1 Bark, 2 Barks, 3 Barks, Falllll!

  

I was eight years old.  My family and I were on our summer vacation in Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico.  I was the first born grandchild on my dad’s side of the family, and we were visiting my uncle and aunt.  They had invited us to stay at their house.  The houses in their neighborhood were all connected, and my uncle’s house was a tri-level home, and their roof was connected to the neighbors’ roofs. Up on the 3^rd level was where the laundry room was, as well as the roof access, known as the “azotea.”  My uncle’s neighbor had their dog house up there, and they had a white Chihuahua dog, who liked to bark at me, as soon as it would hear my voice, as I would go upstairs.  Twice this dog tried to chase me, but I had yelled so hard that it scared the owner, so the owner had put the dog inside whenever they knew we were going to be upstairs. 

On this particular day, my mother and I were going upstairs to get our laundry, because we had to start packing.  We were going to go visit some more relatives in Mexico City and my mom had asked me to help her with the packing of all our suitcases.  I didn’t want to go up to the laundry room because of the neighbor’s dog, but being the eldest, it was my duty to help my mom out.  I also was to help her with my brother and sisters suitcases, since they were a lot younger than I was.  I was happy to leave my uncle’s house, because at our next stop I had cousins that I was going to meet for the first time. 

As we were going upstairs, the first thing I hear is the neighbor’s dog barking.  I had

taken with me some cookies to throw to the dog, hoping that it would be occupied with the cookie and not bark at me; maybe even like me a little so as not to continue to scare me.  When I reached the top of the roof I dropped a cookie and I bent down to pick it up quickly, because I did not want the dog to get it before I could bribe her.  As I was getting up I looked to see where my mom was and the dog crossed over to my uncle’s roof.  At that same moment my mom warned me not to get so close to the sun room that was about a yard away from me.  If I fell into it, I would be flying down 3 floors!    

           

The sun room was where my aunt’s Jacuzzi room was, and it measured about 12x12 of open air space.  You could see from the first floor to the rooms surrounding the sun room whose walls were French doors all around.  You could see the entrance to the house, the living room and the patio, and of course it was 3 stories tall.  There was nothing covering this space from the roof top.  It was just a big opening. 

           

I remember I looked towards where my mom’s voice was coming from, and I saw her standing with a rope in her hand, and I could not understand why she was holding it.  Then, all of a sudden the look on her face made me turn around.  All I can remember is hearing my mom’s scream!  I know I tried to hold onto the floor, but my fingers slipped.  I remember feeling the burn on my arms as I scraped my way down the wall.  I also remember hearing my dad’s voice asking me to answer him.  “Susie! Susie!  Are you okay?  Susie, what happened?  Susie, answer me!”  Next thing I remember is I was in a hospital, and I wanted to get out of bed. 

I know I probably panicked when I saw my mom’s face, because that’s how much

I am afraid of dogs.  I should have just ran to my mom; she had a rope in her hand and probably could have shooed away the dog.  But, no, I probably wanted to throw the cookie to the dog, hoping it would stop barking at me. 

Once I had woken up I remember seeing my uncle who had come to visit me that night.  He told me I had been in a coma for 2 days.  All I knew was that I wanted to get out of bed by myself, but I was not allowed to.  I felt terrible that I had ruined our vacation. I even had two big black eyes and a huge bruise on my forehead.  My uncle had always wanted what was best for me, and being his first niece, I was his favorite.  He kept telling me how he would rather have the pain than see me go through this.  But not all the pain I was feeling compared to my guilt when my uncle showed me the gun he had used to put the little dog out of its misery; I felt so awful.  Why couldn’t I just be like my siblings and get along with dogs?  I cried all night, just thinking of that poor little dog.  My uncle told the neighbor that the dog bit me, but I knew it wasn’t true.  And the worse part was that the dog had just had puppies, and maybe that’s why it was being so protective.  Now, there were some orphan puppies, and I was to blame! 

I have two dogs of my own, but I continue to be afraid of dogs.  To this day, even when my own dogs are barking their heads off, I know they are only doing it because they are doing their job and protecting our home.  I have a better understanding of a dog’s perspective and their feelings towards strangers.  If I know that a dog has had a litter, I make it a point not to visit.  A life lesson learned.    

TEXTING

 

A new communication tool that is only a few clicks away, "texting."  I like to text when wanting to give a quick message soliciting a “yes” or “no” answer.  But, for some, this is not the case.  I have friends that like to hold conversations as if it is a ping-pong game, going back and forth, back and forth.  But, really, there is no winner in this texting at length “game.” 

My husband feels that if you just want an answer, call and get it over with, instead of waiting.  But, he doesn’t understand that sometimes you can’t pick up the phone and do that.  Maybe the person on the other end is unavailable to speak on the phone.  I understand these situations, and can appreciate a quick text to them or from them, as long as it is short and sweet. 

When it comes to gossip, there is nothing like a live conversation.  But in the event that you can’t take the time to really get in deep to a conversation, and you are just bursting at the seams to get this juicy bit of information out, then a quick “summary” by text should suffice, until you can get into a live gossip-swapping session!  Not that I practice this very often, but on occasion, it has happened.

Susan Robles

Reality Television

REALITY TELEVISION

Watching reality T.V. in my home is done on a daily basis.  It does not matter if it’s “The Kardashian’s,” “Jersey Shore,” “Real World,” “Hoarding: Buried Alive,”  “Toddlers & Tiaras,” “Dance Moms,”  “Jerseylicious,” “Cake Boss,” and don’t forget “The Amazing Race,” it will be watched in one of our televisions by any member in my family, or all of them, at once.  I, myself, do not have the time for any of it, like my family does. 

The majority of these shows are so pretentious, that I feel that maybe my daughter will think it’s an attitude that is acceptable.  But, to my surprise, my daughter will sit and watch it, and then make comments that I agree with.  I will ask her what is it about reality t.v. that she likes, and she will just say it’s different and sometimes funny, and that it can’t possibly be for real!  Whew!  What a relief. 

Reality television could easily be used as a “Do Not Do This At Home” kind of a warning, and actually should be.  The way some people behave in front of the camera and the exhibitions of their own sexuality is so disrespectful.  I have heard people in public try to emulate some of the people on these shows, and all I can think is, “What makes you think this is cool being someone other than yourself?”  I would hope that society just sees these productions / shows as entertainment, and nothing else.  Yes, the people in the reality shows are for real, but not everyone’s life ends up like that, so scandalous. 

Then, again, there are the reality shows that show the mental disorders of people that are hoarders.  Maybe this reality show will help some people understand that they have a problem when they do not want to get rid of their belongings that are actually trash.  The saying, “Some peoples trash are other peoples’ treasures” does not apply here.  This show is so extreme, that it is hard to understand how some people actually have an obsession with their possessions to a point to where they are harming their own health, and harming their relationships with their loved ones / friends who are trying to reason with these people that do not see what is going on around them. 

Then we have the “Amazing Race” that is such an inspiration to so many people that I know.  I actually have some friends that put themselves on a workout regimen to try to be ready to compete if they were to be chosen as contestants.  The “Amazing Race” takes place in so many interesting places and there are so many interesting tasks that are asked of the contestants, and they willingly take on these challenges.  I know, personally, I could not even dream of being part of that show, but I do enjoy watching the different groups compete for the top prize. 

As much as I do not approve of a lot of these reality shows, I know for a fact that there are people that behave and exhibit themselves out in public, as do those people on these scandalous shows.  I feel that the morals and values I have tried to instill in my kids will help in their decisions to differentiate between good behavior and bad behavior.  I trust that these shows will not be much of an influence in their lives.  If only there could be a reality show on real and nice  people that do not throw trash on the sidewalk and are courteous out on the road.  I can only wish.  

SuZ

Fast Food Impact

Fast Food Impact                                                                                     

Since I can remember, the almighty hamburger has been the most fastest food I can think of when it comes to “getting a quick bite to eat.”  I remember, as a child, my brother getting frantic as we would drive by “Tasty’s” hamburger place on 5^th Street and Ventura Road, because he wanted his treat.  My dad didn’t understand what my brother was saying when he would all of a sudden say, “hangoober fies – hangoober fies!” as we would drive by "Tasty’s,” but my mother and I did, and we would just giggle.  Going to get a hamburger was only a week-day thing in my family, and it only involved my mother, brother, and myself, and some times my grandmother.  My dad, since he would work all week, was never a part of our “ritual,” which would happen right after school or after a doctor’s appointment for my grandmother.  When we got older, and my dad had a little more time, it would be a big treat on the weekend to go to Foster’s (now Winn’s) or A&W, the place on Pleasant Valley Road, where they had car hops and they would put our trays of food on our car windows, and serve us our rootbeer floats in huge mugs that were too heavy to carry with just one hand!  I can recall the Papa burger and the Mama burger, and of course we always had to order according to the titles!  Good Times!  Not until I was older did my mom take us to McDonald’s.  But, since my mom was very picky and the hamburgers at McDonald’s were not made to order, we really didn’t get to go there much.  At Tasty’s or at Winn’s my mom could call ahead and order her “plain” cheeseburger, and know that it would be just what she ordered, just “plain.”  Now, as a mom, I look back at my habits with my oldest son, who is now 21 years old.  He loved the Happy Meals from McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr., and Wendy’s.  And it was so easy to go through the Drive-thru and order his “happiness” instantly. 

Fortunately, my son is very slender, and works out daily, and has not had a weight problem as a result of his fast food treats.  Actually, when we would have dinner, he always had a full salad along with his meal.  My daughter, on the other hand, is a vegetarian, since birth, and so I could not go through the drive-thru unless it was for fries only.  So, my habits changed.  At the same time, the notion of “fast food” was becoming more and more evident that it was not a part of a well-balanced diet.  And, now that I am older, and have to watch what I eat, I rarely go get a hamburger.  It has probably been several years since I have had a hamburger at a fast food place.  The only thing that I have purchased has been the oatmeals at Starbucks and McDonald’s, if at all.  I also like the teas at Starbucks, if you can consider it a fast-food place.  I sometimes will get the protein plate at Starbucks for my daughter, since it has a hard-boiled egg, cheese, grapes and crackers.  She does enjoy the yogurt parfait at McDonald’s, but that’s not very often.  It was so easy to pick up her French toast sticks before a morning softball game at Burger King, but now it has lost it’s appeal.  The way McDonald’s markets itself to families with children and offers birthday party hosting and it has these humungous play yards for the kids, is really a “glitter” show and they should really focus on nutrition, which sometimes it seems like they are trying to do so.  All-in-all, my son enjoyed his McDonald’s Happy Meal prizes and Carl’s Jr.’s Halloween pails where they would provide the meal and a prize during the Halloween season.  Someone should come up with “Organic Land” or something.  Now, that would be a good concept!

SuZ