Dances with Linda

My dad used to "date" a lady named Linda who was head over heels for him. They'd lived together but she'd been clingy and he ended it. He'd never been above the random hook-up though, so she still came around. And she was at every VFW dance, sidling up to our table in her bright red lipstick, smiling at him while he checked for other single ladies to pursue. Sometimes she'd end up at the house, other nights she wouldn't. And then I'd inherit her, and every time it was the same. She'd end up crying into her glass of Miller Lite, snorting her runny nose and chewing off the bright red lipstick, telling herself and me that she was strong. "I'm strong," she'd wail. "I've been through a lot worse than this and survived. I'm a survivor! I'm a strong woman who deserves better than him.He just can't handle me.  I won't settle. My man will treat me like a queen!" She'd spend half an hour on her little pep talk before she'd drink her now-salty beer and walk out the door.  She was a good lady, but she was desperate and needy. All she wanted was a man, really any man. She had all of her hopes pinned on love and once she found a boyfriend, THEN she'd be happy.
I see a lot of memes that sound a lot like Linda crying into her beer. Like sad desperate women giving themselves pep talks about the kind of man they'll sometimes get, about how guys are just scared of them for being strong. The thing is, once Linda actually stopped waiting for someone else to make her happy, she quit talking about how strong she was. She didn't need to anymore. She was being strong rather than just talking about it.

Rampant Paranoia Strikes Again

This is a HORRIBLE FACEBOOK POST.  What happened to her? Nothing. What happened to Emma? Nothing. This is a story of a woman getting scared on her way to her car. The combination of large black strangers, close proximity, and her own preconceived fears thereof caused her to knock a child's ice cream to the ground and run into a store like a crazy woman and violate the personal space, IN CLOSE PROXIMITY, of a  completely uninvolved stranger. 

"But they were following her, looking at Emma, TARGETING them!". Targeting them for what? Approximately 20 children nationwide, are kidnapped by strangers every year. Within the entirety of the U.S., less than 2 stranger abductions a month. Add to that that this was a supervised child, in a public place, and it becomes clear that that this girl was in more danger of being hurt alone in the car with her mother(?) than from this situation in the parking lot. Many more children are injured in car accidents than by personal attacks.

And what of the attack? The woman specifically said that the men were following them, one RIGHT BEHIND her and the other next to Emma. Yes she spun around and ran back into the restaurant. So she ran right past these guys, probably right between them. And NOTHING HAPPENED. They didn't grab her or Emma. They didn't panic at being caught on to and flee before she could tell the employees what had happened. They probably just walked to their car and shook their heads at how sad it is that 2 guys can't hold the door open for a white lady and her daughter (?) without being repaid with suspicion and fear. And now posted about on Facebook.  This shouldn't be a normal thing. Being tall, black, and male while walking near white people should not be seen as a threat. Certainly not in 2017.

He's Smarter Than Me. It's Over.

Yesterday in the van after school.
Danny: Thank you for picking me up today. It's was cold.
Me: You're welcome. I'll pick you up whenever it's in the 40s.
D: What 40s?
Me: It was only in the 40s today. When it's in the 40s you don't have to walk home from school.
D: But that's a long time from now.
Me: What do you mean.
D: I won't be 40 for a long time.
Me: Not in YOUR 40s!
D: Your 40s?
Me: No, not in my 40s. I'm in my 40s. When IT'S in THE 40s. Outside.
D: That's like 20 years away.

This is why I sometimes drink on Tuesday night.