Maybe Your Kid’s Not Ready For Soccer

Soccer season is in full swing.  This is the time when parents run around ferrying the precious little ones all over the city trying to find which field they play on.  It could be very stressful, especially if you are a parent with more than one kid playing soccer.  In my case, I have 3 and each of them.  On different teams.

Last week it was my turn to take my 3-year old to his second game of the season.  My wife told me that he was doing really good and even scored a goal so I couldn’t wait to see him in action.  Unfortunately he seemed more attentive to daddy on the sidelines than he was on the ball.  He took regular timeouts to wave at me, inspect the grass and even running off the field prematurely to tell me a story.  I kept urging him back to the field of play.  When the ball happened to roll his way, he at least ventured to kick it.  Not so with some of the other kids.

Soccer is a great and cheap tool for young kids to learn team sports and social skills.  I am not sure it is effective if the kids spend the hour standing around inspecting the grass,  crying to get off the field or just showing a total indifference to the game.  Granted, a few kids do change as the season progresses but in most cases they don’t.  I for one would not think it is money well spent to watch my kid wander around a soccer field.  For free, I could take the little one to a park and kick a ball around.  If he doesn’t like it, we could come home and call it a day.  Sometimes as many as three parents are on the field urging their little ones on. Holding their hands and guiding them to the ball like a seeing-eye dog.  At my last game, there was a mom with a baby attached to her in one of those baby knapsack things running around the field with her soccer-playing son who was the least bit interested in being there.

Maybe I expect too much.  Maybe I’m one of those parents you read about.  (No, I’m not!).  I just think that there are cheaper ways to get your little ones to get out, play and socialize with other kids.  But maybe it’s actually for the parents to socialize with other parents…Maybe the parents need the exercise more than the little ones do.  Some parents have taken the hint from their kids and stopped taking them to soccer.  “I am not sure he likes it so we don’t bother taking him anymore.  Plus, I don’t enjoy chasing him around on the field.”   By their actions, the kids have spoken.  Maybe they are just not ready for soccer.  At least that’s what I think.

• That Soccer Season (caramieandtheboyz.wordpress.com)
• Moms vs Dads

Can A Kiss Really Be Just A Kiss?

French Kiss (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Watching television, there’s always the love scene where a couple whether married or unmarried would share a tender moment.  Depending on the rating, it could be a steamy tender moment that makes you feel uncomfortable if your mom happens to be watching it with you.  Sometime ago, I was watching a family movie where the couple was lying in bed talking.  As they talked, the wife lightly and lovingly touched her husband’s arms, back and face.  For a moment I thought I saw genuine care in her face.  As they enjoyed a deep and exploratory kiss, I couldn’t help wondering if either of them had any feelings at all for the other.  Just a tiny attraction?

I know it’s all movies and acting but can someone be so professional that they could resist the body’s natural instincts and urges in the name of acting?  I know some people would say  “Oh it’s different when you don’t love the person you are making out with.  There’s nothing to it.” but I really don’t buy it.  I know for one thing that if I was doing a movie with say Jennifer Aniston and we had to do a make-out scene, of course I will feel something.  I am human.  (I know you are saying, ‘Yeah right’).

Couples who never saw each other before are lying in bed together nude or almost nude and mimicking what they do in their own bedrooms.   And that’s normal? Nothing’s wrong with that? Just a job? It’s only movies?  Well let me give you my take whether you want it or not.  I seriously think it trivializes real life relationships.  I also think it could be linked to the failed relationships and marriages that plague celebrities.  Why have a partner when you could fool around with all the hot women in Hollywood with no strings attached?  Ala The Bachelor.

Coincidentally, while I was drafting up this blog, I took a break to surf the internet and found an item where the star of the television show Scandal admits that his wife is uncomfortable watching his make-out scenes with his female love interest.  She apparently refuses to watch the show.  Here.  Now that’s what I’m talking about.  Would I enjoy watching a movie where my wife is half naked and kissing some guy the way she kisses me?  Especially if he’s more ‘man’ than I am?  But it’s only the movie honey.  I love you.  Oh really?  You kiss him exactly the same way you kiss me AND you even close your eyes…

Saying this, I do realize that for a movie to be successful, it has to be as close to reality as possible.  Unfortunately, there’s a very thin line that separates that reality from the movies.

To me, a kiss is more personal than even sexual intercourse but that’s…

Just my take.  Go ahead and kiss the girl.

 

 

 

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Murder Of A ‘Nice’ Guy By Another ‘Nice’ Guy

The circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder of Tim Bosma continue to baffle Canadians and those following the story around the globe.  Myself included.  In case you are wondering who Tim Bosma is, read it here.  Robbery seems to be the motive at first glance but to my suspicious and conspiracy-theory-trained mind, something is out of place.

The suspect, Dellen Millard is described as well off with a clean record, so why would he want to steal a truck when he could buy one probably with cash?  The guy is heir to an aviation dynasty and has property that he bought two years ago for almost one million dollars!  Not that being rich has ever stopped rich folks from ripping off poor folks but come one…Tim’s body was also found burned beyond recognition.  Again, I thought to myself, A normal carjacker would have just kicked him out of the car or left him somewhere on the outskirts of town.   Seems like a lot of trouble to take him to a farm and incinerate him.  Just for a 2007 Dodge Ram? 

The victim’s wife also claimed two men came to their home to look at the truck and that they came on foot.  Did they travel from Toronto to Hamilton on foot?  Even though the suspect allegedly also owns a truck?  Again, a rich guy walking?  Not that they don’t.  The other guy is still at large and is not being mentioned.  Weird huh?  How about the trail of evidence?  Tim’s truck found in a trailer outside the house of the suspect’s mom.  How amateurish is that?  If you are starting to think ‘set up,’ I don’t blame you.

Now here’s the kicker or the stumper.  The victim is described by family and friends as the nicest person you could find.  A churchgoer, dad and husband.  I am not talking bad about the dead but from experience, what people say or think about you is sometimes not what you really are.   Take the suspect for example.  He’s also described as a nice young man from a decent family and no prior record of any kind.  So who’s the genuine nice guy?  Do we have a case of nice-guy/s-turned-bad?  Or maybe this is exactly what it seems and it is really a cut and dried case where an innocent man was murdered by a young man who got caught up in the wrong crowd.  So many questions, not enough answers.  We could go on and on and before long, we would be seeing everyone as a potential suspect.  Tim’s wife, his friends, Dellen’s connections…

To avoid such, let us leave it up to the authorities to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.  In the meantime, my condolences to Tim’s family and loved ones.  May his soul rest in peace.  No matter what life he lived, he didn’t deserve his fate.

 

Related articles

• Tim Bosma’s truck reportedly found north of Toronto (globalnews.ca)
• Hamilton police say they’ve found burned remains of Tim Bosma (metronews.ca)
• Dellen Millard charged with first-degree murder in death of Tim Bosma (metronews.ca)

Moms vs Dads

Happy Mother’s day to all the mothers.  If I had my way, you would have had a week set aside for us to pay homage to the women who cared unselfishly for us.

Moms are so awesome, aren’t they?  Without them, the world would be filled with wannabe macho men trying to live up to their dads’ expectations.  Ever been to a youth soccer game and listen to the parents of a kid?  The dad would shout in his gruff man voice, “Come on boy! Kick that ball like I showed you in practice!  You could do it!”  Mommy’s little voice would chime in, “Go baby, you are doing great!  Nice work.”

A dad gets home from work to find his 4-year old has made him a card with drawings that he toiled on for hours.  “Daddy look what I made for you!”  He shouts excitedly.  Dad glances at the thing and thought in his mind, What the heck is this? but says, “Good work son,  show it to your mom when she gets home.”   Sure enough mommy is quick to gush over her kid’s handiwork.  “Awww…that’s so sweet.  Look at it!”  And that’s why we love em.

Moms recognize their roles and accept it.  That’s why when a kid is acting up they would say,  “Just you wait until your Dad gets home!”  Dads recognize their roles also and play it well.  If the child does something nice, Dad would say, “Just wait until your Mom gets home and show it to her.”  Because Daddy doesn’t really care about such things that much.  He would add in his mind.

So that’s why we love our mothers.  They keep us in touch with our feminine sides and let us know that it is ok for grown men to cry.  Even if Daddy is watching.  We love you Mommy!  Have a Happy Mother’s Day!

Heard The One About A Priest And A Rabbi?

Remember when we were told that laughter was the best medicine?  Well what ever happened to that medicine?  Seems like it expired from sitting too long on the shelf.  Not too long ago, it seemed as though everyone was a comedian.  They all had a joke to share.  The workplace was a virtual comedy club with someone always have a joke to share.  Sometimes they were raunchy, sexist, racist and downright unacceptable but still jokes all the same.  On any given day, I would hear at least ten anecdotes.  What happened?  The well of jokes ran dry?  Has our world become too serious a place?

Some time ago,  I went to a co-worker’s office to tell him a joke that I thought was funny.  At the end of it he stared at me as if waiting for the punch line. I was like ‘err..hmmm…’ and repeated a few lines with emphasis on the punch line in case he missed the joke. He finally managed a weak smile.  Not sure if he got it.  Laughter in the workplace is dead folks!

There are way too many stern faces walking around out there.  Seen your boss lately?  Tell him a joke.  Maybe he needs to lighten up.  Let’s prescribe some old-fashioned medicine, laughter.

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Flogging A Dead Horse

I wanted to write something interesting.  A post that captures attention and screams to be read.  I thought that maybe I could write about how God’s grace keeps me alive and without him I’d be nothing.  But then you have heard all about that and can find it throughout my posts.  You’ll find more in my future posts as well, just so you know.  So no need flogging that, right?  In fact, I am doubly certain that you also know about Farrah Abraham of Teen Mom fame, becoming an entrepreneur.  Good for her! I love seeing people doing positive things.  Well so I thought until I read further that she made a sex tape ala Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, etc. etc.  No need to mention names as you know all about it.

Then I thought that maybe I could blog about Celebrities.  Amanda Bynes, the actress who I thought was the cute innocent girl that wouldn’t become like a Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears.  I could blog about Amanda tweeting topless pics while looking like she’s missing a few brain cells.  But you already know that, right?  And about Lindsay Lohan disappearing from rehab and almost facing sure jail time for violating a court order but being Lilo, it was all just Lilo being Lilo and the law being…well the law.  You already know that.  So no use blogging about that either.  How about America’s sweetheart Reese Witherspoon? Did you know the girl with the ‘squeaky clean’ image was recently arrested for disorderly behavior which included berating an officer?  How about Justin Beiber? Sorry, I guess he’s old news.

I could blog about the Boston bombings, the Obama administration, the Texas blast that came after the Boston Bombing that no one, well except the families of the victims, remembers.  Yet the Boston bombing is still major news.  I won’t even whisper anything about that as you know about that too.  How about the Stanley Cup?  Hockey playoffs that is.  Old news now right?  My Washington Capitals will win it all by the way.  Did you know that a building collapsed in Bangladesh killing over 600 people?  You did?  Then never mind.

You know just about everything so I won’t flog a dead horse.  How about God Loves You?  Don’t believe in God?  Then somebody out there loves you and maybe that’s something you didn’t know.

Related articles

• Lindsay Lohan Finally Made It To Rehab (now100fm.cbslocal.com)
• Fame On A Friday : Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan Should Hang Out and Share Their Crazy (7kindsofmind.com)
• Reese Witherspoon, Jenelle Evans & More: The Wildest Celebrity Arrests (hollywoodlife.com)
• WATCH: Reese Witherspoon Freaks Out In Arrest Video (huffingtonpost.com)

Facebook Fights

Why do people use Facebook as their battleground?  I have read some statuses that were so disgusting that I was ashamed for the person who wrote it.  Seriously folks, why would anyone use Facebook, Twitter or any other social media to attack another?  It’s coward and weak.  Tell them I said so.

I don’t care who you are, if you use Social Media to sling mud at an old flame or old friend you are feuding with, it’s unclassy.  Plain and simple!  And there’s a bunch of us ‘classy’ people who think so too.  If you have a problem with your ex, please keep it between the two of you.  Other than a few gossipers, the rest of us really don’t care to to see your dirty laundry waving in the air.

Last week, one of my Facebook friends who I always thought of as a respectable person, ranted on his status about someone who was apparently giving him grief.  His choice of adjectives muddied his intelligence.  I was shocked and disappointed.  A few days later, another good friend, same thing.  His target was a female and he called her the name of a female productive organ.  His tirade was laden with such descriptive words.  Again I was disappointed by the lack of self-control shown by these people who I thought would know better than to stoop to such a low level and reveal an ignorance previously unseen.

If you feel the urge to berate someone on Facebook, please rethink.  It’s actually not cool and you don’t sound tough.  Some may say it’s downright pathetic, but it’s my take so I won’t say that.  Seriously though, if you can’t say anything nice, say nothing.  There’s an old saying attributed to Abraham Lincoln that goes, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”  You have a problem?  There’s the ‘unfriend’ button or better yet, use the ‘message’ button and let them know how you feel.

Thanks to Facebook, I now know who my smart friends are.

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Assisted Suicide Revisited

I don’t mean to flag a dead horse here and no pun intended either but with the news a week ago that the woman from Winnipeg who went to Zurich to die by assisted suicide had died, I can’t help but revisit this very sensitive issue.  Read my take on that here.

After reading about her final moments, a few questions came to me.  take this excerpt for example:  In the moments before she died, Griffiths walked, talked and sang with family members in a sunny, warm garden on the Dignitas property just outside Zurich.  So she had all her faculties before she died, right?  So then why spend all that money when she could have done it herself in the privacy and comfort of her own home?

Next excerpt:  “Then Griffiths settled in and took the first of two drinks that would end her life. The first was bitter, so she ate chocolate to temper the taste.” If someone is really dead set on killing themself, do they really care about taste?  And why does it take two glasses of whatever it was?  Why complicate the process?

Coincidentally, I read in the papers today that the founder of the place where Susan Griffiths died, admitted to disposing of the ashes of those that died there by throwing them in Lake Zurich in the dark of night.  I hope Susan did her research.  She wanted to die with dignity but I doubt being dumped into the lake is dignifying.  

Just my take.

Related articles

• Winnipeg woman dies with aid of doctor in Zurich; wished it could have been in Canada (globalnews.ca)
• Susan Griffiths’s final blog entry (cbc.ca)
• Winnipegger’s assisted suicide completed in Swiss garden (cbc.ca)

Rihanna Doesn’t Speak For Me. At Least Not With Her Butt Hanging Out.

English: Rihanna Live at Target Center on her LOUD Tour. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Dutch glossy magazine, whatever that means,  recently published an article in which it referred to Barbadian singer Rihanna as a Nig**r b**ch.  The female writer who penned the piece has since not only apologized but also resigned from her 8-year post.

Rihanna was understandably not flattered and like all bonafide celebrity, took to Twitter to voice her displeasure.  She accused the paper of being racist and nonsensical in its usage of the English language.  (Even though in her tirade, she forgot that it was not proper to use ‘u’ instead of ‘you’).   She accused the magazine of ‘intent of abasement’.  Rihanna also took the liberty to speak on my behalf, ending her tweet with,  ”On behalf of my race, f*** off!”

I am embarrassed right now.  No, no.  Not because of the nig*** comment.  Such things don’t bother me too much.  That doesn’t mean I condone such racist and derogatory remarks.  I don’t.  I am embarrassed that RiRi elected herself my spokesperson.   Having her speak on one’s behalf is belittling to the person.

Rihanna is not exactly doing too much to uplift her proud black race.  Pardon me but she puts the ‘basement’ in ‘abasement’.  With her increasing erratic and ‘girls gone wild’ behavior,  tweeting topless pics and just recently, tipping $8000 at a strip joint. I am not sure she makes such a great ambassador to any race.  Sorry RiRi!

I am curious about how much Rihanna really hates being called the ‘N’ word since she recently tweeted a photo of her holding a toddler she lovingly refered to as her ‘lil nig**r’.  No word yet on if the kid was offended.  Some of her songs also use the N word liberally.  Maybe it’s just a example of ‘good for the goose’?

So on behalf of all decent women, I would like to say to Rihanna, Gr*w up!

Just my take.

Related:

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/rihanna-furious-being-called-a-nigga-bitch

http://jezebel.com/5869751/rihanna-does-not-appreciate-being-called-a-niggabitch

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/460508/20130423/rihanna-race-row-calling-toddler-lil-nigga.htm

• Rihanna Shows Off Her Flawless Butt In The Pool – See New Pics (hollywoodlife.com)
• Friday Folly: Who Are You Calling A Ni**er b**ch? Bitch! (funnysideupandscrambled.wordpress.com)

A Hand For The Dying

What do you give to someone who already has everything?  Some people are stumped by this but I think the answer is ‘your time’.  When a person is rich and has just about everything money can buy, real friends are usually what they need most.  Someone to spend quality time with.  Someone who is not hanging with them because of ulterior motives.  Now, what do you say to someone who is dying?

There’s a young woman in our church who has terminal cancer.  She has been given a short time to live. Before her situation became almost hopeless, it was easy to talk to her.  “Hey, how are you doing?  How is everything? Praying for you.”  It wasn’t awkward.  As soon as it was public knowledge that she her life was numbered, I couldn’t find words to say after ‘hello’.  I wanted to ask her how was everything but then I already knew how everything was.  If someone asked me that while I was sick and dying, I would be tempted to answer with some smart answer like, “Oh I’m fine.  Never felt better.  I am thinking of taking up rock climbing.”  So I don’t ask that.  Saying “I am praying for you” seems acceptable but what if she’s trying to keep her mind of her illness and just enjoy her last days? Can’t I just pray for her without telling her?  So too is “You’ll beat this!” That’s a bit facetious and misleading.

What do you say?  What should I say?  I sometime just place a comforting and reassuring hand on her shoulder and I think that must convey more than words.  In that touch, I let her know that she’s in my thoughts and I’m praying for her.  It also says to keep fighting and “We have your back, kiddo!” So maybe if you are in that situation, a hand on the shoulder could really speak volumes.

In some cases, the very words I hesitate to say could very well be the words that the sick person wants to hear.

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