Animals in America

While sitting at a park just relaxing and trying to get some peace and quiet, there is this loud barking and growling going on behind me.  As I peek over my shoulder with one eye remaining closed in attempt to remain relaxed, I see two big dogs fighting while the two owners are pulling with all their might to pull them away from one another.  A woman had her German Sheppard leashed and she probably weighed only about half of that of her dog.  But she tugged and pulled with all her might.  Meanwhile, the other man had his Rottweiler leashed as he tugged so hard that the dog was standing on his hind feet and gagging for air.   The woman finally pulled her dog over to a tree and tied it up.  Much to my surprise, the woman who could not have weighed more than 100 pounds, went stomping across the grassy area and began screaming at the top of her lungs at this man who stood at least six foot or more and had to have weighed well over 200 pounds. 

Of course I had to sit up straight and open the other eye to just make sure that I would not miss anything.  This was definitely better than anything I could have watched on television.  This little woman went after this man like a Chihuahua with attitude as she had NO fear of her small size and what a man of this size could do to her.  She tore into him like a chew toy and tossed her long brown hair back and forth like a dog does with a tug-of-war rope.  Just as I thought she was starting to settle down, she started in on this man again.  I could tell the man was getting fed up with the verbal bashing which should have been a red flag for this woman to just shut up and leave, but she didn’t. 

The local police showed up and defused the situation and made them both leave the park.  Ah, peace and quiet returns.  So I thought!  

Within ten minutes of the breakup, the woman returns to the park without her dog but with a notebook to get names and phone numbers and addresses of the people who witnessed her dog “being mauled” as she put it.  I overheard her talking to another couple across the walkway and I picked up and got out of there.  She was claiming that she was going to sue this man for allowing his dog to cause such trauma to her little (over 100 pounds) German Sheppard.  I laughed all the way to my car.  What has this world come to?

I bet the German Sheppard has a personalized closet with his very own wardrobe and matching collars.  Maybe my father had it right all those years.  He said that when he died he wanted to come back as a little dog so he could be pampered and washed and fed and spoiled rotten.  He’s been gone for over twenty years now and I often wonder if he got to come back as a dog and if he wears tutus?    Now that is a funny thought.

Should We REALLY Watch Television AT ALL?

While confined to my home for a month while undergoing medical procedures, I found myself planted on my couch 24 hours a day due to vertigo and heart palpitations.  The spouse worked 7 days a week and rarely returned home before 10:30 or 11 p.m. daily.  Therefore the limits left me with one thing to do, watch television.  That was an education I could have lived without. 

Did you know that at least 70% of the channels are selling you something?  Whether it’s a new bra, how to lose weight, a new cooking tool, learn a new language, magic jack, dog training devices and so much more.  I thought these infomercials were only on at night so you could only imagine my confusion when they were on ALL DAY and NIGHT.  Let’s be a millionaire at NO risk?  Really?  Don’t waste hours peeling that one boiled egg…. Use EGGIE?  When has it EVER taken an hour to peel ONE boiled egg? I don’t know about you, but it has Never, in my lifetime, how about you?  The Snuggie, the battery operated pot stirrer? 

In confusion as to who in their right minds would purchase such items, I began talking with my neighbors and was shocked to see that many of them actually have many of these items in their possession.  I laughed in shock.  So I asked them if they use the items and amazingly they all said they used it the first week they got them and then put it aside and could not find it now. 

So, I thought to myself that these people must have money to burn so I got a little closer to them to see how their financial situations really were.  Amazingly, they were barely making it.  Earning an average of $1200 to $1600 a month and trying to support their families on that.  But meanwhile they are throwing away $20 or $50 or $100 a month on buying infomercial goodies?  They are the same people that come borrow $20 for gas or beg for some meat to feed their kids. 

What has happened to America?  Are they so dumb that they cannot do simple math?  Or do they get so wrapped up in the hype that they just don’t care?  Just like when the little boy next door was crying because his older sister got a Snuggie and he didn’t.  I told him to go get his robe and bring it to me.  He ran inside is house and came out with his robe.  I took the robe and turned it around and put his arms in first and told him that he too now has a Snuggie of his own.  The tears stopped and he pranced around and was just as happy as he could be once again and it was his favorite cartoon character too. 

I now stopped watching television all together as it just seems to make me feel more stupid than I did before I had turned it on.