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Blog Entry #600

Wow!  This little exercise in self therapy has been one long journey.  I've quit.  I've used another site at one point, but I keep coming back.  The past seven days has been trying and I've not written a single word.  A problem with a parent that infuriated me, might come full circle today, as I have the child in my Tuesday class.  The bombing and subsequent manhunt kept me mesmerized into the morning hours on Friday.  The weekend, a planned quiet one, was anything but.  The incessant noise from a little dog a few windows from mine has my quiet nook on the planet in complete chaos.  I value my quiet time, but this rude neighbor thinks nothing of leaving this dog to bark all day.  And then there is today.  A morning off with time to get some laundry done, but someone feels it necessary to monopolize the machines.  My wet laundry has sat for two hours while another has felt it necessary to monopolize the dryers.  The social contract which we all should abide by is no longer.  Lying, cheating, even stealing is deemed allowable at times.  It saddens me.

Last night I spoke with someone about parenting.  It's nice to hear an educator and a father say things that show a glimmer of hope in an otherwise decaying landscape.  It's ironic.  I argue politics online and have heard some awful things said about those who live in foreign countries and those who believe in a different religious path.  Then I think about my kids this year.  The ones who are behaved and polite.  The ones whose parents show respect and appreciation for what I do.  I think about the parents who take the time out of their busy day to stop and say hello or thanks.  I think about them and what I know about them.  One is from Iran. One if from Israel. One is from Pakistan.  One is from Japan.  One is from England. One is from the United States.  Out of over sixty kids, all multiple generation Americans, these are the people who take the time to show appreciation.  The ones who thank me for "caring" for their children.  I think we as a society need to stop thinking we're the best country and the best people in the world.  We need to start acting like the best country and the best people in the world.  Self appointed titles are for those who aspire for greatness.  Someone described me as a sanctimonious boob yesterday. Maybe he's right about that or maybe his moral compass is so off that I just appear that way.

Tonight I will try and unwind. I will finish my laundry, which obviously won't be dry by the time I have to leave for work. Part of me wants to run the dryer while I'm gone and then leave it there until I get home. I hate sinking to the low levels of those around me, but I want clean and dry sheets on my bed.  I think I deserve it. I'm thinking of picking up a nice piece of fish tonight for dinner.  It's been a while and I feel like something healthy.  I have four movies to choose from and I'm thinking of a little marathon.  It's been one week since I watched a movie and I'm well overdue. I need something to get my mind of the negativity, the hatred, the bigotry, the violence, the inhumanity and the pettiness of our society. One week ago, the entire country bonded over the city of Boston.  Now we are torn apart by people's desires for retribution.  Will it bring back an eight year old boy or two lovely women who died before their time? Will it give us insights into a larger threat?  Or will it simply fulfill our sense of entitlement and our warped view of justice.  "An eye for an eye" will be the screams, but those voices always leave off the last part of the saying.  We've taken all the eyes there are to take and we're all blinded because of it.  Tonight, if even for two hours, to get my mind off of this and think about innocence I'm surrounded by and how I remember a time when it wasn't snatched away so early.  At least I'll try to ignore it and be thankful for whatever it is I have or maybe I'll just reflect on what a sanctimonious boob I am.

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