By Deborah Martin
Edited by Crystal Laramore
WARNING: If you are a tried and true Kennedy lover to the exclusion of all reason, just set this article aside or give it to one of your more reality-based friends.
Ted Kennedy, senator from Massachusetts died last week and since then there has been a virtually endless deluge of praise from family, friends, colleagues and our “state run” media. He has been praised as the Lion of the Senate, the rock and anchor of his family, the most influential and accomplished legislator of our time. Really? He was?
Perhaps he was those things and to tell the truth, when someone dies it is customary to leave out their faults and remember their virtues. We all tend to forget the infinite ways deceased relatives drove us crazy. When it’s our leaders, we want to remember the good stuff. We want to count up all their accomplishments. It’s natural. No one wants to be critical of the dead. After all, they can’t defend themselves. Right, Mary Jo?
And when it’s a Kennedy, well this country goes into overdrive. After all, they’re the closest thing we have to royalty; they are a dynasty. They certainly have all the qualities of royalty. Money, looks, power, tragedy, glamour, romance. We have been watching this family since the 1940’s or earlier. We hang on their every accomplishment like they invented water or something.
I don’t really want this article to be all about Ted Kennedy and his shortcomings, though they were many. It’s really about who we hold up as our heroes. Who do we respect? How many flaws and what sorts of flaws do we tolerate in our leaders? Is drunkenness okay, or negligent homicide? How about cheating? Lying? How about rape or attempted rape? And why does the Kennedy family seem to get a pass on the same kinds of things which have destroyed the lives and careers of the rest of us mere mortals?
Flaws aside and to be fair (which as a conservative I am compelled to be) - in at least one way the Kennedy dynasty was and is quite remarkable. Whether or not you agree with their politics you have to agree that they all seem to have a strong bent toward public service. Jack, Bobby and Ted were all senators. Jack was even elected President, which in 1960 was amazing seeing that he was an Irish Catholic back when people still thought those things mattered. Various nephews have served in Congress. The Shriver branch of the family started The Peace Corps AND the Special Olympics!
Well, that’s the family as a whole, but what about Ted since he’s the one who died this week and effectively ended an era. It doesn’t look like younger Kennedy’s have the drive the original group had. They’re branching out, getting out of politics. And good for them, but I digress.
Does Ted Kennedy deserve the praise being heaped on him since his death? What about the other side of his life. I’ve learned some interesting things lately. A lot I already knew, all of it pretty twisted and yes, I did my research. Everything in this article is true. Did you know that he was kicked out of Harvard the first time around for cheating? He had someone else take a test for him. Yes, it’s true. And I have to add that as a parent I am certain that this wasn’t the first time he did it, just the first time he got caught!
The Kennedy family seems to be plagued by plane crashes. Ted lost two siblings that way and a nephew. He survived his own crash by flying while intoxicated. Only his two passengers were killed in that crash. Seems like he couldn’t learn his lesson because in 1969 the most famous incident happened – Chappaquiddick.
After a night of partying he drove a car carrying his 28 year old companion, Mary Jo Kopechne off a bridge and into a pond. He escaped. She did not. However, he waited nine hours before reporting the accident. In the meantime, he walked back to his motel, complained to the manager about a noisy party, took a shower, went to sleep, ordered newspapers when he woke up and spoke to a friend and two lawyers before finally calling the police. This is when the phrase, “the Kennedy curse” was coined, and guess who coined it? Ted. Why? Perhaps to take attention from what he did and make him a victim instead of a perpetrator.
You know what the worst part is? Mary Jo did not drown. She survived for several hours in an air pocket before succumbing to a lack of oxygen. Had he gone straight to the authorities she likely would have lived but you’ll rarely read about that. Wonder why he waited? Could it be – let me think – maybe – just possibly – he was drinking? Did he feel entitled? Was he a spoiled rich kid? Oh, and another thing – he never spent a day in jail for this crime. His family arranged for money to be given to the Kopechne family as if that would make a difference. Apparently, for them, it made some difference because they took the money.
After that, his political ambitions for President were effectively DOA even though he did try. Only a Kennedy would have the nerve to try that with so much of his bad behavior public. Ted Kennedy, like his brothers and father, was a notorious drunk and womanizer. He was known to proposition virtually any reasonably attractive female when he was drinking and there were several incidents at his favorite restaurant where he would bodily try (and sometimes succeed) in forcing himself on the unlucky waitress who had to wait on him and his companion (by the name of Dodd) in a private dining room. I assume they were tipped VERY well.
I also heard this week that he actually enjoyed Chappaquiddick jokes. If I didn’t already have a bad opinion of him that certainly did it for me. It was said by his defenders that he finds the ridiculous in any situation. What??!! The only things ridiculous about that situation is that he felt no remorse, never apologized to her family and never did a day’s jail time over it. What kind of twisted person finds humor in any situation where a person loses their life?
Speaking of his title “Lion of the Senate” I once saw him on live HDTV speaking loudly with spittle spewing forth, fist shaking, standing up for “the little people” saying “And we’re gonna raise minimum wage, and raise it, and raise it and raise it”! Really, how does that help “the little people”? How does that encourage the small business owner (who drives 85% of the GDP) to hire more people and give them more hours? Why didn’t Ted give some of HIS money away? Why didn’t he lower his salary? I’m betting because it’s easier to give away other people’s money. Doesn’t hurt quite so bad. Careful people who ya follow.
Did you notice how pleasant his last days were? He was on the sail boat. He was pampered by wait staff. He had the very best health care our country has to offer. He had NO end-of-life counseling. His brain tumor was incurable yet he received enough care and medicine to live comfortably for an additional year. I do not begrudge him this. I’m just curious why he begrudges his constituents and the rest of the country the same care. Maybe he’s just entitled…
And I’m sorry but am I the only one who thinks the good DOESN’T outweigh the bad? It seems pretty significant to me that the Catholic Church, which Ted professed to put so much faith in, completely ignored his passing. His lionization says a lot about our society and what drives us these days. Crystal always says follow the money and I guess, unfortunately, that’s right. Any lesser mortal would have been (and IS) driven from society for such consistently abhorrent behavior.
It makes me sad and angry that we tolerate this stuff. Is it so wrong to expect our public officials and our heroes to be circumspect in their private lives? This isn’t just a problem with politics or with folks like the Kennedy’s. Look at the people we hold up as role models. We have football players who break every rule, yet are still allowed to play. We tolerate bad attitudes and immoral behavior. I believe in redemption. You do the crime, do the time and you’re done. If you stay clean you deserve another chance. Did Ted Kennedy deserve another chance at Harvard? How about after the drunken plane crash? Or the drive into the pond? And it’s a little scary that these are the things we KNOW about?
Call me a prude, or a throwback. I want men and women in politics, in court, in my doctor’s office, teaching my kids and running my bank to have some character, some backbone. Stand up for what’s right – ALL the time, not just when it’s convenient or a camera is shining on you or a microphone is in your face; in the little ways, behind the scenes, when no one knows but you. Unlike much of Ted Kennedy’s life – do the right thing, just because it’s right.
Showing posts with label David E. Kelley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David E. Kelley. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Oh Oprah...
by Crystal Laramore
edited by Deborah Martin & Cheryl Laramore
…you were right; He IS the one! He IS the one who is trying to destroy the American dream one sector at a time. He IS the one who is trying to destroy the best medical care system in the world. He IS the one who is trying to divide our country down racial lines instead of uniting us, as he so eloquently promised while holding the hand of his mighty, all-knowing teleprompter.
He IS the one who is trying to make a joke of your hard work and success because it flies in the face of his end goal – total dependence on government! He IS the one who is trying to press you to work harder for less. Why? So that many of his followers (aka voters) can NOT work at all and get more for it. More from us, Oprah. Maybe you have soooooo much money that you just don’t care anymore. Well Oprah-I don’t and I do!
He IS the one getting mainstream conservative Americans off our lazy butts to take back our country. He IS the one who is motivating average working Americans across the nation to get back to the basics of our constitution. He IS the one who showing the American people just how elitist Washington D.C. really is.
He IS the one responsible for Americans rallying together to stand up to our Congressmen and remind them that THEY work for US, just as Hillary Clinton suggested we do when George W. Bush was President. Hey Pelosi, are you listening? What's good for the left hand is good for the Right! Get it?!
He IS the one who proudly proclaimed his background as a simple hardworking community organizer. Just a grassroots kind of guy trying to better the community and now he has the NERVE to criticize and marginalize those who stand up in Town Hall meetings to proclaim their objections to the hastily slapped-together legislation HE is calling reform? And if that weren’t bad enough he has actually asked his supporters to report dissent directly to him? Can you say BIG BROTHER???!!!
And to take matters a step further the police tried to make the anti-health care Americans who attended the President’s Town Hall meeting in Massachusetts stand behind the front lines, behind the parking lot, under a grove of trees, while allowing the pro-health care Americans stand street-side. Can you say "hate crime"? Might as well be.
What the heck IS going on??? If they are afraid then they must be doing something wrong? If they really care about our wants, needs and desires then why are THEY using such antics to push through something the American people clearly DO NOT WANT? Follow the money. Always follow the money.
Medicare and Medicaid, Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac and Social Security...just a few examples of well run (snicker, snicker) governmental programs wrought with fraud, abusive, power hungry folks and financial leaks in the billions. Now let's just make government run health care bigger and let's include all illegal immigrants. What, do they get to vote if they have health care? What is the motivation to further tax our system by taking on and encouraging illegal immigration? Somebody PLEASE splain it to me, Lucy?
Over the last few weeks the news has been peppered with stories covering Town Hall meetings. After watching several of these I realized why our president wanted to get his health care bill passed BEFORE Congress went on recess – because he’s afraid that if they wait they won’t be able to stand the heat coming from their constituents. Smart man. However, it didn’t even come to a vote and now our voices are being heard - loud angry voices, I’m told. Well, hell yes we’re loud and angry. Congress does not work for the President, they work for us (we the people) yet they consistently do the President’s bidding, not OURS! Hey Congress-you are pandering to the wrong body of people! The last I checked WE THE PEOPLE put you in office, not we the president.
Obama and his cronies are accusing conservative Americans of tactics he’s quite familiar with; planting people who are against (wink wink) his cause, racism, partisanship, inciting violence, etc. You know what they say…when you point one finger three more are pointing right back atcha! Hey, Obama, don’t look now but your (community organizer, Chicago political machine) roots are showing and WE are just plain fed up with being manipulated.
My favorite story this week is about the African American man who was selling “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and buttons. Two black and one white SEIU men beat him up. What??!! Wonder if the president and his teleprompter will address this none-of-his-business issue and play the race card. Let’s see.
As horrible as it was for this man I believe the incident is going to be even worse for the libs because, guess what? The African American victim has an attorney and they plan to file civil charges using the libs own Hate Crime legislation! Snicker, Snicker! Oh, why go for a hate crime? Because the first black man to throw a punch called him a “F…ing Ni..er! Oh yes he did! He said “What kind of f…ing n…er are you” selling these flags?”
Seriously! I’m sorry, is every black person in America supposed to love the president and everything he does just because they belong to the same race? Talk about racist! Obama IS a product of Chicago politics at its worst. Given his upbringing, his consistent association with radicals and ruffians, how could this NOT start showing up?
Did his followers really think the tiger was going to change his stripes once in office? Did they really believe all that hope stuff? Are we really going to stand by and let our country become third world without a fight? I don’t think so and the August town hall meetings all over the country are evidence that Americans, liberal and conservative, are waking up and paying attention. PS. If you see anything "Fishy" in this article pls. report it to the White House aka Government Mobsters.
In closing, I’d like to quote a famous Japanese admiral who stated after Pearl Harbor: “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant.” Obama, Pelosi, Reed, Senators, Congressmen... You’d better be paying attention because the giant is awake and he’s coming after YOU!
Tea anyone?
edited by Deborah Martin & Cheryl Laramore
…you were right; He IS the one! He IS the one who is trying to destroy the American dream one sector at a time. He IS the one who is trying to destroy the best medical care system in the world. He IS the one who is trying to divide our country down racial lines instead of uniting us, as he so eloquently promised while holding the hand of his mighty, all-knowing teleprompter.
He IS the one who is trying to make a joke of your hard work and success because it flies in the face of his end goal – total dependence on government! He IS the one who is trying to press you to work harder for less. Why? So that many of his followers (aka voters) can NOT work at all and get more for it. More from us, Oprah. Maybe you have soooooo much money that you just don’t care anymore. Well Oprah-I don’t and I do!
He IS the one getting mainstream conservative Americans off our lazy butts to take back our country. He IS the one who is motivating average working Americans across the nation to get back to the basics of our constitution. He IS the one who showing the American people just how elitist Washington D.C. really is.
He IS the one responsible for Americans rallying together to stand up to our Congressmen and remind them that THEY work for US, just as Hillary Clinton suggested we do when George W. Bush was President. Hey Pelosi, are you listening? What's good for the left hand is good for the Right! Get it?!
He IS the one who proudly proclaimed his background as a simple hardworking community organizer. Just a grassroots kind of guy trying to better the community and now he has the NERVE to criticize and marginalize those who stand up in Town Hall meetings to proclaim their objections to the hastily slapped-together legislation HE is calling reform? And if that weren’t bad enough he has actually asked his supporters to report dissent directly to him? Can you say BIG BROTHER???!!!
And to take matters a step further the police tried to make the anti-health care Americans who attended the President’s Town Hall meeting in Massachusetts stand behind the front lines, behind the parking lot, under a grove of trees, while allowing the pro-health care Americans stand street-side. Can you say "hate crime"? Might as well be.
What the heck IS going on??? If they are afraid then they must be doing something wrong? If they really care about our wants, needs and desires then why are THEY using such antics to push through something the American people clearly DO NOT WANT? Follow the money. Always follow the money.
Medicare and Medicaid, Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac and Social Security...just a few examples of well run (snicker, snicker) governmental programs wrought with fraud, abusive, power hungry folks and financial leaks in the billions. Now let's just make government run health care bigger and let's include all illegal immigrants. What, do they get to vote if they have health care? What is the motivation to further tax our system by taking on and encouraging illegal immigration? Somebody PLEASE splain it to me, Lucy?
Over the last few weeks the news has been peppered with stories covering Town Hall meetings. After watching several of these I realized why our president wanted to get his health care bill passed BEFORE Congress went on recess – because he’s afraid that if they wait they won’t be able to stand the heat coming from their constituents. Smart man. However, it didn’t even come to a vote and now our voices are being heard - loud angry voices, I’m told. Well, hell yes we’re loud and angry. Congress does not work for the President, they work for us (we the people) yet they consistently do the President’s bidding, not OURS! Hey Congress-you are pandering to the wrong body of people! The last I checked WE THE PEOPLE put you in office, not we the president.
Obama and his cronies are accusing conservative Americans of tactics he’s quite familiar with; planting people who are against (wink wink) his cause, racism, partisanship, inciting violence, etc. You know what they say…when you point one finger three more are pointing right back atcha! Hey, Obama, don’t look now but your (community organizer, Chicago political machine) roots are showing and WE are just plain fed up with being manipulated.
My favorite story this week is about the African American man who was selling “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and buttons. Two black and one white SEIU men beat him up. What??!! Wonder if the president and his teleprompter will address this none-of-his-business issue and play the race card. Let’s see.
As horrible as it was for this man I believe the incident is going to be even worse for the libs because, guess what? The African American victim has an attorney and they plan to file civil charges using the libs own Hate Crime legislation! Snicker, Snicker! Oh, why go for a hate crime? Because the first black man to throw a punch called him a “F…ing Ni..er! Oh yes he did! He said “What kind of f…ing n…er are you” selling these flags?”
Seriously! I’m sorry, is every black person in America supposed to love the president and everything he does just because they belong to the same race? Talk about racist! Obama IS a product of Chicago politics at its worst. Given his upbringing, his consistent association with radicals and ruffians, how could this NOT start showing up?
Did his followers really think the tiger was going to change his stripes once in office? Did they really believe all that hope stuff? Are we really going to stand by and let our country become third world without a fight? I don’t think so and the August town hall meetings all over the country are evidence that Americans, liberal and conservative, are waking up and paying attention. PS. If you see anything "Fishy" in this article pls. report it to the White House aka Government Mobsters.
In closing, I’d like to quote a famous Japanese admiral who stated after Pearl Harbor: “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant.” Obama, Pelosi, Reed, Senators, Congressmen... You’d better be paying attention because the giant is awake and he’s coming after YOU!
Tea anyone?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tea Party Speech
by Crystal Laramore
Good evening! If I had known I was going to be speaking tonight I’d have worn lipstick. My favorite color is Sarah Palin Red!
Let me apologize in advance if I jump around a bit. My staff forgot the teleprompter. I’ll be forced to speak from experience, knowledge and from the heart.
Before I came to the podium I noticed my future step-daughter, LaRen (aged 6), playing in the dirt and my first instinct was to tell her to ‘stop it. My second, more rational, thought was ‘Dig deep. Spread some to the other children here. It is after all your dirt. You’re the one that is going to be paying for it; again’.
When people ask me to speak at events I always want to talk about commitment; the attention to it and the lack of it. Maybe you’ve noticed that the line between conservative politics and liberal politics has a deep divide these days. The divide didn’t just happen all of a sudden folks; it’s been progressing for decades. We, the conservative minded have just not been very committed to stopping it. We keep ‘hoping for the best’. Well, these tea parties that are springing up all over our great nation are a sign that we have realized that hoping and doing are two different things.
Liberals, far to the left liberals, have however been doing and working and talking and stealing and lying and cheating us with a fervor deep in their bellies while we have been ‘hoping for the best’. Why? Because THEY are, and have been for a long time, committed. They are committed to their cause. They are organized in the name of their cause. And their cause is for us to provide for them. And they start with YOUR children. Get the book “The Death of Right and Wrong” by Tammy Bruce.
Do you want to know why so many children are liberals today? And by children I mean anyone under 35. Because the left is committed. And organized. And they have functions and rallies and it’s FUN to be a liberal. And everything is about acceptance. And they spin it until the collective, rational little minds you sent off to school become fuzzy and tainted and liberal. Then they grow up and don’t have any money and need to come back home. Or, by the grace of God they grow up, get fed up, and build their own home!
The middle class in America is rapidly shrinking. And how can it not with one class providing for two others. Yes, we are not only providing for the entitled poor, we are also providing for the entitled wealthy.
Being from a small community there isn’t a lot of money to go around to support sports leagues, cheerleaders, the library, Lions Club, Women’s League, Prom, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Little League, FFA, Basketball Organizations, Senior Citizens, Toys for Tots, Senior Trips, miscellaneous fundraisers like the yearbook, band, etc.
Now, almost every single month at least 6 organizations show up on my front door asking for donations. Since the bailout by GW and the expansion and movement toward socialism by Obama I’ve posted a letter outside my restaurant:
Our donation quota for the month has been reached. For a list of recipients see list below:
AIG
GM
Welfare
Social Security
FICA
FUTA
Frisbee Park in Austin, TX
Date night with Michelle & Obama in New York
The White House
Nancy Pelosi’s House
Retirement plans for Congress
Health Care better than I’ve ever had for Congress
Fuel for Air Force One in order to brainwash Americans into buying into Socialism
Pepsid AC for the heartburn I get every single day I hear the President of the United States of America trashing my great country and doing everything in his power and then some to shove something down my throat that I DO NOT WANT! i.e.; a bailout, socialized medicine, electricity monitoring, and well, you get the picture. Oh yeah, and the picture of Air Force One buzzing the Statue of Liberty in New York.
I’m sorry, but don’t these people work for me? Don’t they work for you? Did you approve any of this? I didn’t. We really need to understand that the entitlement mentality is having a trickle-down effect. It’s not money trickling down any longer or the pride to achieve great things, its entitlement. If I achieve great things they are entitled to take it away. It is illegal what they are doing yet here we are.
As a small business owner I see a lot of entitlement mentality on both sides of the fence. Everyone always talks about benefits when they apply to work here. Like they’re entitled…My response is ‘It benefits you to show up to work and do as I tell you to do’.
Fighting the establishment is tough. Oh and speaking of tough fighters; I served in Baghdad, Iraq for almost two years with men and women who fought, and some even lost their lives fighting, for a country that believes in what our fore fathers believed in. Those men and women who have died protecting our freedoms will have died in vain if we lose our country to a man, a government and a sector who would rather see it fall than rise!
And we, the foot soldiers of this great nation are also going to have fight; tea parties are just one way of accomplishing the goal of getting our country back. And believe me, we’ve lost our county. And I want it back! Don’t you want to live by our code; a code of honor and pride. Don’t you want to live in the country that is proud of capitalizing on one’s ideas and hard work; we’ve lost the county that believes in the constitution; and we’ve certainly lost the America that believes in a government that is ’For the people of the people, by the people’.
I want to thank my fellow Bible thumping, flag waving, gun toting, America the Great loving patriots for showing up today. And if that isn’t the America YOU love, don’t Tread On Me-LEAVE!
God bless you all and God bless the United States of America!
Good evening! If I had known I was going to be speaking tonight I’d have worn lipstick. My favorite color is Sarah Palin Red!
Let me apologize in advance if I jump around a bit. My staff forgot the teleprompter. I’ll be forced to speak from experience, knowledge and from the heart.
Before I came to the podium I noticed my future step-daughter, LaRen (aged 6), playing in the dirt and my first instinct was to tell her to ‘stop it. My second, more rational, thought was ‘Dig deep. Spread some to the other children here. It is after all your dirt. You’re the one that is going to be paying for it; again’.
When people ask me to speak at events I always want to talk about commitment; the attention to it and the lack of it. Maybe you’ve noticed that the line between conservative politics and liberal politics has a deep divide these days. The divide didn’t just happen all of a sudden folks; it’s been progressing for decades. We, the conservative minded have just not been very committed to stopping it. We keep ‘hoping for the best’. Well, these tea parties that are springing up all over our great nation are a sign that we have realized that hoping and doing are two different things.
Liberals, far to the left liberals, have however been doing and working and talking and stealing and lying and cheating us with a fervor deep in their bellies while we have been ‘hoping for the best’. Why? Because THEY are, and have been for a long time, committed. They are committed to their cause. They are organized in the name of their cause. And their cause is for us to provide for them. And they start with YOUR children. Get the book “The Death of Right and Wrong” by Tammy Bruce.
Do you want to know why so many children are liberals today? And by children I mean anyone under 35. Because the left is committed. And organized. And they have functions and rallies and it’s FUN to be a liberal. And everything is about acceptance. And they spin it until the collective, rational little minds you sent off to school become fuzzy and tainted and liberal. Then they grow up and don’t have any money and need to come back home. Or, by the grace of God they grow up, get fed up, and build their own home!
The middle class in America is rapidly shrinking. And how can it not with one class providing for two others. Yes, we are not only providing for the entitled poor, we are also providing for the entitled wealthy.
Being from a small community there isn’t a lot of money to go around to support sports leagues, cheerleaders, the library, Lions Club, Women’s League, Prom, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Little League, FFA, Basketball Organizations, Senior Citizens, Toys for Tots, Senior Trips, miscellaneous fundraisers like the yearbook, band, etc.
Now, almost every single month at least 6 organizations show up on my front door asking for donations. Since the bailout by GW and the expansion and movement toward socialism by Obama I’ve posted a letter outside my restaurant:
Our donation quota for the month has been reached. For a list of recipients see list below:
AIG
GM
Welfare
Social Security
FICA
FUTA
Frisbee Park in Austin, TX
Date night with Michelle & Obama in New York
The White House
Nancy Pelosi’s House
Retirement plans for Congress
Health Care better than I’ve ever had for Congress
Fuel for Air Force One in order to brainwash Americans into buying into Socialism
Pepsid AC for the heartburn I get every single day I hear the President of the United States of America trashing my great country and doing everything in his power and then some to shove something down my throat that I DO NOT WANT! i.e.; a bailout, socialized medicine, electricity monitoring, and well, you get the picture. Oh yeah, and the picture of Air Force One buzzing the Statue of Liberty in New York.
I’m sorry, but don’t these people work for me? Don’t they work for you? Did you approve any of this? I didn’t. We really need to understand that the entitlement mentality is having a trickle-down effect. It’s not money trickling down any longer or the pride to achieve great things, its entitlement. If I achieve great things they are entitled to take it away. It is illegal what they are doing yet here we are.
As a small business owner I see a lot of entitlement mentality on both sides of the fence. Everyone always talks about benefits when they apply to work here. Like they’re entitled…My response is ‘It benefits you to show up to work and do as I tell you to do’.
Fighting the establishment is tough. Oh and speaking of tough fighters; I served in Baghdad, Iraq for almost two years with men and women who fought, and some even lost their lives fighting, for a country that believes in what our fore fathers believed in. Those men and women who have died protecting our freedoms will have died in vain if we lose our country to a man, a government and a sector who would rather see it fall than rise!
And we, the foot soldiers of this great nation are also going to have fight; tea parties are just one way of accomplishing the goal of getting our country back. And believe me, we’ve lost our county. And I want it back! Don’t you want to live by our code; a code of honor and pride. Don’t you want to live in the country that is proud of capitalizing on one’s ideas and hard work; we’ve lost the county that believes in the constitution; and we’ve certainly lost the America that believes in a government that is ’For the people of the people, by the people’.
I want to thank my fellow Bible thumping, flag waving, gun toting, America the Great loving patriots for showing up today. And if that isn’t the America YOU love, don’t Tread On Me-LEAVE!
God bless you all and God bless the United States of America!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Rush is Right - Again!
by Crystal Laramore
Have you listened to Rush’s speech at the CPAC conference? Listen, for those of you who live in a cave, the man’s formal radio name is Rush Limbaugh. But, Rush is so famous you need only utter his first name to see fan and foe alike become weak in the knees and suffer from sweaty-palm syndrome. Yes, Rush has made it into the circle of the infamous that need only one of their names uttered for the masses to know to whom you are referring: Hillary. Diana. Cher. Obama. Elvis. Rush. Not even George Clooney, Sean Penn or Alec Baldwin has made it this far in the fame stratosphere.
I digress. If you haven’t listened to Rush’s speech please, for the love of your country and your party, your principles and your wallet, your 401K and your business and most importantly your children and your grandchildren, do so. You can find it on www.rushlimbaugh.com/home. BTW, it’s his first televised address to the nation!
In the spirit of not spoiling the fun you will have and the immense sense of pride that will fill your heart by listening to this great speech, I’ll not talk much about it. I’ll just tell you how it made me feel. One American, in her living room, trying to sit on the sofa, watching and listening to someone, finally, tell it like it is. Wow! Rush said everything we disenfranchised conservatives have been wanting to scream at the President and his staff, through the transparent walls, since the historic inauguration. Every word, every syllable, every vowel, of Rush’s speech was undeniably RIGHT! As AC said “It was akin to Sara Palin’s first speech before the ‘handlers’ got in the way and started filtering her speeches”.
Did you see Remember the Titans? I must have watched that movie eight times. The movie made me want to jump up and dance and scream “go team!” It was just an all around feel good movie. It was a movie that inspired the best within us. Rush’s speech was all that and then a little somethin’, somethin’. It was real life conservative talk show host gone wild (in the true conservative sense of the word, snicker). His speech certainly made me want to dance and I was screaming “GO TEAM!” Who needs to watch Remember the Titans again and again for that Rah! Rah! feeling? All ya need is Rush. Whew! And what a rush it is to watch his first televised address to the nation! Remember the Titans-8. Rush’s first televised address to the nation-12.
When Oprah says something like The Obama’s have really brought back the family dinner to America, in reference to people sitting around their own table having dinner together as a family instead of going out to eat, (talk about S-P-I-N!) you really need a good dose of Rush to understand that it’s b/c Obama has ruined our financial foundation and we CAN’T AFFORD to go out to eat at the restaurant! And since I own a restaurant I have an up close and personal understanding of this.
When Oprah and her cronies, who gather round on Friday’s to play Rush, say something like the economic crisis we’ve been in for over 18 months…again, ya really need Rush to temper the idiots and keep your thoughts grounded lest you vote for someone b/c they can play the sax or speak from a teleprompter.
Since about 1992 after Bill Clinton was jazzing it up on the Arsenio Hall show, I’ve been listening to Rush. At the time I worked in the oil & gas industry for Baker Hughes in Houston. (It’s just Houston. No need to say Houston, TX. There’s only one Rush and there’s only one Houston.) Previously I had voted for Reagan and Bush Sr. Then all of a sudden a young hip dude who was running for President was playing my favorite instrument on one of my favorite late night talk shows. Hmmmmm. Maybe this is what our country needs (I ignorantly thought to my ignorant self), a leader who is in touch. Snicker. Little did I know…?
Anyway, this was the day before cell phones were a dime a dozen so I remember talking to my father, Noland Laramore, on a traditional land-line and sharing with him my extensive knowledge on how one should vote for a president. Only now can I laugh b/c only now can I picture what his face must have looked like. He was about 300 miles away and had to formulate a Steelers-like game plan in order to save his eldest child’s political soul. He had limited time and limited resources. The men in white coats were not an option. He’s a middle class working man you see.
Oprah always talks about having “Aha” moments and even though my father couldn’t tell you the difference between Oprah or Cher he certainly had an “aha” moment. Rush! Aha! That’s it. That’s how I’ll save her. Rush! And save me he did.
Being the young, on my way to a tree-hugging feminist I was, my father knew he shouldn’t TELL me to do anything. He knew he was treading on shaky, Californiaesque ground. But he also knew I was smart and hungry for knowledge-always hungry for knowledge. He also probably had a pretty good idea how much his little girl adored him so he definitely had a home court advantage in this game of saving his daughters political soul. There are many words parents throughout history have spoken to their children that are profound and life-saving but I wonder how often parents speak the words “Baby, you need to listen to Rush”.
Then he said “Now listen to me, you may not like him at first. He may come off a little strong, crass and obnoxious (for your feminist little heart) at first but just promise me you’ll listen to him for a week before you form an opinion”. C’mon now. This was my father! I can’t ever remember him asking me for anything. And this is was his ace in-the-hole favor to me? To listen to some AM (are you kidding me? AM?) talk radio host? Ok, Daddy, if that’s what you want. At this time in my life I was about 27 (I was born in late 1964-very last of the baby boomers). I was single, climbing the corporate ladder, rich (in my infantile mind) and needed nothing from anyone-especially a man!
The only man I ever needed was my daddy. And since Daddy wanted me to listen to this Rush guy and since Daddy seemed so desperate for me to do so…I hit the button that whisked me from rock N roll mindless words to the dreary world of AM. My first thought was “Are you kidding me? This guy is an a$$. He is soooo arrogant! Who does he think he is??? And believe me this was a bigger favor than I could have imagined me ever doing for my father. It was tough to listen to some stranger talk negatively, and in such a know-it-all manner, about the man I just saw play the sax on the Arsenio Hall show. Why? Because it made me feel good to watch a potential president swoon his audience with saxy jazz and it did not make me feel good to begin to realize that I almost made a complete and utter fool of myself.
It also did not take a whole week for me to snap out of the warm fuzzy feeling syndrome that have so many people trapped today. But never-the-less, my daddy did call “Just to check in” on me every other day or so. Mr. Laramore would always ask “Soooo, how ya liking him so far?” “What do you think”? Understand that he never once asked how I felt. Hell, he probably KNEW how I felt. I felt Agitated. No, he always asked me what I thought. You can debate thought, you cannot debate feelings. My goodness that man is smart!!!
About four years later I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Until a couple of years ago I always wondered if Rush had ever read the book. Clearly, I should have known the answer. Every great thinker surely has read this book; silly me for ever doubting. He’s not a president and he doesn’t play one on TV, but he could, he should, would he?...A few times in the past I even dared call into the great Rush Limbaugh radio show just to ask him. Since I only had an hour for lunch, I never got through. Heck, I never made it past the busy signal!
My family is peppered with war veterans, and current-serving members of all branches of the military. There are many purple hearts and silver stars in my family. So, in July of 04 I shipped off to Baghdad, Iraq and served with the DOS for almost two years. My job was to help stand up the U.S. Embassy and anything else that needed doing. My duty was to serve my country, to serve the Iraqi people and to serve to make my father and my UB proud. While I was there I sent Atlas Shrugged to my father for his birthday. It was my gift to him for turning me onto Rush. Not exactly a fair trade. I also sent him the Limbaugh letter for Christmas a couple of times. Still…not quite there. Actually, there’s really nothing I can do for him that can compare to what he did for me, but I’ll never stop trying! You may call it silly, but it was one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me. I’ll be forever grateful that my father loved me and his country enough to share Rush with me.
While I lived in the big metropolis of Houston, politics didn’t really enter my life in a tangible way, but I never turned the radio off of Rush from 11 am to 2 pm. And the dedication paid off. Several years ago I left the big city and the big corporate paycheck and headed east where the pine trees grow a hundred feet tall and the locals have been round these parts for as many years. I beeboped into this whisper of a town with big city ideas and a big city attitude “I can do anything I want b/c I’m an American”. I bought a building on the courthouse square (no sense making a ripple, splashes are more fun), turned it into a restaurant and applied for a liquor license…
…Stay tuned.
Check out my other blog www.sexinthewoods.blogspot.com
Have you listened to Rush’s speech at the CPAC conference? Listen, for those of you who live in a cave, the man’s formal radio name is Rush Limbaugh. But, Rush is so famous you need only utter his first name to see fan and foe alike become weak in the knees and suffer from sweaty-palm syndrome. Yes, Rush has made it into the circle of the infamous that need only one of their names uttered for the masses to know to whom you are referring: Hillary. Diana. Cher. Obama. Elvis. Rush. Not even George Clooney, Sean Penn or Alec Baldwin has made it this far in the fame stratosphere.
I digress. If you haven’t listened to Rush’s speech please, for the love of your country and your party, your principles and your wallet, your 401K and your business and most importantly your children and your grandchildren, do so. You can find it on www.rushlimbaugh.com/home. BTW, it’s his first televised address to the nation!
In the spirit of not spoiling the fun you will have and the immense sense of pride that will fill your heart by listening to this great speech, I’ll not talk much about it. I’ll just tell you how it made me feel. One American, in her living room, trying to sit on the sofa, watching and listening to someone, finally, tell it like it is. Wow! Rush said everything we disenfranchised conservatives have been wanting to scream at the President and his staff, through the transparent walls, since the historic inauguration. Every word, every syllable, every vowel, of Rush’s speech was undeniably RIGHT! As AC said “It was akin to Sara Palin’s first speech before the ‘handlers’ got in the way and started filtering her speeches”.
Did you see Remember the Titans? I must have watched that movie eight times. The movie made me want to jump up and dance and scream “go team!” It was just an all around feel good movie. It was a movie that inspired the best within us. Rush’s speech was all that and then a little somethin’, somethin’. It was real life conservative talk show host gone wild (in the true conservative sense of the word, snicker). His speech certainly made me want to dance and I was screaming “GO TEAM!” Who needs to watch Remember the Titans again and again for that Rah! Rah! feeling? All ya need is Rush. Whew! And what a rush it is to watch his first televised address to the nation! Remember the Titans-8. Rush’s first televised address to the nation-12.
When Oprah says something like The Obama’s have really brought back the family dinner to America, in reference to people sitting around their own table having dinner together as a family instead of going out to eat, (talk about S-P-I-N!) you really need a good dose of Rush to understand that it’s b/c Obama has ruined our financial foundation and we CAN’T AFFORD to go out to eat at the restaurant! And since I own a restaurant I have an up close and personal understanding of this.
When Oprah and her cronies, who gather round on Friday’s to play Rush, say something like the economic crisis we’ve been in for over 18 months…again, ya really need Rush to temper the idiots and keep your thoughts grounded lest you vote for someone b/c they can play the sax or speak from a teleprompter.
Since about 1992 after Bill Clinton was jazzing it up on the Arsenio Hall show, I’ve been listening to Rush. At the time I worked in the oil & gas industry for Baker Hughes in Houston. (It’s just Houston. No need to say Houston, TX. There’s only one Rush and there’s only one Houston.) Previously I had voted for Reagan and Bush Sr. Then all of a sudden a young hip dude who was running for President was playing my favorite instrument on one of my favorite late night talk shows. Hmmmmm. Maybe this is what our country needs (I ignorantly thought to my ignorant self), a leader who is in touch. Snicker. Little did I know…?
Anyway, this was the day before cell phones were a dime a dozen so I remember talking to my father, Noland Laramore, on a traditional land-line and sharing with him my extensive knowledge on how one should vote for a president. Only now can I laugh b/c only now can I picture what his face must have looked like. He was about 300 miles away and had to formulate a Steelers-like game plan in order to save his eldest child’s political soul. He had limited time and limited resources. The men in white coats were not an option. He’s a middle class working man you see.
Oprah always talks about having “Aha” moments and even though my father couldn’t tell you the difference between Oprah or Cher he certainly had an “aha” moment. Rush! Aha! That’s it. That’s how I’ll save her. Rush! And save me he did.
Being the young, on my way to a tree-hugging feminist I was, my father knew he shouldn’t TELL me to do anything. He knew he was treading on shaky, Californiaesque ground. But he also knew I was smart and hungry for knowledge-always hungry for knowledge. He also probably had a pretty good idea how much his little girl adored him so he definitely had a home court advantage in this game of saving his daughters political soul. There are many words parents throughout history have spoken to their children that are profound and life-saving but I wonder how often parents speak the words “Baby, you need to listen to Rush”.
Then he said “Now listen to me, you may not like him at first. He may come off a little strong, crass and obnoxious (for your feminist little heart) at first but just promise me you’ll listen to him for a week before you form an opinion”. C’mon now. This was my father! I can’t ever remember him asking me for anything. And this is was his ace in-the-hole favor to me? To listen to some AM (are you kidding me? AM?) talk radio host? Ok, Daddy, if that’s what you want. At this time in my life I was about 27 (I was born in late 1964-very last of the baby boomers). I was single, climbing the corporate ladder, rich (in my infantile mind) and needed nothing from anyone-especially a man!
The only man I ever needed was my daddy. And since Daddy wanted me to listen to this Rush guy and since Daddy seemed so desperate for me to do so…I hit the button that whisked me from rock N roll mindless words to the dreary world of AM. My first thought was “Are you kidding me? This guy is an a$$. He is soooo arrogant! Who does he think he is??? And believe me this was a bigger favor than I could have imagined me ever doing for my father. It was tough to listen to some stranger talk negatively, and in such a know-it-all manner, about the man I just saw play the sax on the Arsenio Hall show. Why? Because it made me feel good to watch a potential president swoon his audience with saxy jazz and it did not make me feel good to begin to realize that I almost made a complete and utter fool of myself.
It also did not take a whole week for me to snap out of the warm fuzzy feeling syndrome that have so many people trapped today. But never-the-less, my daddy did call “Just to check in” on me every other day or so. Mr. Laramore would always ask “Soooo, how ya liking him so far?” “What do you think”? Understand that he never once asked how I felt. Hell, he probably KNEW how I felt. I felt Agitated. No, he always asked me what I thought. You can debate thought, you cannot debate feelings. My goodness that man is smart!!!
About four years later I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Until a couple of years ago I always wondered if Rush had ever read the book. Clearly, I should have known the answer. Every great thinker surely has read this book; silly me for ever doubting. He’s not a president and he doesn’t play one on TV, but he could, he should, would he?...A few times in the past I even dared call into the great Rush Limbaugh radio show just to ask him. Since I only had an hour for lunch, I never got through. Heck, I never made it past the busy signal!
My family is peppered with war veterans, and current-serving members of all branches of the military. There are many purple hearts and silver stars in my family. So, in July of 04 I shipped off to Baghdad, Iraq and served with the DOS for almost two years. My job was to help stand up the U.S. Embassy and anything else that needed doing. My duty was to serve my country, to serve the Iraqi people and to serve to make my father and my UB proud. While I was there I sent Atlas Shrugged to my father for his birthday. It was my gift to him for turning me onto Rush. Not exactly a fair trade. I also sent him the Limbaugh letter for Christmas a couple of times. Still…not quite there. Actually, there’s really nothing I can do for him that can compare to what he did for me, but I’ll never stop trying! You may call it silly, but it was one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me. I’ll be forever grateful that my father loved me and his country enough to share Rush with me.
While I lived in the big metropolis of Houston, politics didn’t really enter my life in a tangible way, but I never turned the radio off of Rush from 11 am to 2 pm. And the dedication paid off. Several years ago I left the big city and the big corporate paycheck and headed east where the pine trees grow a hundred feet tall and the locals have been round these parts for as many years. I beeboped into this whisper of a town with big city ideas and a big city attitude “I can do anything I want b/c I’m an American”. I bought a building on the courthouse square (no sense making a ripple, splashes are more fun), turned it into a restaurant and applied for a liquor license…
…Stay tuned.
Check out my other blog www.sexinthewoods.blogspot.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
Dippity Do's & Don'ts
by Crystal Laramore
For as far back as I can remember I’ve wanted to own a salon. My friend since we were babies, Cynthia Thibodeaux, just wanted to cut, color, perm, twist and tie hair; namely mine! We have pictures of ourselves donning some very fetching wigs, dancing a jig atop an early 70’s model Ford. Yes, the fabulous world of making people feel beautiful, pampered and spoiled always attracted us.
Salons are a special place, for women much more so than men, but even men can agree that you do tell your hairdresser things you would never tell …It’s like an unwritten rule that as soon as you sit in that leather and steel chair you just lose control of your senses. The boundaries between right and wrong just get a little hazy when that nice lady is massaging your head like nobody’s business; all the blood just rushes right up there at one time, right along with all your friends’ best-kept secrets.
Why, salons have forevah (say it like a suuuhthanah) been the watering hole for gossip-crazed individuals-and you know who you are (and we do too, because who’s been gossiping is another thing we gossip about)! The local herald has never been as caught up as the local beauty salon on who’s cheatin’ whom, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore! When we’ve had a hard week we so look forward to dumping all that crazy data and we dump it at the salon. Mostly the chatter is harmless, mindless and is forgotten as soon as the next person sits downs and says “You’ll never guess who…”
We not only trust our stylist with our hair, we trust them with our secrets. And, our friends’ secrets too! They double as our beautician and our therapist. That’s what the tip is for…And if we are talking about Suzie and she’s next, we’ll never know it; discretion is as important as a good pair of scissors for a stylist.
Caution; True Story: Long ago and far away in the early 90’s Mona’s was my salon of choice. Mona, I believe, was from Egypt. Anyhoo, she discovered acrylic was a good thing to put on nails while working in a Dentist’s office. Poof. Rich. (Don’t hold me to the facts as I am a “creative” writer but for the sake of the story and facts and all…) Her first salon may have been in Dallas.
Mona’s beautiful daughter Jackie and her husband Tom owned/ran the salon in Houston. You could sit down, have a glass of champagne and have anything done to your body from washing your hair, having a massage right down to the pedicure. It was a great escape from Baker Hughes just a few blocks down the road! I was young, over-worked, underpaid, but never, ever under-indulged when I stepped thru the doors @ Mona’s Salon. My sanctuary was between Hillcroft and Fountainview for over a decade.
One day I was gladly giving Tom all of my hard-earned money and I noticed Tom had little beads of sweat on his forehead. Hmm. What’s wrong with you? “See that lady sitting in that chair waiting to get her nails done”? Yes. “See that lady sitting in that chair getting her nails done”? Yes. She’s sleeping with her husband and I don’t know WHO booked them back to back”! Snicker. So apparently everyone in the salon knew, kept it on the down-low, and the only two people in the salon who didn’t know (besides the clients) were the two getting pampered. And guess who paid for both pampering sessions…
Another time I was getting my nails all filled-in and the woman in front of me (all the clients faced one direction and all the technicians faced the other direction) was bragging on sleeping with one of the Houston Rockets players (yes, I know who, but in keeping with the discretion theme…) She was “hooking up with him again tonight after the game”. Tee hee hee”. No, she didn’t care he was married. And on and on she went bragging about details she wanted us all to hear. Then, just like that, the woman in front of her got up to leave, paused slightly by the cheater-chick, bent down and whispered, just loud enough for us to hear (she was facing me!), “When you see my husband tonight, please tell him I said hello”. She then gracefully paid her bill with his credit card. Oops. To hear a pin drop in a salon is quite a feat and she accomplished it! And over behind the counter you could see Tom, little beads of sweat…
We each feel like our stylist is our best buddy for 2-3 hours every six weeks. And they are; who else among your friends knows and keeps as many secrets as your stylist? And even though it’s only about every six weeks that we see them, it’s like no time has passed once her hands are producing a rich, thick lather on our scalp! “How’s fluffy? How’s the new job? How’s the new baby”. It’s mostly all about us and isn’t that just the way we like it?
Mostly. I said mostly. Whatever is going on in salons today has to stop! The last few times I’ve been to a salon (3 different ones) all I’ve heard about is their problems! Their economic crisis, their financial portfolio; are you kidding me? My stylist has a financial portfolio???? What is happening?
One stylist was yapping on and on about her husband and how she just didn’t know what to do? Personally, I thought she should shut-up and talk about her woes on her time. After all, I was the one in the chair, not her! The rules clearly state that the one in the chair gets to talk. The one standing up working gets to listen, nod and exclaim on cue, ”Really”. Hello! TIP!!!
This economic fuzzy stuff we are going through is affecting more than we know. The long-term effects could be devastating. If my stylists are turning on me, who’s next? My doctor? My lawyer? My maintenance man? “Why would I care if your blades are dull on your lawnmower??? What? YOU have a financial portfolio too?”
Salons are not like spas where no one speaks for fear of cracking a mask. No, salons are busy and loud, except on those rare occasions when the wrong two women are in the right two chairs... Anyway, salon air is full of a mixture of fragrances ranging from L’Oreal products, perm solution, bleach, and acrylics but, mostly the air is full of secrets. Our secrets. Our friend’s secrets. The salon is like a vault; you don’t get to go in there very often so once you are in, the time is treasured. We hear enough about the economic crisis from our great leader. We study the economy on a daily basis and watch the DOW and read the Wall-Street Journal. We listen to Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC…So, when we sit in your chair please let us go on with our mindless chatter about who’s cheatin’ who, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore!
After a beautiful daughter and an ugly divorce Cindy decided to make our big dreams come true and has made a big splash in the world of hair. She can be found keeping the best of secrets and cutting the best of hair at Studio 3 on University Blvd. in Houston, Texas. She can also be found NOT talking about her financial portfolio-and yes SHE has one too!
For as far back as I can remember I’ve wanted to own a salon. My friend since we were babies, Cynthia Thibodeaux, just wanted to cut, color, perm, twist and tie hair; namely mine! We have pictures of ourselves donning some very fetching wigs, dancing a jig atop an early 70’s model Ford. Yes, the fabulous world of making people feel beautiful, pampered and spoiled always attracted us.
Salons are a special place, for women much more so than men, but even men can agree that you do tell your hairdresser things you would never tell …It’s like an unwritten rule that as soon as you sit in that leather and steel chair you just lose control of your senses. The boundaries between right and wrong just get a little hazy when that nice lady is massaging your head like nobody’s business; all the blood just rushes right up there at one time, right along with all your friends’ best-kept secrets.
Why, salons have forevah (say it like a suuuhthanah) been the watering hole for gossip-crazed individuals-and you know who you are (and we do too, because who’s been gossiping is another thing we gossip about)! The local herald has never been as caught up as the local beauty salon on who’s cheatin’ whom, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore! When we’ve had a hard week we so look forward to dumping all that crazy data and we dump it at the salon. Mostly the chatter is harmless, mindless and is forgotten as soon as the next person sits downs and says “You’ll never guess who…”
We not only trust our stylist with our hair, we trust them with our secrets. And, our friends’ secrets too! They double as our beautician and our therapist. That’s what the tip is for…And if we are talking about Suzie and she’s next, we’ll never know it; discretion is as important as a good pair of scissors for a stylist.
Caution; True Story: Long ago and far away in the early 90’s Mona’s was my salon of choice. Mona, I believe, was from Egypt. Anyhoo, she discovered acrylic was a good thing to put on nails while working in a Dentist’s office. Poof. Rich. (Don’t hold me to the facts as I am a “creative” writer but for the sake of the story and facts and all…) Her first salon may have been in Dallas.
Mona’s beautiful daughter Jackie and her husband Tom owned/ran the salon in Houston. You could sit down, have a glass of champagne and have anything done to your body from washing your hair, having a massage right down to the pedicure. It was a great escape from Baker Hughes just a few blocks down the road! I was young, over-worked, underpaid, but never, ever under-indulged when I stepped thru the doors @ Mona’s Salon. My sanctuary was between Hillcroft and Fountainview for over a decade.
One day I was gladly giving Tom all of my hard-earned money and I noticed Tom had little beads of sweat on his forehead. Hmm. What’s wrong with you? “See that lady sitting in that chair waiting to get her nails done”? Yes. “See that lady sitting in that chair getting her nails done”? Yes. She’s sleeping with her husband and I don’t know WHO booked them back to back”! Snicker. So apparently everyone in the salon knew, kept it on the down-low, and the only two people in the salon who didn’t know (besides the clients) were the two getting pampered. And guess who paid for both pampering sessions…
Another time I was getting my nails all filled-in and the woman in front of me (all the clients faced one direction and all the technicians faced the other direction) was bragging on sleeping with one of the Houston Rockets players (yes, I know who, but in keeping with the discretion theme…) She was “hooking up with him again tonight after the game”. Tee hee hee”. No, she didn’t care he was married. And on and on she went bragging about details she wanted us all to hear. Then, just like that, the woman in front of her got up to leave, paused slightly by the cheater-chick, bent down and whispered, just loud enough for us to hear (she was facing me!), “When you see my husband tonight, please tell him I said hello”. She then gracefully paid her bill with his credit card. Oops. To hear a pin drop in a salon is quite a feat and she accomplished it! And over behind the counter you could see Tom, little beads of sweat…
We each feel like our stylist is our best buddy for 2-3 hours every six weeks. And they are; who else among your friends knows and keeps as many secrets as your stylist? And even though it’s only about every six weeks that we see them, it’s like no time has passed once her hands are producing a rich, thick lather on our scalp! “How’s fluffy? How’s the new job? How’s the new baby”. It’s mostly all about us and isn’t that just the way we like it?
Mostly. I said mostly. Whatever is going on in salons today has to stop! The last few times I’ve been to a salon (3 different ones) all I’ve heard about is their problems! Their economic crisis, their financial portfolio; are you kidding me? My stylist has a financial portfolio???? What is happening?
One stylist was yapping on and on about her husband and how she just didn’t know what to do? Personally, I thought she should shut-up and talk about her woes on her time. After all, I was the one in the chair, not her! The rules clearly state that the one in the chair gets to talk. The one standing up working gets to listen, nod and exclaim on cue, ”Really”. Hello! TIP!!!
This economic fuzzy stuff we are going through is affecting more than we know. The long-term effects could be devastating. If my stylists are turning on me, who’s next? My doctor? My lawyer? My maintenance man? “Why would I care if your blades are dull on your lawnmower??? What? YOU have a financial portfolio too?”
Salons are not like spas where no one speaks for fear of cracking a mask. No, salons are busy and loud, except on those rare occasions when the wrong two women are in the right two chairs... Anyway, salon air is full of a mixture of fragrances ranging from L’Oreal products, perm solution, bleach, and acrylics but, mostly the air is full of secrets. Our secrets. Our friend’s secrets. The salon is like a vault; you don’t get to go in there very often so once you are in, the time is treasured. We hear enough about the economic crisis from our great leader. We study the economy on a daily basis and watch the DOW and read the Wall-Street Journal. We listen to Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC…So, when we sit in your chair please let us go on with our mindless chatter about who’s cheatin’ who, who’s being true and who don’t even care anymore!
After a beautiful daughter and an ugly divorce Cindy decided to make our big dreams come true and has made a big splash in the world of hair. She can be found keeping the best of secrets and cutting the best of hair at Studio 3 on University Blvd. in Houston, Texas. She can also be found NOT talking about her financial portfolio-and yes SHE has one too!
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