Wednesday Morning post

A sweet dog and her owner walked by this morning, she was in a smart pink jacket, I was not sure what the owner/walker was wearing....What a sweet puppy, on a walk in the crisp morning as the children are waiting for the bus at the street corner.

Sunday Weslee decided we would make Cinnamon Buns from scratch.  We make the dough in the bread machine, let it rise for two hours, then roll it up with cinnamon inside.  We cut it into the buns, and place in onto the pan, let it rise again.  We bake and then I ice it, Weslee eats the buns without icing.  I put several buns into the freezer, so we could still have them for breakfast a few days later, and they would taste fresh.  They were delicious! See recipe at Allrecipes, "Clone of a Cinnabon".

It is unbelievable how quickly the year is ending, and we need to consider vacation time.  School will end in a few weeks.  Baseball season is here, and the trees are all green.  The dandelions are strong, grass is sprouted, and we are definitely in the warmer weather.  I have been struggling with  sneezing and itchy eyes so the pollen must be up.  It poured down rain last night, and my rain barrel is full.  So is the pond.

This morning Weslee goes on about high school students being drafted into colleges, college students being drafted into professional teams.

"What percentage of students end up actually getting into the major leagues, Weslee?"
"Three percent."

"It's important to get a good education!"

"Almost all professionals have business degrees; the second most popular degree is some medical related degree like physical therapy."

"I would think they have an interest in coaching, too."

"Lots of players go back to school for law degrees after they leave
sports."

"Maybe because they get into so many legal problems..."


Friday morning thoughts...
It has come to my attention that the human mind easily gets stuck in a profile.  Meet a German Shepard  on a walk, and you expect  "police like" behavior.  Meet a pit bull looking dog, and you expect violence between dogs.  A tiny dog is always a yappy dog, and spoiled...more likely when attired in a frilly pink dress.

We do the same to people and their attire, which is where the costume designers in the theatre and the movies find their renown.  Costume design is not just knowing the correct period and fashion of the time, but the "look" that pigeon holes the specific character we want the human mind to grasp, so easily foiled into a profile.  Adding a different color, a slightly more subtle size or accessory makes a huge difference in our perceptions.  Let a character lower their pants by a few inches, see what we think....immediately.  And if we do NOT make a value judgement, we have that inner argument about, "should we be thinking this is a questionable character, or is this JUST clothing?"

As a student years ago, I recall frequent arguments with my Mother.  Yes, Mother's Day nears, and I do think of her and her words POP into my head.

"LOOK at that woman with RED nails!  That is horrible!  I think only of blood oozing from her fingers!  She must be a prostitute...."

"But MOM,"  I would counter, "It is only a color!  It does not mean anything.  It is in fashion right now, and all the models are wearing it to go with the latest lipstick colors."

Mother's Final Words:  "Only street walkers wear red on their lips and nails."

Mother had perceptions about HAIR.  A man with a beard, was trying to hide something.  Usually he hid a character flaw, but it may be hiding his past.  In the end, "He is up to no good, mark my words!"

If a student had some sort of bangs, it was to hide her face.  She was hiding something.  She was not to be trusted, and Mother would ask her to tie back her hair.  Mother needed to see a person's eyes CLEARLY.  If they were hidden, it was a very bad sign.  She judged others on the ease by which she could see their eyes.  Mother approved neither of a few stray hair in the face nor mass curtain of bangs across your forehead.  It was all unacceptable.  Hair was to be waved back, pulled back, braided back, tied back,  all OUT OF YOUR FACE!

It was easy for her to judge a person on first glance, and she did so all the time.  Snap decisions were a way of life. I will say she was wrong a lot, she would say, "I am never wrong!"

In some ways our gut instinct can lead us to truths that seem untrue.  Maybe the movie star was led to the red nail polish BECAUSE she was forced to sleep with everyone in the studio to get the parts she did as she moved toward stardom.  Maybe the teen wearing her hair over her eyes IS hiding a bad case of acne and does not want anyone to look into her face, thinking they are staring at her forehead where her skin is so ugly.

 Maybe the facts in a  profile should awaken us to a deeper reality.   We need to search for the true meanings of the details and the fine distinctions of each case.  We need to dig below the surface of the profile and investigate each case on its own merits, letting the profile remain an interesting aspect of the human mind.