Make Stop & Shop Pay!
OK, gratuitous inflamatory headline now out of the way, a little bit of reality. I am venturing to guess that anybody that reads this blog also already reads This Full House, but just in case there is one that doesn’t…
You know that little Campaign to Blog Out Hunger that 100+ New Jersey Bloggers participated in a little more than a week ago? Well, Liz decided to take it one step further, and well go ask some big, huge Super Market Chain to help. And you know what? They responded. Stop & Shop will donate $1 for every comment on this post.
So…. why are you still here? Go comments on that post alredy will ya. Go tell Stop & Shop how cool they are. Tell Liz while you’re at it too (ya’ see sometimes she forgets because…well… because she has That Full House to take care of and all), or just wish everybody Happy Holidays.
Are you still here? Oh… you commented already. Well then in that case thank YOU!
Oh, it is just what I wanted
My guess is everybody else in the world was already aware of this, but I just found out that I finally got something I wanted this year for Xmas. And not a moment too soon as far as I am concerned, Bratz dolls are no more.
Now I have to admit, this has been a troublesome issue for me. On the one hand, I hated those little trampy dolls. On the other hand, as I have had discussions with other people, people that seem to have a hatred almost as deep for Barbie, it got me thinking. At first I never understood how anybody could allow their daugher to own these little tramps. But, when I was on the other side of the argument with people that made the same or similar arguments against Barbie, I realized how it really came down to a level of threshholds. (Though you will never convince me that Barbie, which at least has “careers” and the such are as bad as these Bratz that instill no values what-so-ever, but again, purely a point of view).
Lately, it has gotten a bit tougher with LatteGirl as well. She couldn’t uderstand our ban on the dolls, and while she accepted that she wasn’t allowed to have them, she was quick to point out that other friends of hers do have them, and that they “aren’t so bad,” and how disappointed she was that she could not have them.
I tried to counter with High School Musical figures, Kim Possible dolls (she can do anything), and even went the route of American Girl Dolls. While she likes all of them, she still was a bit bent on this issue. Now (well at least once this Xmas passes), the issue will be no more, and I must admit I am quite happy about it.
We can’t let this bank fail
To be sure these are trying times for all but the most affluent of people, as concerns about the economy, about jobs, about paying our bills, and other such concerns fill our minds. It is natural if not instinctive that we go into a sort of preservation mode. We cut out unnecessary expenses, we buy less or less expensive where we can. We sort of go into our own little bunker and try to avoid looking at the scary world out there.
Unfortunately as our economy has taught us playing ostrich, that is burying our heads in the sand and hoping it doesn’t affect us is not a viable solution. I am not going to go into statistics and numbers. They are out there for anybody to find, and I am sure that at least several of the more than a hundred bloggers that have chosen to participate in this campaign will cite them. Instead, I want you to think about it from a self-preservation mode. As a way of “saving for a rainy day.” As a way of hedging your bets against the worst. If you can’t think of it any other way, think of it as an insurance policy against total disaster.
Fortunately, if you are reading this blog, you have rarely if ever had to look and make a decision like, do I heat my home, or feed my family? More times than not, saying we have “nothing to eat” means, you are so sick of some dinner or food item, that you just don’t want to have to consider eating what you have on hand. But what if the worst were to happen. Sudden job loss, family illness, something that just wiped you out, and all of the sudden the cuppoards are actually bare. Where can you turn?
Unfortunately, at this time situations like this are happening more than ever before. The demands on the food banks are greater than any time in most people’s memories. But at the same time, with people being more careful with their money, less are donating, leaving the shelves of places like the Community Food Bank of New Jersey desperate for items needed to provide relief to those in need. What if you suddenly found yourself on the other side? What if there were no places like this left to help? As this title says, this is a bank we simply cannot let fail! This is why I say, if nothing else, think of it as you would an insurnace policy, something that you “pay” into hoping that you will never need it.
So how can you buy into this insurance policy?
- Make a monetary contribution: Visit http://www.njfoodbank.org/.
- Donate food: Drop off a bag of food at your local food pantry.
- Organize a food drive: Just call 908-355-FOOD, and they will provide you with guidance.
- Help “Check Out Hunger:” Look for the “Check Out Hunger” coupons at your local supermarket and donate.
Simply put, no donation is “too small.” Every little bit can help… a lot. You can check out SEFAN for your closest location to make a donation. This is often the time of year when thanks to the spirit of giving and the holidays, people normally remember those less fortunate, and the shelves of food banks are typically well stocked. But like Old Mother Hubbard, the foodbanks are finding the cuppoards bare.
When deciding when or how much to help, just stop for a moment… and picture this. Imagine your child, rather than wishing for Wii, or a doll, or some other fun toy, they are just wishing to not have to go to bed hungry. How much would you want to fulfill that wish? There are people out there, right now just hoping to make that wish come true. And you can help. Please do.
I’d like to thank Deborah from Jersey Bites for helping to organize this, all the other bloggers that have united to help raise awareness, and to you for your anticipated help. Thank You.
Other participants, in this drive:
4) Simply Sable
5) John and Lisa are eating in South Jersey
7) Chefdruck
10) Cook Appeal
11) Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars
12) Mommy Vents
13) This Full House
14) Paper Bridges
18) Fits and Giggles
19) House Hubbies Home Cooking
22) Tommyeats.com
23) Off the broiler
25) IamNotaChef.com
26) SimplyBeer.com
27) HistoryGeek.com
29) Momlogic New Jersey
33) Best of Roxy
34) Citizen Mom.net
35) Lynetteradio.com
36) Jersey Beat
37) Pop Vulture Phil
38) JerseySmarts.com
39) LongBeachIslandSummers.com
42) Somerset08873
44) KateSpot.com
46) JCRegister.com
47) New Jersey Real Estate Report
50) Man of Infirmity
51) Another Delco Guy in South Jersey
52) SweetNicks.com
53) Average Noone
56) The Center of New Jersey Life
58) Morristown, Chatham, Summit, and Madison NJ Real Estate
59) Midtown Direct Real Estate News
61) BlowUpRadio.com
62) LazlosDen.com
65) Banannie
67) Matawan Advocate
69) The Joy of Toast
70) Route 55
72) SaveJersey
73) Stompbox
74) Joe the Blogger
76) Stacey Snacks
80) Triple Venti
84) Cape Cuisine
87) Figmentations
88) MiddletownMike
91) Mack’s Journey Through Life
93) Tiger Hawk
94)Politics Patrol, The Bob Ingle Blog
95) The Food Chain
96) Henson’s Hell
98) Baristanet
99) New Jersey: Politics Unusual
100) Jersey Shore Blog
101) Plainfield Today
102) Beacon Bulletin
103) Journal Square Jersey City 07306
Why is wishing someone well offensive
It is that time of year. That post where I get berated for being inclusive instead of exclusive. I hear how offensive it is to wish someone to be well, and to have a Happy Holiday. Yes, once again, more people are joining in on the faux War on Christmas. This game, started (as far as I know) by Bill O’Reilly, a man so whacked, that even the top brass at Fox News don’t like him, has now been carried on by others, including this year, a particularly idiotic piece by Michael Reagan.
I find it “particularly idiotic” because he is clearly transparent in his attack. He blames “a handful of secular progressives who loathe Christianity and any celebration associated with it.” Apparently, it would never pierce his thin skin to realize that a Jewish person may not want to be wished a “Merry Christmas” any more than he would like to be wished a “Happy Kwanzaa.” He doesn’t want to appear quite this crass, so he tries to bury the whole thing as people out to “destroy Christmas.” While I do not doubt or deny there may be a few nuts out there that have this thought, most simply would like to be recognized for their beliefs even if they aren’t Christian. Recognition that while a majority of people may in fact be Christian, we are not a theology, and that their rights and beliefs are not any better or worse.
For all his claims to the otherwise, nobody is actually attempting to stop anybody from having a Merry Christmas, or for Christians to celebrate and recognize Christmas as the high holy holiday that it is for them. They just don’t want to participate (and perhaps that is the problem for single minded morons like this).
He forgets, while claiming that it is “a birthday not a holiday” that the holiday has been around much longer. I won’t go into the details about previous silliness or the historical moving of Jesus’ birthday to coincide with the holiday, I have documented that previously, and most rational folks already know this. But apparently he doesn’t see the irony in his own statements:
My fellow Christians should join me in pledging never again to shop in any commercial establishment where the clerks greet us with that “Happy Holiday” greeting as an insult to our religious beliefs, just as we must defend the exhibition of the menorah or other Jewish symbols at Hanukkah.
Just what Jewish symbols is he supposedly defending by demanding that it is “Merry Christmas” or nothing? And am I the only one that finds it humorous that he complains that about people being “forced” into saying “Happy Holidays” but now he wants to blackmail commercial establishments by threatening to not shop their unless he is greeted as he expects. And he goes on to say, “Have a Merry Christmas. And don’t be afraid to say that loud and clear to everyone.” That’s right. Don’t give a damn about who you may offend, because you are a Christian, and as such have a right to offend whomever you wish, at least according to Reagan.
So why is this? Why is it that being inclusive to spread love to everyone so darn “offensive” to some Christians? Does “Peace on Earth and goodwill toward man” only apply to a select few? As the old saying goes, “Can’t we all just get along?” Do you really need to have a crusade?
Whether it is Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule, Happy Kwanzaa, I wish you and yours the best for a happy and healthy Holiday Season.
Expectations and Perceptions
It is a topic I had been pondering recently, but I have to credit Ivy for really pushing me into writing it now, with her post at Home Ec-101 about “Do Not Let Your Sons Be Victims of Learned Incompetence.” It was a comment that I find quite funny. Why? Well, I guess it is because I, and it seems most of the Daddy Bloggers I read break many of the stereotypes that are often associated with husbands. I won’t speak for others, so I will just cover myself. I cook, I share in the cleaning at home (we each have designated rooms), I can do laundry, I would load the dishwasher, but I AM the dishwasher in our home, so it is really not applicable.
But that is not really my point (I don’t think). There are times I wish I could see what TheWife would blog about (assuming she was under the thought that I was not reading her blog). I would love to see the “other side” once in a while.
There was a piece about “fair” journalism recently (though I can’t remember for the life of me where), talking about how, you could almost spot the most unbiased political articles, simply by seeing who is criticizing it. The most fair articles will claim “bias” on behalf of the other side. And, I believe to some extent that is true in our day to day lives. Which is why I found Ivy’s article both interesting and amusing.
In comments, I shared a couple of little little story from my home life. My father would always “try” to load the dishwasher, but it was never quite up to my mother’s satisfaction. She would always have to “restack” the dishwasher. In my own life, if I don’t vacuum the living room carpet in the style and fashion that my wife prescribes, she doesn’t consider it done. So, I vacuum, she then re-vacuums. So, I have admittedly said on several that I wasn’t going to bother any longer. (Granted it is a veil threat, but that is not the point either). So, here you read how I am not going to bother because she is being a pain about it, whereas if TheWife had a blog, I could read about how she wishes I could just learn how to use a vacuum properly.
Another one in our house is, I am always asking TheWife where things are. In her virtual world blog, I can see the complaints of how I am so forgetful, and I never know where anything is, or even better, how I never put anything where it belongs. Here I would be complaining how she always moves things or puts things is illogical places so I can never find anything. In the end they are the same scenarios, but two totally different points of view.
Of course, there is one other factor that I would be remiss if I didn’t add on to this, and that is about expectations. (And again, these vary from home to home, so I am just going to use some oversimplified stereotypes, just for the sake of examples.) Men have (or had) certain expectations I guess of women, such as the “Hey Hon, what’s for dinner?” (Again, doesn’t apply here since I do at least 1/2 of the cooking). Or heaven forbid a man ever picks up a rag and dusts something (except perhaps the television screen before a big game). And the woman will complain about such things, but never actually ask him to do such tasks. The other side holds true with expectations as well. A woman that can juggle 36 tasks around the house, cook dinner, and bake for the PTA, somehow can’t figure out how to put some oil on a squeeky hinge. The chances of them actually taking out the garbage is also near ‘nil. These aren’t tasks that the other “can’t” do, but things that are… well… expected (for right or wrong) from the other person.
So what’s my point? When you are frustrated with your spouse/partner in such situations, stop for a minute and look at it from the other side. Believe it or not, they probabaly are doing just as much as you, but you believe you are getting the worse end of the deal, and that more is expected of you. And if that isn’t enough, then talk about it. Like Ivy who finally got her son to load the dishwasher. The situation can be fixed with a little communication. If you spouse wrote a blog that they thought you weren’t reading, what would they write/complain about that you do?
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