Hypocrisy 2.0...

I have a partial view of the parking lot from my desk and if a person parks in the right spot, I can see them.
I happened to look up when a regular customer pulled into that spot. Ms. Smith visits us at least every two or three days, so she is a familiar face around here.

Prior to her visit, we had a Jehovah's Witness invasion.
I have to say that I am never rude or dismissive to the JWs when they are handing out their propaganda. I have the utmost respect for people who are devoted to their faith in a gentle and respectful manner (ie not killing or spewing hateful epithets).
However, I was slightly irritated that I had to endure this at work.

Looking out the window, I could see Ms. Smith speaking to someone out of my view and I figured the JWs had hi-jacked her.
I didn't think it unusual when she sat down on the front bumper but it caught my attention when suddenly she laid back on the hood of her car.
I watched for a moment then noticed her seizing.
I jumped up and ran out into the parking lot and said "Ms. Smith, are you alright?"
She answered "No. I'm not."
I told her to stay right there and I would call 911. She begged me not to. "Please, don't. I'm ok. I just need to sit up. Help me sit up."
By this time, I noticed a van full of JWs parked next to Ms. Smith. They were all staring wide-eyed out of their windows at this woman laying across the hood of her car.
I felt relieved that there was someone else around to help because I wasn't sure I could handle it if something went really wrong. Except...no one in the van was moving. They were just...staring.
Finally, one woman stepped from the van and hurried over to us. Thank goodness SOMEONE cares!
This nice JW took Ms. Smith's hand and asked, "Are you ok?"
Ms. Smith nodded but was very shaky and started to cry. "I think so....I think I just passed out."
That's when I noticed that this "nice" JW had a copy of The Watchtower under her arm. She pressed it into Ms. Smith's hand and said "Well I just wanted to give you something to read."

Something to read? When? While she was dying? Was she taking this opportunity to save her soul just seconds before she kicked it?
I couldn't believe this shit!

I was expecting ol' JW to say "Listen, I could save your life or save your soul but I can't do both."

I was disgusted.
I said, "Can you at least help us get inside and out of this heat?"
She did. But still, not ONE other JW got out of that van.

It wasn't just the JWs either. Three other people walked right past us, looking at us but never once asking if they could help or anything.

In a way, I can understand because the first thing that when through my mind when I saw Ms. Smith laid out like that was, "I hope someone gets to her first." Not because I didn't want to help, or because I wanted her to die, but because I suddenly felt unsure whether or not I COULD do something to help.
Of course those thoughts didn't stop me from leaving my desk and running outside. They were just fleeting thoughts of insecurity.
My real instinct was to help. To do something.
I'm not special.....anyone can and SHOULD do what they can to help someone.
But I was really disappointed in the JWs. They spend their free time walking the streets, harassing citizens and handing out their paraphernalia all in the name of saving our eternal souls but they all sat in their air-conditioned vehicle while someone really needed them.

For shame. Is that really the christian thing to do???

4th of July

I hope you all had a very nice Independence Day. I hope you either made some fireworks or watched some fireworks. I hope you have all the digits and appendages that you started with.

I went on a trip for the 4th....a trip down my stairs...on my ass.
If you're keeping score at home...yes, this is my second trip. I apparently like to travel in the rain.

The bruise is so horrific that I can't resist sharing it with you. Ok, so it's more my hip than my ass...but it's more fun to say "I busted my ass!"

Click below...if you dare!!!

One Word

Questions to be answered with one word only - and no word can be used twice......stolen from Sheila.

1. Where is your cell phone? Drawer
2. Your significant other? Home
3. Your hair? Long
4. Your mother? Amazing
5. Your father? Gone
6. Your favorite time of day? Midnight
7. Your dream last night? Amnesia
8. Your favorite drink? Soda
9. Your dream goal? Enlightenment
10. The room you’re in? Lab
11. Your ex? Unhappy
12. Your fear? Cliche
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
14. What you are not? Restful
15. Your Favorite meal? Sushi
16. One of your wish list items? Handbag
17. The last thing you did? Eat
18. Where you grew up? Texas
19. What are you wearing? Clothes
20. Your TV is? Unimportant
21. Your pets? Love
22. Your computer? Necessary
23. Your life? Confusing
24. Your mood? Anxious
25. Missing someone? Yes
26. Your car? Toyota
27. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
28. Favorite store? Target
29. Your summer? Possibilities
30. Your favorite colour? Pink
31. When is the last time you laughed? Earlier
32. When is the last time you cried? Days
33. Your health? Okay
34. Your children? Nonexistent
35. Your future? Hopeful
36. Your beliefs? Unsure
37. Young or old? Middle
38. Your image? Unknown
39. Your appearance? Unacceptable
40. Would you live your life over again knowing what you know? No

A Book Meme

For lack of any other blog content...here is a meme.

I stole this from A Variety of Words. He found Entertainment Weekly's New Classics list on another blog.

I'm just going to bold what I've read. It's interesting to see what are considered the new classics. What I haven't read, I'm really interesting in reading.

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (199 8)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000) My #2 favorite book of all time!
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (199 8)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007) Reading this now
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997) One of my favorite authors
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (198 8)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (198 8)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (198 8)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (199 8)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (199 8)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (199 8)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (198 8)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

I wonder, why is a book considered a classic? Can you call a book published in 2007 a classic or should you wait to see how it holds up through time?