  just being a kid!

When I was a kid we were always doing dumb kid things and getting hurt.     Kids are just being KIDS!  They are gonna fall off the end of the slide at school and land on their butt! They are going to run too fast and fall down in the schoolyard.   They’re gonna try to jump over the dog shit on the school bus steps as they’re getting off and hit their head on the top of the doorway, then fall down on the freshly paved street (tar and gravel) and skin both knees!  Do you sue the school bus company?  No, because your kid (me) did something DUMB and, yes, hurt themselves.  No – you just clean and bandage the cut on the top of their head and bandage their knees, and tell them to step around the crap on the stairs next time!

The ‘gun’ thing gets me too.  If somebody gets shot, the victim’s relatives want to sue the gun manufacturer.  Oh – I get it – they must make guns that can SHOOT BY THEMSELVES now…. that’s right!

Give me a break!

We absolutely CANNOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OURSELVES.  It is always somebody else’s fault.  Look at the WARNINGS on everything.  HOT!  SHARP EDGES!  DO NOT USE (a hair dryer)  WHILE BATHING!  DO NOT USE WHILE SLEEPING!  Every instruction booklet with products is half instructions (in other languages) and half warnings to try to cover all the bases in case of a lawsuit!  They try to come up with every conceivable stupid and idiotic situation that some moron – or – totally inattentive person will possibly come up with.  It’s not your fault if you don’t pay attention while operating a power saw and cut your fingers off – it’s the COMPANY’S FAULT!  Huh?

The legal system needs to revamp the rules on frivolous lawsuits.  The stuff that people sue for is ridiculous and is clogging up the courts.  The amounts awarded are insane!  How can this be allowed when much of the time it is the USER not the product that is at fault!  Still, millions are awarded every day to stupid, inattentive people.  They don’t watch their kids and the kids get hurt – they sue and win!  Everybody is out to make the big bucks in a lawsuit.  God – some of the things people have sued for – I’d be EMBARRASSED to admit I was so stupid to let a dumb accident happen!

Parents – you should be ashamed of yourselves!  If you have sued or are about to sue for some totally outrageous situation, you are teaching your kids that it is acceptable. It shows that a reward can be gotten at the expense of another.    What you don’t realize is that it teaches your kid they don’t have to be responsible for their actions;  that is never their fault, that’s it OK to blame someone.  Teaching ‘them’ a lesson is teaching your kids the wrong one!  It’s dishonest and wrong!

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, Americans!  Admit you’re a dumb ass, you messed up…, that YOU GOOFED!

STOP BLAMING SOMEONE ELSE FOR YOUR STUPIDITY, BAD PARENTING or INATTENTIVENESS!

POISONS In Your YARD

Americans spread MILLIONS of tons of toxic lawn chemicals in their yards every year. Obsessed with eliminating every pest, every weed, they ignore the fact that they are exposing their children and pets to POISON.

Advocating non-chemical remedies, I have never put chemicals down,  and never will.  I know too much. I have an  ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude about the lawn.  It’s green, I mow it, and that’s IT.

I worked for Lowe’s in the garden center for 5 years. Each week I’d watch thousands of pounds of poison go out the door in this one store. People were fanatical about their lawns and didn’t even think about what they were doing! A common, and especially toxic product, 2-4-D is found in the popular brand WEED-B-GONE.

Ironically, part of my job was to sell lawn care products.  I hated it.  It went against everything I believe in.  I’m an environmentalist and I joking refer to chemicals as being ‘against my religion.’ I would always opt for pitching the lowest toxicity remedy.  If I thought the customer was receptive, I’ve even tell them about my favorite gardener, Jerry Baker, whom I’ve learned many natural remedies from.

One day a man came in with his three children in tow,  their approximate ages being 7, 5 and 3.  He wanted Diazinon.  I said it’s been banned for almost 10 years now, but the replacement was Triazicide.  We walked over to where the bags were stacked and I answered his questions.

During the conversation, one of the kids started smacking the bag of Triazicide with her hand, like petting a big dog on the head.  The father jumped forward, yanked the kid’s hand away and shouted,

“DON’T TOUCH THAT, it’s POISON!“

I wanted to reply in a calm but sarcastic voice…..

“Yes, it’s POISON and you’re going to take it home, spread it on your lawn and then your kids and dog are going to go out and play in it!”

Children are especially susceptible to illness resulting from pesticide exposure. Instead of rehashing the articles, I’ve included links below.

Not only are these substances dangerous for children, but they are dangerous for adults, pets and the environment.  It’s time to end the love affair with toxins because the health of your family – and the planet – depends on it.

WHAT’S on YOUR LAWN?

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidesandyou/Summer%2005/children%20lawns.pdf

http://www.foodnews.org/reduce.php

http://www.pesticide.org/hhg/OPSpyrethroids.html

http://www.organicconsumers.org/

Texting

Some people live for texting.  I hate it.  It’s a stupid waste of time. What is SO important that people try to walk and text at the same time?  They DRIVE and TEXT at the same time!  Children are getting hit by cars because they’re texting while crossing the street!

I love the internet, but texting is something that I just have never found a need for.  Want to get in touch with me? Call me.  I have two phones:  a house phone and a cell.  The cell I don’t use that much, except to make long distance calls. The cell was a necessity when I worked late hours and had to drive home on deserted roads after 11 at night.

Texting, kiddies, is NOT new.  Most kids have never heard of a TELEX or a TWX machine, which were earlier forms of texting, and instant messaging.  I used to operate both machines on my first job in the 70′s.  The telex was basically a typewriter, the TWX could be used like the TELEX or a tape could be made of what you wanted to send.  You could dial the number, start the tape and on the other end your data would be received.

GOD HELP the person who runs into my car while texting!  If the accident doesn’t put them in the hospital, I will! Surgeons will have to do another procedure:  extract the phone from the orifice in the lower extremities.

I was going down an exit ramp.  There was a kid in the car behind me who spent more time looking down than at the road.  I knew he was texting.  I kept checking how close he was getting and hoped I wouldn’t have to stop too fast at the end of the ramp to wait for traffic.  I downshifted and prepared to take off and haul ass to get away from him. He paid just enough attention, and I was lucky to have a clear shot for the merge to get away.

Sit at a stop light and look at the cars making left turns.  This is a fun game I play.  It’s called “WHO’S PAYING ATTENTION.”  How many people are on their cells;  how many are obviously texting?

People – pay attention to LIFE around you for a change.

Idiots Shouldn’t Own Animals

I should reword that.  People who leave their animals IN a car on hot days should be drawn and quartered.  Better yet they should be left in a hot car with the windows rolled up.

I worked at Lowe’s in the garden center.  It was a 90 degree-plus day.  A customer came up to me and said that there was a truck in the parking lot with a dog in it.  The truck had been there for about an hour. She got the make of the truck for me and the license number.  I paged overhead for the ‘owner of a black  Ford Ranger, license T-R-Y-F-L-N, to go see about his dog.’  In the meantime one of the department managers who had been out in the lot loading merchandise with a forklift for the entire time, verified that the truck had been there for a long time. Other customers in the immediate area confirmed it also.

A few minutes later I decided to walk out to the truck to see if the dog was still alive.  Not touching the  vehicle, I glanced in and the dog was still conscious.  As I turned to go back to the store, a woman stomped by me and went up to the truck.

“We WEREN’T in there very long!!”  she said nastily.

I just mentioned that I wanted to see how the dog was and thanked her for coming back to the truck.

As I approached the outside cash register at the door, there was one lone customer standing on line.  I started to say something to the cashier.  Thank GOD it wasn’t  something like, “That asshole in the truck….”

I said that the owner had come back to the truck and that’s when the guy launched into a verbal attack.

“YOU CALLED MY TRUCK A FORD!  It’s a TOYOTA!!!”

I was puzzled.  Why was he going off on me about the truck when he should have been concerned about the dog?

“I’m sorry, sir, but I may have misspoke.  I was told it was a Ford.”

“My truck is a TOYOTA, NOT a FORD!”

We had another exchange like this and now I was getting mad.  This guy was clearly unconcerned about the dog he’d left in the truck for over an hour in 90 degree heat, but he wanted to argue over the make of the truck!

I tried to tell him that the make of the truck wasn’t important, but that the dog was left out there in the heat.  he didn’t seem to care.  Finally, when he started screaming at me, I hit my breaking point.  Oh,  if I hadn’t been wearing that Lowe’s vest, I would have truly buried him verbally!

He started to curse that that was IT!  I turned to face him, desperately trying to control my anger over the plight of that poor defenseless animal.  With what could be termed total venom, a look that should have dropped him dead in his tracks, I said in a very loud commanding voice:

“SIR !  YOUR…  DOG… COULD…  HAVE… DIED!”

I turned around, shaking, I was so furious!  I hate to lose my temper like that.  At my side appeared a woman asking a question, who’d obviously seen the whole exchange. She whispered, “He’ll be paid back for what he did.”  I answered her question to look up to see other customers looking at me, then to the man.  They wanted to kill him, too.

I had to get away from customers for awhile.  I was shaking and not in any condition to deal with people.  I went to the break room and sat for 20 minutes to cool down.

Later,  the second in command in the store, the OPS Manager, came out to tell me that  I shouldn’t’ have paged the guy to go out to his car, but instead should have asked him to come to customer service. They would have told him quietly to go out to his car.

“Why, Jay?  He deserved to be embarrassed for what he did.”

Funny thing is, I never saw the guy in the store after that.

I just hope he learned a lesson – for his dog!