My, how times have changed!

Good Morning fellow bloggers! I'm writing after 5 hours of sleep, 9 cups of coffee and three pre-teens invaded my home for the celebration of my only daughter turning 13. And times have definitely changed.

Why? I remember my 13th birthday. My friends came over. We had cake, ice cream, listened to music, acted goofy, played jokes on each other and when the party was over, most went home, except for 2-3 of my closest friends. We stayed at my grandmother's house, listened to music, and were genuinely well-behaved. So why me, Lord? Why me?

I witnessed three girls act like fools. At McDonald's, my daughter, myself, and one of her three friends talked over our meal. The other two? Waving at people in the drive thru line, showing out, acting ridiculous. At Walmart (had to make a run for hubby), the same two decided to act silly, waiving at people randomly, and not in a 'hi, how ya doin' kinda way, but in a ' I'm weird, look at me, i need attention' kinda way. Red-faced, my daughter, myself and one of her friends were trying to inconspicuously walk in front of them, fast!

At the checkout, one of the friends asked if she could have the check-out guys cell phone. And she was serious. I didn't hear everything, but apparently the check out guy did, and he looked at me like, 'aren't you going to say anything to her'. So I asked him, "what did she say?" He told me and I looked at her and said, "that's random in every sense of the word. Why would you ask him that?" She said, "Because I can" <with attitude!  So, I apologized, informed him that she was attending my daughter's sleep over and that I'm sure he can understand. He nodded, offered his sympathies for the entire evening and we left. My daughter was utterly humiliated. Being a parent to her, I could have disciplined her should she ever say anything like that. As for this girl, I simply said, "Please be respectful when you are out with us. We do not draw attention to ourselves like that and we certainly don't approach people and ask for things we know we can't and don't have. It is disrespectful to put people in those positions." She looked at me, rolled her eyes...

I tore her butt up in my head...

At the house, my daughter's brothers are dying for cake and ice cream, so we get the cake and ice cream out. Then we sing Happy Birthday. I know they were just excited but, part of me thinks this is sabotage in it's greatest form! Take a listen!

Through out the evening, my daughter is ignored by a couple of the girls she invited. One happens to be extremely hyper and thinks everything has to be her way. My daughter let them pick out the rental movies to be nice... They wouldn't even be quiet for her to watch them!

Alas, you know when your child does something that you would generally not be supportive of? That thing they can do that makes them a little stronger, but on that same token, you worry? Yeah, she done that... And I was so proud of her... Midnight:thirty (it was a long day and I was extremely tired, I don't remember what time it was, but it was closer to dawn that dusk), they are all in the living room, myself included. Two of the girls are loud. Keep in mind, my husband and two of our three boys are trying to sleep. I look at my daughter with an apologetic face who smiles... I think oh hell, she is having fun and I'm totally trippin! Then, out of no where... "Hey y'all, I don't mean this to be rude but please... shut... up!"  Score one for the teenager! One replies with "GARN"... apparently that is go away right now in text mode... I chime in because I too, am trying to watch the movie. "Neither one of us can hear the television. And she lives here, she can't very well go away. Please be respectful of each other."  Again, eye rolls from the attention seeker, and a sigh from the princess who wants things her way. 

I tell my daughter at 2am that I am going to bed and when this movie goes off to hit the lights and tell everyone to go to sleep. She said OK. I know I can trust her.

At 5:15am my husband wakes me up saying, "we need to talk"... OK... He tells me that one of the girls just ran down the hall to our daughters bedroom. I get up and find my daughter sound asleep, two girls awake and one in my daughter's bed asleep.  In addition, I find my two little boys up, confused, and irritated. I help them to the bathroom, use it myself, turn on the coffee maker and prepare my revenge...

At 7am, I hear nearly everyone snoring... except for the attention seeker... so I plan a separate way to get her back. I get up, start banging around in the kitchen. The attention seeker sighs real loud and I ask her if she got any sleep. She said, no, I tried, but they wouldn't let me go to sleep. I said well, that is too bad. We have to get a good jump on the day! She gets mad and wakes up our daughter, who, as this girl does not know, is not a morning person. I laughed when she told her to go away right now! Touche, I thought to myself. Karma? Maybe! Bwuahahaha

At 7:30am I tell everyone it's time to get up. My daughter wakes up the one who ran down the hall and we listen to her whine for a little bit, but then I intercede after my daughter tries to explain to her nicely that we can't sleep all day." I also try to assist her in the explanation only to be met with a rebuttal -- "but I didn't get to sleep for very long." I laughed, and said, neither did I, sucks doesn't it. Ahh, the joys of being a grown up with POWER!!!!

To make a long story longer, not one gift from two of the girls... How sad is that. I understand that times are tight for everyone and you should never expect anything... but when I was growing up, if you didn't take something, you just didn't go. That simple... Now days, you throw a party, pay for everything and buy treat bags for the visitors... When did that happen... Needless to say, my daughter, the loving soul that she is, said, "Thanks mom. I really did enjoy my party, even though they were loud and obnoxious"...

Before the girls left, Kasidy and I were talking and the princess said, "You two get along not like a mother and daughter. Like friends. Most moms are way weird and don't know how to have fun but you two really do."  I looked at Kasidy and said, "yeah, we have it figured out!" I gave her a big kiss and hug and told her I loved her very much. And not to change one thing about herself for anybody. She was perfect. And I know that despite our conflicts, she will make good choices and good decisions throughout her life.

Well, it's been a long night and a longer day... I'm tired... Think I'll call it quits!

Until tomorrow,

LaVonda

PS... How did I get the attention seeker back? She had mentioned that she didn't like Tyler Perry movies... So we watched Madea Goes to Jail! 

Can Dead Terrorists Swim?

"For Mr. Bassham, an excellent teacher and instructor... Thanks for teaching me to look at all sides of the box before I climb out of it.  ~LaVonda"

WTC September 11, 2001

My, oh my, where to begin. First the basics.
1.) Foreign or domestic, terrorists are still terrorists.
2.) God, Allah, Buddha -- Aren't we all created equal in the eyes of biology?
3.) Ecclesiastes 3:8 "A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."
4.) Not all Muslims are terrorists: Not all terrorists are Muslim.


And for a brief rant about religion [at 2:56] and terrorism, best described by Will Smith, "... The greatest atrocities ever committed on this planet have been in the name of God. This country was founded by the *Puritans for the expressed purpose of oppression free worship. Your attitude is the same arrogant fearful fundamentalism that fueled the hatred of  the crusades in the attacks on 9/11. If we are not allowed to worship God as groups and individuals, free from persecution and respectful tolerance, there is only one out come."
*With the exception of the Native Americans who were here first, but that is a completely new blog. I'll save that for another time.




Is it possible the war is over,
or just beginning?

 Radical Islamic Terrorists do not want peace... They demand world domination, something akin to Nazi Germany and Hitler's reign.  The truth is, the Taliban and al Qaeda are not allies... entirely. To make a very long story short, in the beginning, three men joined the volunteers of Pakistan to fight against Russia during the cold war: Mullah Mohammed Omar (religious extremist), Ahmad Shah Massoud (strategic fighter) and Osama bin Laden (wealthy). Days had passed and Omar had become a hero in the eyes of the Afghan people. Omar had decided that the true state of Afghanistan would be to restore peace, disarm the population, enforce Sharia Law, and defend the integrity and Islamic character of Afghanistan (Rashid).

, “… Sharia Law does not allow politics or political parties… You are to …live like the Prophet [Mohammed] lived 1,400 years ago and jihad is the right of our people…” (Rashid). Sharia law is defined as “total and unqualified submission to the will of Allah [God]” (Encyclopedia Britannica). The literal translation of jihad is struggle or struggle with the self and is described as “a religious duty imposed on Muslims to spread Islam by waging war [Holy War] (Encyclopedia Britannica).


OK... let that digest for a minute and think about this. The people of Afghanistan do not have a choice. They are ruled by Sharia law and anyone who is willing to impose it. What is Sharia Law? Open wide, this one tastes nasty!


“…banned women from working outside the home, smashed TV sets, forbade a whole array of sports and recreational activities and ordered all males to grow long beards. In addition, while in public, women must cover their faces with a Hijab. Men can have up to four wives and can divorce at their option. If they do not divorce their first wife but just abandon her, she is obliged to carry on as a married woman and cannot seek out another spouse without risking the traditional punishment for adultery: stoning. Stoning is done in public by first wrapping a person in a blanket and burying them in a deep hole exposing only their head and the population gathered around is invited to throw large stones at the adulterer, the size of which Sharia law prescribes, and a sentence is always fatal. And if that isn't enough, the penalty after a fourth conviction of a homosexual act is death. Sharia law prohibits dating and marriage between a Muslim and a non-Muslim and it is practically impossible for a Muslim (even a recent convert) to renounce the Muslim faith." The list goes on and on.




Osama bin Laden

 The Fatwa (A ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority) heard around the world... well, at least in the Government world, because I don't remember hearing about this until after 9/11.  "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies - civilian and military - is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the Al-Aqsa mosque armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to be threatened by any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, 'Fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together' and 'Fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and then, will justice prevail and faith in Allah' ~Osama bin Laden"  And continuing the Fatwa, "Bin Laden's Fatwa against the U.S. claiming: For 7 years, the U.S. has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places... Now they (the U.S.) come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors. The Americans goals behind these wars are religious, economic, their aim is also to serve the Jew's."


There's a little background into The Taliban and al Qaeda. Trying to keep it short, but I warned you, this would be a rant blog, full of education, opinion and a down and out gripe session.  Now, the question is, can a dead terrorist swim? The answer is yes. Because when you remove one, two more grow back.  Right now, I imagine the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other regimes are preparing for another night of war. Only this time, we'll have to figure out who the leader is again, only to declare war, again... and in ten or twelve years, we'll be talking about another dead terrorist being dropped into the sea. This raises a few more questions.


1.) Why is the U.S. conforming to Muslim law regarding burial when they didn't conform to our right to live (i.e., 9/11, 1998 Kenya and Tanzania, USS Cole, etc.)?
2.) If DNA was taken before the body was 'dropped into the sea', do they have a specific sample to test it against for verification?
3.) The Seals, proud and rightfully should be. According to one site "An American soldier, who Obama just a few weeks ago was debating on whether or not to PAY, did in fact claim to have assassinated bin Laden." Should we ever debate on paying our troops?
4.) Will the gas prices go up more or go down?
5.) And with all my facebook friends, I've yet to get one answer on my questionnaire I posted this morning, so I'm not sure what everyone thinks, but I'd say from the statements made at work, some believe he is dead, some want proof and some want pictures. Other's claim this is just a thing to make the President look good.


You be the judge. One thing is for sure...  When a person is humiliated, when his rights are being violated, and he does not have the proper education, naturally he gravitates toward terrorism. But what happens when his education is extensive and biased? What happens when a country involves religion into their education for the sake of saving their nation?  What happens when an act of self-fulfilling prophecy results in terrorism of epic proportion? Well, he ends up swimming with the fishes... and is reborn in a field of hatred and turmoil for those who seek honor for their God... and death for those who humiliated them to begin with.


Until tomorrow,
LaVonda 
P.S.  All information included in this blog is from a research paper written by LaVonda Evans.  Documented and scholarly sources available upon request.