The World is Full of Stupid People

Everybody knows: The world if full of stupid people, so meet me at the mission at midnight and we'll divvy up there.

This is a line from the song "Banditos" by the Refreshments. I am reminded often that the world is full of stupid people. Lately as I have been reading the news online I have been reminded of that more and more.

Take for example, the Louisiana store clerk that consumed five pints of vodka while at work, fell, hurt himself and then called cops to report a "fake" robbery.

Just yesterday, the story of the Alabama parents that are claiming the middle school classes are segregated was brought to my attention. "The parents of several black junior high school students have filed a discrimination lawsuit claiming their children are subject to racial slurs and punished more harshly than white students at Monroeville Junior High School." This action was originally filed last August, but has been turned down by several lawyers. Do these parents really think they have a case? The case has been investigated and has been found to be "baseless".

Authorities in Germany have arrested a couple for a listing they made on eBay. The couple listed a 7 month old baby for sale for 1 euro or about $1.60. The baby has been removed from the home and placed in the care of Youth Services. The mother told the police that the listing on eBay was just a joke, but the people viewing it didn't. No offers were made during the 2 hours and 30 minutes that the child was up for sale, and eBay has deleted the listing from the site.

Things are a little off in New Mexico. A group there is seeking a ban on Wi-Fi signals in public buildings because they say they are allergic to wireless signals. One man claims he gets chest pains that don't go away soon enough. The city councilor says its 2008 not 1692. He says the people of Santa Fe need to embrace technology. The most stupid part of the story, I thought, was found in the last line. "The Santa Fe city attorney is checking to see if the Wi-Fi signals could be considered a form of discrimination, KOB reports." Are you kidding me?

As I was going through the news from back home in Richmond, I found the most stupid story of the week. A Petersburg, Virginia parent is suing the city School Board for $5,000 because they changed the time of her son's graduation ceremony. See HERE for yourself. The School Board changed the time of the graduation for 277 high school students from 6p.m. to 10 a.m. as they were concerned about the comfort of the attendees having to sit on metal bleachers. The mother that is suing the school board states that she had ordered 25 invitations with the old time on them with a cost of a little over $300. She is suing for $5,000 because the change in time will cause her to have to be absent from work and the change in time will cause suffering to the family because they will be unable to get off in time from work to get to the graduation. I seriously don't know how she thinks this case is going to go anywhere. The School Board held public meetings to gather input from the public about the time of the graduation. The principal of the school also met with the senior class and sent a letter home to their parents when the decision had been made. This woman's 500 signatures shouldn't make much difference, but her ignorance shows through in every facet of the story.


So as you can see, these news stories just confirm the world is full of stupid people.

Going home

It's funny that my last post was about treasuring the time I spend with my parents. I woke up this morning after having an interesting night only to have a misunderstanding with my roommate. It ended with me slamming my door, showering, packing, and getting on the road. Where was I going? HOME.

After a 3 1/2 hour drive, I pulled into my driveway and this is what I saw:
While the picture turned out dark, I felt like I was in heaven being home. I hadn't seen this place in months. As I got out of the car and gathered my things, I noticed my mom on the side deck waving out to me. She was just as excited to see me as I was to be home.

This was not the house I grew up in. I grew up in the house two drives down. This is the house we moved to about 5 years ago. It is the house that my grandparents lived in for many years. I went in and looked out the back window. I looked out over the green fields and was reminded of just how much I love this place.

Tonight, I sat in the hot tub and watched the stars and the planes. When I was growing up I would sit in the yard with my dad and watch the planes go by. Some would fly north to Washington D.C. while others fly east to Richmond. Some are military planes, others are carrying hundreds of people. After counting the stars, I looked out towards the back yard. There's the barn I remember playing in as a little girl. It has been there for over 50 years. There's the jet ski, the boat, the golf cart, and random pieces of junk. As I looked at each thing in the back yard, I was reminded of stories from the past.

I rarely come home, so when I do it is like a retreat for me. I can come and go as I please. I get to talk to my parents and enjoy the conversations. However, after a few days I'm ready to leave. I'll be missing the freedom and the people I have in North Carolina. But for now, I'm happy to be home.


(Photos: first photo is of my house as I drove up this evening. second is of my mom waving at me.)

I get it...

When I first accepted my job at Campbell University working with international students I was told that I needed to find ways to get to know the students and really get on their level. As I began to meet students and hear their excitement about being back in school or for being in the United States for the first time, I kept hearing something of the same tune over and over again. These students missed their parents. Each of my students comes to Buies Creek leaving behind moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and so on. While all students leave their families behind, international students have to leave them much further behind. As the students began to share about missing their parents I could only listen. I hadn't experienced the extreme sense of missing my family like the internationals.

Throughout the past year I have realized that I get it. I understand (to an extent) what it is like to be far away from family. While I only live 3 1/2 hours away from my family, I don't get to see them that often. It used to be that I traveled home about once a month. Now there are weeks on end between the time I see my parents and sister. The last time I went home to Virginia was in the middle of March. It's now the middle of May and I still haven't been home. However, tonight I got a special treat. My mom and dad happened to be driving through North Carolina so I got to meet them for dinner and share with them for Mother's Day and dads 53rd birthday. It was lots of fun seeing them and reconnecting.

I need to admit, I get it. I know what it's like to miss someone so much that you can't put it into words. I know what it is like to feel so far away. The talks on the phone are nice but that gets old. Sometimes you just need a hug from your mom. I guess that other than "getting it" (understanding what my students deal with) I am realizing how much I am growing up. I graduate with my master of divinity next year and after that who knows where I will end up.

Until the next time I get to see my family, I will treasure the few hours we spent together tonight.

Put a smile on your face. Laugh out Loud.

I have found that when I am feeling down a good hearty laugh out loud makes me feel better. I might feel better for that moment or it may last and help me to get over the situation all together. The thing about me is that I don't laugh out loud often enough. I laugh on the inside, holding things in. I'm told that you can really know when I think something is funny because I do in fact let out a good hearty laugh.

As I was thinking about laughing, I remembered that my church history professor at the beginning of the semester said something about the importance of laughter. She talked about how it was contagious and how good laughter is for your health. Out of nowhere she started to laugh. She had a glow on her face. She was right, it was contagious. The classroom started to fill with laughter as the various students sat there and laughed.

My professor was right. Laughter is good for our health. "The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. Humor and laughter can cause a domino effect of joy and amusement, as well as set off a number of positive physical effects. Humor and laughter strengthen our immune systems and help us recover from illness, as well as bring joy into our lives."
Helpguide.org provides much information on the benefits of laughter. Not only does laughter help our emotional health, it can also have numerous benefits on our physical health from lowering blood pressure to preventing heart disease.

I realized today that lately I have been surrounded by negative people. When I'm surrounded by negative people I become negative. Instead of having a positive outlook on life I am finding myself being negative about most things. Today I was called by a negative person. I listened to her and then when were finished I got off the phone and started to laugh. I realized that everything she was complaining about was out of my hands and I could do absolutely nothing about it. As I was laughing she called back. She called to complain again and get my advise. I told her that it was her issue and she needed to figure out how to handle it. When we hung up again, I smiled. Look what laughter can do. For a moment, I feel better (and healthier).

So tell a joke, watch a comedian, or just laugh for no other reason than to laugh. It will make you feel better.