When The Smoke Clears

I read an article this morning in the New York Times, written by Virginia Hetternan. It was titled "Poppins on the Loose: Lock Up Your Children". In this article, Ms. Hetternan takes the beloved tale of Mary Poppins and adds a political agenda to it.

Ms. Hetternan begins by telling us of her fond memories of "Mary Poppins". She then spends the rest of the article explaining how she has discovered the truth behind the magic. The movie was nothing more than a 1960's political statement about the working class versus middle class in 1910. She speaks of the "pro-pollution" scenes. She accuses Mary Poppins of being ambivalent towards the Suffragette Movement in which Mrs. Banks is so deeply involved. She declares that Mary Poppins is nothing more than an early version of today's "nightmare nanny" who does nothing to help the children, hangs out with her boyfriend while on the clock, and is younger and prettier than the mother (that predatory bitch!).

I'm sorry, Ms. Hetternan, but I have to strongly disagree with you on the subject of your article. It is true that the writers of many children's movies add some material and lines that will entertain the adults. I can watch movies now and laugh at material that I didn't even know was there when I watched as a child. That's the beauty of aging and maturity. Children who are of the age to enjoy "Mary Poppins" in it's truest sense are not old enough, nor are they mature enough to even know what the Suffragette Movement was. It's called ENTERTAINMENT. Can't we leave it at that? Can't we grab a bag of popcorn, sit down, and lapse into an imaginary world where a person can jump into chalk drawings and soar up through chimneys? I guess some people can't, and that makes me sad. I'd hate to see your take on Santa Clause, Ms. Hetternan...A man with a factory full of working elves, with a wife who stays at home, and with a sleigh that is pulled by living beasts. Mary Poppins is just as fictional as Santa Clause, and she was created for the same purpose as Santa Clause - to delight children.

I used to smoke. I used to get a lot of grief for smoking. So it will please all of my family and friends to know that I have kicked that nasty little habit. I have been smoke-free for 9 weeks and a few days! Back in those days, though, when someone or something in my life would crawl up under my skin and make me want to scream, I'd burn one to calm myself down. I've been doing some test-runs on new activities for said situations, and over this past weekend, I found that blogging can be very cathartic (and much less cancer inducing than my previous therapy).

There was another posting on this blog until I deleted it this morning. I had written it very late Saturday evening. Let's just say it had been a long 24 hours of dealing with idiotic, inconsiderate people. So I started blasting! It felt so good to put my feelings into words, knowing that someone out there would read about them and say "Right on, girl!". Reading that posting yesterday, though, made me realize that there is a line you cannot cross when it comes to blogging. It'd be nice to think that we can say whatever we want in our modern aged diaries. But there are people out there who may read too much into what I say. And I think that when I end a posting with profanity and the threat of serious bodily harm (though I'm sure he deserves it), I've probably crossed the line.

So I'm censoring myself, for the sake of all mankind. I would hate for you to read anything on this site and find out that I want to inflict severe bodily harm on you. I prefer a much more subtle approach. So I guess my line is somewhere in the vicinity of breaking the law. That's a good one not to cross, I hear.

As my grandfather says when one of us makes him proud, "I busted all of my buttons!" (I don't know if this is a Texas saying, so just in case it is, for the non-Texans it means that his chest expanded in pride so much that it busted all of the buttons off of his shirt.) One of my best friends, Christina, is graduating this Friday from the University of Texas at Austin. HOOK 'EM! She was the first friend that I made when I started school at UT, and she has become more of a sister than a friend to me over the last 6 1/2 years. She went through some completely awful things, things no human being should ever have to go through. She had every excuse to bury her head in the sand, but she didn't. She used school as a handrail for her life, holding on and never quitting while she built herself back up. Now, 6 1/2 years after she started, she is graduating from one of the greatest universities in the world! And she is the first person in her family to earn a college degree. I don't think I have to say it, but I will. I've busted all of my buttons!

I love you, Christina, and I am so proud of you! You are an inspiration!

I feel like I'm chasing my tail. Actually, lets make that several days that I've been chasing my tail. I'm doing research on the correlation between febrile seizures and adult epilepsy. I'm stuck, though, in the big grey area that belongs to the period of my life between the ages of 6 and 9. I usually love Google, but I'm feeling no love today. I have no idea where to look, now, for any kind of medical research on fever-related seizures after the age of 5. You see, there's this nice little mold created by studies around the world that I don't fit into. I've never been concerned with fitting into a mold. I think molds are a big con, personally. God never meant for the entire human race to follow in a straight line, never to stray from the accepted. But molds exist, and this one is biting me in the ass! I've always enjoyed being an independent person. I like expressing myself and my moods through colorful and fun shoes. I have outgrown my little sister complex and have decided I could give a rat's ass what anyone thinks as long as I'm happy (that's in theory, of course...doesn't always work that way). But this time I wish I fit into that little mold.

Ok...that's my bitterness for the day. Sorry!