CHEERS
Mike, a Huge Thank You: Thank you, Mike, for stopping to help me when my tire blew out on I-90. Only a couple people checked on me, and you even stayed and waited with me. Thanks for your kindness.
The Kindness of Strangers: THANK YOU to the very kind person or family who left a note on the car with the Gold Star license plates in the northside Trader Joe's parking lot last week. Gold Star families don't display these plates and pictures of our fallen hero to garner attention, but merely to ensure their sacrifice won't be forgotten. Freedom has a cost, and we continue to bear it every day. Your simple gesture along with your thoughts and prayers means more to us than you'll ever know — God bless you for your thoughtfulness.
Riverpark Square Security Guard or: Badass Queen Killing Her Job: To the employee working security (monitoring the parking garage) on Saturday Aug 21: Thank you for taking your job seriously. I felt so bad by defying your order to leave my vehicle behind as the parking garage had a small flood. I thought there wasn't much harm in retrieving my vehicle, but later thought about how I could have impeded the fire department from fixing the sprinkler. So, my sincerest apologies. I hope others were more respectful. Your job is likely a thankless one, and I feel terrible for adding to the thanklessness. Next time I'll listen (though I doubt I'll be parking in that, or any, parking garage from here on out. Turns out you don't want to be stuck in a concrete cave when disaster strikes).
JEERS
To the Man Who Insisted I Wave Back: I was taking my morning run today around 8, headed up a street in Gleneden neighborhood (I am not permited to share the street name, lest my post be removed from this forum) as you were coming down from the opposite direction. I do not know you at all, and was very concentrated on readying myself for the steep climb ahead, so I did not make eye contact with you or even look in your direction. I gave a wide berth to you and yours and as I passed I saw, from the corner of my field of vision, your hand go up in a wave. Choosing to continue my cadence uninterrupted, and remain focused on the road in front of me, I did not return your wave. Your response to my decision to ignore the wave was to step and lean toward me, and wave again, this time lowering your hand to my field of vision. I am writing this post now to inform you that no woman is obligated to return a wave and smile from a man they do not know, and to ask you to please refrain from demanding that they do so. Perhaps you mistook me for one of your friends, but if not please continue reading. I am a woman on a morning run for exercise and peace of mind, not a casual stroll through the neighborhood to engage with men I am not familiar with. I am a very friendly person who initiates countless cheerful greetings with people I pass on the trail, but I do so if and when I choose. I have never had someone in my neighborhood behave in this manner; stepping toward me and waving in my face. Some will not understand what it means to live with memories of being assaulted to various degrees on multiple occasions by unfamiliar men, so I am asking you now to please consider holding some reverence for the innumerable proportion of women who exist in that reality every day. Not a single one of us owes any level of engagement to any unfamiliar man, regardless of how harmless he may be. Thank you for your consideration.
Re: My Body, My Business: You are what makes "society" degrade. I bet you want to block "my body, my business" from reproductive rights. Such hypocrites. I now wear a mask while fully vaccinated because people like you lie. Your mom must be so proud of you.
But Mommeeee: "Mommy, I don't want to wear any shoes to school today. They are sooo ugly." "But sweetie you have to wear shoes. It's not safe. You could get a cut or step in dog poop." (crying) "But I don't want to." "I know but sometimes we have to do things we would rather not do. Shoes make you safe and we want you safe. OK?" "OK... but no mask." "OK. Love you."
Jerks at Concert: Jeers to the inconsiderate couples at the Nathaniel Rateliff concert at Riverfront Amphitheater Sunday evening. They chose to stand up and dance (if you could call it that) in front of several columns of concertgoers who had settled in the grass above them. When the concert started they were blocking the view of all of us. I asked them nicely to please sit down or go down to stage level where they could stand, but they refused. The biggest jerk told me, "Hey, it's a public concert, and we all paid the same for tickets." One young woman said she was celebrating her dad's death. All I could think of was "would your dad be proud of your bad manners? Or did he teach you any manners?" I asked two staff employees to please ask them to move below to stage level and was told they couldn't do anything about it. I politely told them that it was their job to do so and then asked them again five minutes later. Several minutes later they apparently told the jerks to move at which point they left. The new amphitheater is awesome, and it was a beautiful summer evening, but too bad a few made it unpleasant for many. And the staff needs to be better trained on how to handle unruly behavior.
Re: Anti-Vaxxers: MAGA MORONS? Lol, sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words can never hurt me!!
To All Anti-Vaxxers & Anti-Maskers: You have to be the most self-centered, egotistical, inconsiderate people I've ever heard! Why does everything have to be about YOU YOU YOU? If you don't care at all about your fellow human beings, why should anyone care about what you think? You're just plain SELFISH SELFISH SELFISH!!! ♦
