My Big Fat Lip And My Big Fat Mouth

My Big Fat Lip
Yesterday morning, at about 3:00 a.m., halfway awake, I grabbed the end of the bed sheet to pull it up over me.  My hand slipped and I literally punched myself in the lip. I immediately felt my lip start to swell.  I got up out of bed, went into the bathroom to check out my injury.  My lip was split and indeed it was swollen.  As I stood in the kitchen with an ice cube on my face,  I wondered how many other people surely must have done the same thing.
It’s not funny! Okay maybe a little.

My Big Fat Mouth
Yesterday afternoon our bowling league met at Il Giardino’s restaurant for our end of season luncheon.
Our league is called the "Tuesday Morning Ladies”.  This year there were seven teams. The members range in age from the 40’s to the oldest who is 92.
Two of the four members of my team rarely showed up to bowl this year.  So our team, most of the time, was just Sandy and me.  I guess that might account for us coming in 7th.
The luncheon was pleasant.  That is up until the moment when the topic of conversation turned contentious.
Before I continue, I should explain that I am very low key and extremely quiet.  I usually sit and read or knit while I wait for my turn to bowl.   Oh, I cheer on the others, but other than that, as I said, I keep to myself and keep quiet.
Okay, back to the luncheon.
I was sitting across from the 92 year old, Mary.  I always liked Mary.   We would exchange pleasantries whenever we bowled her team.  Mary does not look, or act like you might expect a 92 year old woman to act or look.  She is one of the best bowlers in our league.  She still has a spring in her step and is mentally sharp.  You might guess her age to be at least 20 years younger.  I felt so sad when Mary’s husband of 69 years passed away a few months ago.  I was inspired to see her pick up and continue to carry on with life.
Somehow the conversation at our table turned to our welfare system.  I was taken aback when I heard Mary say, in a disapproving and judgmental tone,  that the highest percentage of unwed mothers in this country are black.
I could not let this go.  I just couldn’t sit and smile and nod my head as if I agreed or condoned her statement.
I said, “Mary, that is not true.”  
“You don’t think so?”  She asked.
“No absolutely not!”  I replied.
“Well, she said, most of ‘them' are on welfare.”
I said, “Look, first, one thing I cannot tolerate is when someone makes such a broad and generalized statement.”
“Second,” I continued, “there are all types of people who need help at various times in their lives.”
“And finally,” I said, “I suspect that most people who are on any kind of public assistance would prefer that they didn’t have to be.”
Mary, began to strongly disagree with me.
I could see that the other people at the table were becoming uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. There was a lot of seat shifting and eye averting going on.
I backed off and someone else changed the subject.
Later, when I reflected on the incident, I realized that Mary, along with the coach of the Clippers, Donald Sterling, are part of a generation who continue to have deep seated and strong prejudicial feelings.
 Also, like Sterling, Mary staunchly denies begin a prejudiced person.
Would ignorant be the better way to describe those people?
Perhaps my big fat lip got in the way today, but I did not regret expressing my opinions.  I do, however, feel a little sad that my opinion of Mary has now been somewhat altered.

PS:
I got an award for having the “Highest Individual Game” of a 204.  Our team got an award for having the “Highest Team Game”.   Not bad for a two woman team.

PPS:
That 204 was an anomaly.

The Rest of The Stories - Deja Vu All Over Again

Here are some updates to previous posts:

Everything But The Kitchen Sink:
We had our new faucet installed.  It looks nice and best of all it works.   What I like most, though, is that we also had a water filter installed.  So good-bye to the 4 Brita pitchers we used to keep filled at all times.  Two in the fridge and two out on the counter.   It’s wonderful to be able to get a glass of water, fill up the tea kettle and pasta pot right from the tap.

Scooting Around Town:
I decided to give Curves a “just one more month" chance.  I have stuck to that promise. If I go tomorrow, I will have been there three times a week for the past month.  The women and the conversations are still the same. But,  I am getting some form of exercise and physically feel better.

Just Wait, Just You Wait:
This one has to have its own post.  Basically,  I’m still waiting.

Mean Girls in Fourth Grade?:
So, apparently the girls have all made up and want to be best friends again.  One of the girls has invited Bella to her birthday party.
Bella asked her mom to unBlock the girls so that they could start texting each other again.  Jen said no.
I have mixed feelings.  I understand that constant drama is something that girls seem to thrive on.  For me it is a trust issue.  I wouldn’t want Bella to get hurt again.
But, Bella is young and still naive enough to be able to give second and probably third or maybe even fourth chances.

The Other Linda:
Well, I had to return a few items.  I refused to go back to that same location because I just couldn’t deal with the Other Linda again.
We drove a little further, but it was worth the extra few minutes because I had a more pleasant experience.  The sales staff gave me just the right amount of attention.
After we left the store, we decided to take a stroll around the mall.  I couldn’t believe what happened next.
As we were leisurely window shopping, a woman across the way was motioning for us to come over to her.   She was standing in front of one of those Kiosks, holding up a packet of something and saying “free gift.”  I shook my head no and wanted to keep walking.  She persisted.
Okay, so I have to explain a little bit about Ross here.  He is a very curious person.
He looked at me, shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “why not” and went over to the woman.
I didn’t move and stayed where I was, which was a safe distance away from her.    I watched for a few seconds while she and Ross were talking.  Ross finally waved to me to come over.
This woman, her name was Chana, was an even more impressive salesperson than the Other Linda.
Her pitch was perfect.  Not a note out of tune.  It was purely symphonic.
She amazed us with her demonstration of the product.
 “Hold your two hands next to each other. Do you see the difference?”
She was right.  There was a difference.  Wow, I thought! Ah Mazing!
“Okay, I’ll take one kit,” I said.
“Trust me, you won’t be disappointed,” she said.
She put the kit in the bag and started to ring up the sale.  But, wait…
“Can I ask you one question?”

Something So Appropriate About The Name

“Uh, okay”  I said.
“Do you know of anyone else who might like one of these?  Because I am running a special sale. Just for you.  Just for today.  You know because of Memorial day.”
Before we walked away, now with three kits in the bag, Chana wanted a group hug.  Darn, another missed selfie opportunity.

Hmm, so I guess Bella isn’t the only one is who still young and naive and too gullible and trusting.

The Other Linda

It’s that time of year when I go through my closet and try on clothes from last summer.
Boy, doing this was a shocking reminder of how much time I spent being a couch potato this last longest of winters.
Ugh,  I grew a whole size bigger.  Nothing fit me from last year.  This meant that I needed a completely new summer wardrobe.
Oddly enough Ross likes to shop with me.  We went on Saturday.  It was quite an experience.
I was accosted by the most aggressive sales woman I have ever encountered.
She approached me immediately.    She asked if she could help.  I said no and told her that I was just browsing.  I had a pair of capris in my hand.  She asked if she could put them in the dressing room for me.  I said no and told her I wasn’t ready to try anything on just yet.  She then asked me what size I was looking for.  I told her what my new size was.
She introduced herself and asked me my name.  She expressed delight when she discovered that we were both Lynda’s.
She then proceeded to gather items in my size that she thought I might like.
I started to show some interest.  And that’s when she reeled me in.
The next thing I knew I was being held captive in a dressing room, most of the time in my underwear, while the other Linda constantly brought things for me to try on.
Now, I should mention here that Ross was also looking for pieces for me to try on.  It was double trouble.
Linda’s MO was to take away the things that I absolutely wasn’t going to buy, and put the things that I “might” like to have by the register.  She was good!
After a solid hour, I had had enough.  I should have taken a selfie right before I left the dressing room.  My hair was standing on end and I looked like I had just finished a marathon of one kind or another.
By the time I got myself together, put a comb through my hair and exited the dressing room the other Linda was ready to ring up my purchases.    I gasped when she told me what the total was.
Ross was not very helpful.  He kept saying things like, “Do you like it?”  I would say yes.  His response was, “It looked so nice on you. So, you should have it.  You deserve it.”
I’m sure it was just my imagination, but I swear I caught a glimpse of the other Linda gleefully smirking and wringing her hands while Ross was doing his best to convince me I should keep all of the items that were now wrapped and bagged.
I wondered if the sales staff at this particular department store worked on commission.  The way the other Linda worked, that certainly seemed to be the case.
I googled that very question and discovered that indeed the sales people at that store worked strictly on commission.
At first I was a little taken aback by the other Linda’s tactics.  But, I have to give her props.   She works hard for the money.