The Pebbles Ripples.

My philosophy friends believe that good cannot exist without evil and vice versa. There is this whole philosophical argument around it. The argument is almost as popular as the "is there really a God" argument. Well, I happen to think that while evil is necessary, the world can do with a little less of it.
Especially true when the evil is fruitless and with no just cause. It is like an invalid argument. C does not result from A or B if they are not doing something that makes C true, therefore, why should C exist at all when D can do the job just as well...or some such nonsense.
I bear witness to this absent C evil a lot. All I can do is shake my head at it because it makes good people look bad and it drags innocent people into a situation that they have no business even knowing anything about in the first place. What snake will go to an orange tree and pluck an orange just to eat when snakes are predators in the first place? That makes no sense at all.
My point is that evil should not exist in abundance when there is not enough good to offset it. That makes no sense either. Remember the lady with the scales you see in a courtroom? It has to balance and without that balance, things begin to happen. Therefore, apparently, bad things are happening and maybe it is the second coming of Christ that everyone has been talking about or the end of the world.
So if all of this is blatantly evident, then why is there not anything done about it? I will explain. There is enough not caring and enough belief that one little act of kindness does not matter. The evil in all of us has beaten out any good there is left. Sure, we do kind deeds everyday but it is so far below the radar of being noticed that it is almost irrelevant that we even do such a thing.
Listen, folks, when someone tells you that one little pebble makes a big difference. If you dont believe me toss one into a still pond. That one little pebble has a ripple effect that eventually touches every square inch of that waters surface. Further, the "plop" sound reverberates through the air to our ears affecting the senses that we heard and seen the pebble hit the water. Underneath the surface, fish scatter and it hits the bottom eventually changing the landscape of the bottom to accomodate the fact that it fell there in the first place. To get even more depth out of the example, gravity is now pulling on that rock to keep it in place and every time a bottom feeder passes, a fish swims quickly nearby, or a plant grows near enough to push it aside, that pebble still has an impact. Also, the place where the pebble was before has left a pebble size space for something else to come along and occupy where it was.
Point being, while there are snakes in all of us, even the good that comes out of us, no matter how small or insignificant can have a positive impact in everything. If everyone were to cast a pebble in some form or fashion and good becomes of it, it grows from there because there is, essentially, more good in the world.
Those of us with children can do the same. So often we go through life too busy to see what is going on through the eyes of our children. STOP take a moment and revel in the wonder that they see the world in. Remember what it was like to stand in awe and truly experience the first sunset you REALLY noticed. I remember mine. I remember that, sometimes, being five is such a small place to be in such a big world and that mommy can make it better. I also try to remember that even though you are 13 or 14, you still need mom from time to time even if it is to talk about absolutely nothing or act silly in public just because. When my children get older (and for the step kids as well) I will try to remember that at 21, the world is not what it was made out to be and that I still need to be there for my kids no matter how awful they are. That, just to sit down, without a phone, television or other distraction and talk about how a lightbulb works will make the difference in their day and that is something that they will remember.
Toss that pebble, make life better, if even for a split second. The reverberations of that pebble last longer than you think. Holding the door for a perfect stranger to pass because they are using a walking stick makes a difference because, while you may not remember, they will.
I once had a lady sit in the booth next to mine in iHop. I was 16. I was miserable and thougth that life was truly the suckiest place to be. She chatted with me about absolutely nothing. The gloss on the menu, why people drive nice cars, and our coffee. She also told me to cast a pebble. She then proceeded to tell me that I will remember her. I may not remember her name and maybe not even what she looks like but I will remember the conversation. Guess what? I dont know her name, I remember brown hair and glasses and that she used her hands alot when she talked but I DID remember the conversation. She cast her pebble in my pond and the fish swim by every now and then and it moves. That is what I remember. Do you have pebbles in your pond? Why not cast some of your own?

Road Rage: Better off in my own mind....

I try not to let stupid drivers get to me. I have plenty of other stuff to rage about or scream about without having to yell at some stranger for cutting me off. However, there is a time and a place for dicussions such as this and here is my forum.
One of the things that make me madder than hill is the fact that someone can run up on you super fast, cut you off, and then...........yep you guessed it............slow to a crawl right in front of you. What does this accomplish? Did you decide the moment that you got back in my lane, in front of ME, that you were no longer in a hurry to get where you were going? Truth be told, I will probably get to my destination before you and I was going the posted speed limit the entire trip!
Let me guess, you were on the phone and failed to realize that the more engaged you were in your chatter, the heavier your foot got. I call that the heavy talk syndrome. I am guilty as charged there. This is yet one of the many reasons why I do not talk on the phone and drive. It is against the law in most places these days. WAIT! Maybe you decided that you wanted to be Mr. Nugget McAssshole this morning because you woke up on the bottom side of the bed. Yeah! That is it. Well, sir, I am not the source of your frustration and taking it out on me silently by impeding my progress is something that simply should not be done. However, you chose me this morning so I am now faced with a dilemma.
Do I beat the crap out of my steering wheel (not its fault) and roll down the window to scream obsenities at you while my family slowly slides down in their seats from embarassment? What, pray tell, would that accomplish?? Nothing but another pissed off driver. Better off keeping that reaction to myself. Ok, another option would be to do the same thing. No, that will never work. Then you will beat on your innocent steering wheel and that is not called for either. Final, and certainly most difficult option? The best one, with practice, I say. You simply keep the rage in your mind and pull out your mental movie projector and play Death Race Michele in your mind and imagine how it would be to go into the next lane, push my kill button and out come the nails and just RATATATATATATATATATATATATA all over that bitchards wheels and shiny car so that they simply STOP in their progress and are successfully late for where ever they were in such a big rush to get to in the first place.
Muahahahaha. That would be great in MY perfect world. On the up side to that, remaining safe, and ignoring stupidity and getting out of the way of it is great! It also makes a lot less stress on my health and lets me remain alert for the next idiot that is surely going to do something just as stupid. Further, it is such a YES! moment when you are pulling out of Tim Horton's Coffee shop and you see that same fool, pulled over by a cop getting a ticket. Talk about stress for him.....I feel for that poor steering wheel.

Never underestimate the power of the handicapped....parking spot!

Ok, I know I am going to get some flack here. Especially from my friend J. It was suggested to write about the abuse of the handicap parking spots.
To begin with, I do believe that you MUST have a handicap sticker/plate/placard in order to park in designated parking spots. It is the law and you must abide by such. Period. No questions asked. It is that black and white folks. Should you be arrogant enough to park in said spot then, yes, you deserve what you get. I am not going to argue with that. I will also not argue with the fact that there are genuine needs for such a spot and there are people who legitimately get these permits to park in the handicap parking spots. Now, mind you, simply because you have a permit, does not mean that the handicapped parking spots are closest to the door. I do often hear those with such a priviledge complain that they have to park at the end of the sidewalk, 2 doors down from their destination simply to use the priviledge they have. WELLLLLLLLLLLLL it is because, those types of spots were not only meant for the person hobbling on a cane because they still have minimal use of their knees and choose to walk. No Sir. They were initially meant for those of us who are in wheelchairs and choose to be self sufficient and drive. THAT IS WHY THEY SYMBOL IS A WHEELCHAIR FOLKS!
At any rate, I believe the suggestion excludes those wheelchair folks. No discrimination against a protected class of folks in this rant. Actually, it is protecting them....to a point. What I am getting at is that if you have a permit to park there, and you are walking just fine, some people may take that offensive. You have a permit and you "look" fine. Well, therein lies a dilemma. When you see someone with a permit, they may look fine but they still may have a true need for such a permit. For example, my mother has a permenant need for one. She has a bad back and is not able to walk long distances. Some days are better than others and she may walk upright and normal looking. This does not mean that she does not have a certified need. Excuse her for not fitting your stereotypical image of what you have in mind for someone that has a qualified need for a handicapped sticker.
Now, there are times when there is an opportunity for someone to use a legitimate permit even though they have no medical necessity for one. Here is my confession and I have witness that I have done such a thing. I am sad to say that I have, on occasion, used my mother's handicapped placard when she has not been with me. One such trip, she had left it in my car and I had just had our Alyssa. Yes, I was fresh out of the hospital and no, I had no need for one because I could have just as easily found a close spot and walked in to the store. However, the permit was there and there were more than one handicapped spot open. Had there been only one open, I would not have considered it because I DO have at least 2 scrupels in my back pocket. (Now what happens AFTER I go into the store, there is no control over and I cannot help it if there are none when I return to my car.)
Also (here is where J will get me...) I have had my mother come to the beach for a visit and leaver her permit here. While I do offer to mail it back to her, she is my mother and she always has a back up. (At least then she did cuz Dad had one too.) She said to hold on to it until she returns on another visit. WELL....it IS there and it is a shame not to use it because she DOES pay extra to have one. Why not get her money's worth? Yes, I make sure there is more than one handicapped parking spot open when I have used it and I did not use it exclusively in her absence. I do like to walk and I only did it when I was feeling ill or in a hurry and could not find another one.
That is a true abuse of it and I admit that I am not perfect. Remember, I said I only had 2 scrupels in my pocket. :)
However, there are people who simply do not care and will park in such a spot simply because they can. Um, Karma will get you if there is not a cop on a tenspeed writing you a ticket as you abuse the many handicapped parkingspots that are available for those with a true need for it. Remember, it is a priviledge and you should treat it as such.
Alas, I have confessed to a discretion that I should not have done and believe that, because my secret is now public, the only time I will use my mother's permit is if she is around. Next time, I will also mail it to her immediately to prevent the fact that my scrupels allow for me to do such a dastardly deed. Thank you, Kat, for setting me on the right path and assisting me in correcting my evil ways.
Certainly when you have 2 people (Julie, I am talking about you AND Kat) give you chit about something that you do only about 5(ish) times in your life that you should not do because it is affecting a protected class of people (and it makes you a hippocrite) you should change.
On this bright, sunshiny morning...I HAVE changed. :) (Er....uh...*swipes at sand with big toe while hands folded behind back* for now....insert big grin here.)

Here it is, my thoughts on Hard Rock Park

Last year, we had this wonderful idea tha was to be planted in our midst. It was supposed to generate more business for the area and it was the first of its kind. It was promoted around the world and fluffed up to be the greatest thing to hit this country since six flags. It was gonna be great!

Less than a year from its initial opening, a couple of the major investors backed out leaving it crippled and heading in a quickening southern spiral. OUCH! Lets review why, shall we? The first mistake was all the fluff. The park was promoted to be something that it obviously was not. Ok, it is a great place for concerts but that one fact was pushed under the rug. What an idiot thing to do with that avenue! Along the same vein, parking cost $20.00, to get into the park cost $48.00, then you had to pay for absolutely every thing when you got inside. What a rip that was! No wonder people did not want to go! They were broke before they got in there! Then, once you got in, there was nothing to do but shop and if you were lucky to come on a concert day, that was included in your admission price but sheesh! Why do that when you can wait another day and go to the House of Blues and see the same concert for a third of that price!

Add to the that the fact that these investors (who must be smart, they have all that money!) decided to drop a large mostly puffed up theme park in the middle of one of the biggest down turns in the American economy since the Great Depression of the 1930's and then wonder why they are losing on their investment. Now, my background in business is only about ten years but from a small business stand point, one of the factors that you look at when looking to open any type of business is that of the local economy. I do have to cut these investors some slack as they are not of this country but they should have half a brain about them! Sheesh! Another thing is that Hard Rock international should have said something to someone as well. They do their business, it seems, the right way. They are a avery successful group.

Now, the only smart thing that these foreigners did was to back out before it fell on its face. When they did, the park crashed and crashed hard. The park had all intentions to reopen for the 2009 season but was unable to recover from that devastating blow. They tried to sell the park to no avail because the asking price was too high.

Now we have a buyer and things are supposed to be looking up. But guess what? Part of the group that opened this thing is in this new group of buyers. Hello? Do we see another disaster looming? Lets hope that our "new" owners have learned their lessons and will be more cautious with their willy nilly spending and take a closer look at the whole picture. It would be a big break for the local economy if they did it right and kept those jobs going for the locals like they say they are going to. I believe that everyone that lives in our county and local areas will still approach this thing with caution. It has been a thorn in our sides for a while now. I am just grateful that they are attempting to save face with the locals because this whole fiasco has hurt Myrtle Beach in a big way on top of what the City Council has already done to hurt the common man.

All eyes are on Myrtle Beach and Hard Rock Park.....For now, that is all I have to say about that.