It was so sad reading about the mother who shot herself and her two kids in Texas so they wouldn’t have to starve to death after being denied food stamps. It’s one of many reasons I don’t check the news very often. It sickens me that this country simply refuses to take care of its own but they’ve got plenty of money for terrorists and to send to Japan after they had their tsunami as well as for Haiti after they had their earthquake. I cringe every time there’s a disaster in some foreign land because I know our hard-earned and much-needed money is going to end up in their hands! :( Anyway, I can totally relate to the woman’s frustration. That’s what Tom and I were going to do when our lovely government gave up on us; kill ourselves to keep from starving in the streets before he got a job and saved us. I’ve always been a strong believer in that we’re responsible for our own actions, but in this case, I hold the government just as responsible for those children’s deaths as I do their mother.

I’m also sick of the comparison games so many people seem to love to play by insisting they’ve been through more hard times in life simply because they’re older or they went through something really extreme. Well, I’m sorry but one can go through a lot more at just 20 years of age than one at 50 who has had a relatively easy life. While I sometimes may want to shake those who act like a flat tire is the worst thing in life and tell them to try going hungry, being poor, being homeless, having to live in dumpy motels, trailers, seedy neighborhoods, jails, funny farms, etc., I also realize that each individual has a different definition of what’s a hard time and what’s not. I think that as long as you yourself perceive something to be rough, then so be it. Meanwhile, I wish people would stop with the “My life is rougher than yours” trip or “I’m older so I know more about hard times.” It’s not a goddamn competition!

My ear has been better since Tom got a huge chunk of dead skin out of it 4-5 days ago, so yeah, it was mostly my ear the last time around. I’m sure it (or my teeth) will be back to haunt me soon enough, though.

I can’t wait to not only surprise Barbara with her “role” in my latest story but also with the picture I found on a graphics site that shows a sexy lady and says: I’ll be a good student if you’ll be my teacher.