One of my darling friends who is always helping me surprised me with a phone with which to start my new phone service. Aside from having to adjust to yet another bill, the phone itself is a Rubic's Cube of the technology world. Last night, it sent me text messages like, "someone else has taken over your account. Go to www....." Of course, I was horrified and went right over to the website and could not see what is the matter. I am still the owner of record, and the address and phone are correct. I am mystified. Why did I get that message? Is there something nefarious going on behind the scenes that I can't see? I woke up fretting over this.
Reading the book is no help. It tells me, "if you want to do this then do that. I don't even know what this is, much less whether or not I want to do that. If I don't do that, I wonder if I am being somehow remiss. Am I supposed to do that? Should I do it? I am underlining the "this" and the "that" because I don't even understand it well enough to give it a name.
Sometimes the phone prompts me and says that there are Wi-Fi networks available. Oh, goodie. And? Am I supposed to do something at this point, or is the phone pointing out something that doesn't pertain to me because I don't have internet on my phone? Is it the phone's version of that kid's game where you count every yellow car between here and Denver? "Oh, look...there's another yellow car." Nothing to be done about it. It's just another yellow car.
There are all sorts of teeny tiny little icons on the top of the phone. I haven't the foggiest what they mean. I haven't gotten to that part of the book yet, but I strongly suspect they have something to do with the internet again. Who knows?
First thing this morning I had to go to the store to buy my cat some of the food he is NOT supposed to eat because he is dying of kidney disease but which is the only type of food he WILL eat. I mix it with the prescription food that costs nearly $2 a can and hope for the best. The last 2 days, he has refused to eat because I only gave him the prescription food and he was not having it. At any rate, I pop the frustrating phone into my purse with a snort of disgust and head out the door.
On the way out of the Walgreens near my house, a man walks into the alley where they have placed the designated handicap parking (Yes, put the fragile disabled people in the alley where no one can see them get mugged. Makes perfect sense.) He proceeds to pull out his member and urinate against the wall, right there in front of me. I am insulted and embarrassed, of course. One of my pet peeves is the casual way in which so many men fling their bodily fluids onto the pavements from various orifices. It's revolting. I couldn't get into the car fast enough. Never have I been so grateful for automatic door locks! It's like the urban version of the USS Enterprise. "Shields up!"
I once saw a tour bus pull up into that same alley and several men exited the bus, stepped into the trash cubicle, and urinated behind the garbage bins. Lovely surprise for the poor maintenance men that have to tidy that area. Can you imagine?
Not long ago, I witnessed a man blow his nose onto the pavement. He just held one nostril and let the other one blow out its contents. One is always seeing men spitting onto the sidewalk. This is where everyone walks, mind you. It's a filthy business. Whatever happened to a nice handkerchief? Again, I do not see women spitting onto the pavement, and I am so curious to know whether or not the male of our species have an extra gland in their mouths that women do not have, and they have to expel the contents now and then.
In the animal world, behavioral differences between the male and female of the species are meant to attract one another. I wonder if I have misunderstood something crucial all these years. If so, I wish the male of our species would do something lovely instead of urinating and spitting in front of strange ladies. What about dancing? I saw a beautiful film about a particular kind of bird in the rain forest that has exquisite plumage and does this amazing dance whenever a female comes near them. It was mesmerizing. How about something like that? I think I would rather enjoy watching that, especially if the plumage was pretty.
So, this morning, before I had a chance to settle into the car and flee the scene, I had to witness that man casually put his penis back into his elastic-waist shorts and then saunter back to the payday loan establishment a few doors down. I would bet that the payday loan shop doesn't allow anyone to use their bathroom, so the man decided to do what he did. I've never seen a woman do that. You know what women do. They wait. They hold it until they get to a bathroom. I have also wondered to myself if there is something inherently flawed with the male urinary system and they are physically unable to wait, poor dears. Of course, I've never seen any one of them actually let loose inside a store, mind you. "Oh no! I think my waters just broke." No, that doesn't happen. They must have some kind of control.
If some men feel they absolutely cannot be made to wait, perhaps it is time we started marketing diapers to them. Either wear a diaper, or we'll ticket you $100 for peeing on the sidewalk. That sounds like a uniquely American situation. We love to punish people. That's why we have so many people in prison.
On the other hand, we could simply take care of one another in a better way by providing bathrooms in shopping centers and public places as a matter of course. You know why we don't have those? It costs money to build and maintain bathrooms and we don't want to spend money on other people. Our hard-boiled individualism reflects itself in this and many other anti-social cultural constructs.
I often wonder why, with our great freedom to construct a society of any type we want, the western world, for the most part, has imagined itself into a world that is far uglier than it has to be. I think this is why we are so addicted to entertainment. We must escape into an imaginary dimension because we can't stand the one in which we actually live....the one we have constructed.
Some towns, however, have too much civic pride to let their streets turn into troughs of urine. In chi-chi tourist towns, like beautiful Carmel, California, even the gas stations and toilets have to be constructed and decorated in a specific style. There are very strict rules and building codes about this, all of which are designed to eliminate the ugly while harmonizing with nature. I don't think neon is allowed within the city limits. The residents of this town have an aesthetic vision of beauty that cannot be breached, and I am willing to bet that one would be hard pressed to find an ugly alley in which to pee in that little burgh. Even the toilets at the beach are substantial and beautiful.
Carmel proper is a smallish town, a wealthy enclave, and can afford to spend a lot of money to maintain a certain look and level of cleanliness. As with all things, it boils down to the availability of funds. Not all towns have the wealth of Carmel, which is where a Federal government program would come in handy. But there is that pesky selfishness we have to contend with. People in California don't want to pay taxes to help raise the standard of living somewhere else. "Who cares about the wellbeing of people in New Mexico? I've got mine, and that's all that matters."
I'm convinced that it is time for a paradigm shift to a model of society that is supportive of all its members, one that is kind, gentle, loving and generous toward one another and the earth on which we live; a culture that recognizes the need for beauty that is in harmony with nature and doesn't want to cover everything over with cement. Just as the industrial revolution pushed Americans off the farms and into the city, it is time for another model to take over. We only have to decide what we want and then put it into action.
The first thing I want is for everyone to have access to the basic needs of life, and what could be more basic than a sanitary and attractive loo? That, and a telephone that doesn't require an advanced degree in computer sciences to operate.
Silver Rose Parnell
Copyright (c) 2015
All rights reserved.
My new "Zinger" telephone
Reading the book is no help. It tells me, "if you want to do this then do that. I don't even know what this is, much less whether or not I want to do that. If I don't do that, I wonder if I am being somehow remiss. Am I supposed to do that? Should I do it? I am underlining the "this" and the "that" because I don't even understand it well enough to give it a name.
Sometimes the phone prompts me and says that there are Wi-Fi networks available. Oh, goodie. And? Am I supposed to do something at this point, or is the phone pointing out something that doesn't pertain to me because I don't have internet on my phone? Is it the phone's version of that kid's game where you count every yellow car between here and Denver? "Oh, look...there's another yellow car." Nothing to be done about it. It's just another yellow car.
VW van
There are all sorts of teeny tiny little icons on the top of the phone. I haven't the foggiest what they mean. I haven't gotten to that part of the book yet, but I strongly suspect they have something to do with the internet again. Who knows?
His Majesty, Shivaasna
aka "Mr. Fuzzy Pants"
First thing this morning I had to go to the store to buy my cat some of the food he is NOT supposed to eat because he is dying of kidney disease but which is the only type of food he WILL eat. I mix it with the prescription food that costs nearly $2 a can and hope for the best. The last 2 days, he has refused to eat because I only gave him the prescription food and he was not having it. At any rate, I pop the frustrating phone into my purse with a snort of disgust and head out the door.
On the way out of the Walgreens near my house, a man walks into the alley where they have placed the designated handicap parking (Yes, put the fragile disabled people in the alley where no one can see them get mugged. Makes perfect sense.) He proceeds to pull out his member and urinate against the wall, right there in front of me. I am insulted and embarrassed, of course. One of my pet peeves is the casual way in which so many men fling their bodily fluids onto the pavements from various orifices. It's revolting. I couldn't get into the car fast enough. Never have I been so grateful for automatic door locks! It's like the urban version of the USS Enterprise. "Shields up!"
USS Starship Enterprise
I once saw a tour bus pull up into that same alley and several men exited the bus, stepped into the trash cubicle, and urinated behind the garbage bins. Lovely surprise for the poor maintenance men that have to tidy that area. Can you imagine?
Not long ago, I witnessed a man blow his nose onto the pavement. He just held one nostril and let the other one blow out its contents. One is always seeing men spitting onto the sidewalk. This is where everyone walks, mind you. It's a filthy business. Whatever happened to a nice handkerchief? Again, I do not see women spitting onto the pavement, and I am so curious to know whether or not the male of our species have an extra gland in their mouths that women do not have, and they have to expel the contents now and then.
bird of paradise, displaying for a
female
In the animal world, behavioral differences between the male and female of the species are meant to attract one another. I wonder if I have misunderstood something crucial all these years. If so, I wish the male of our species would do something lovely instead of urinating and spitting in front of strange ladies. What about dancing? I saw a beautiful film about a particular kind of bird in the rain forest that has exquisite plumage and does this amazing dance whenever a female comes near them. It was mesmerizing. How about something like that? I think I would rather enjoy watching that, especially if the plumage was pretty.
So, this morning, before I had a chance to settle into the car and flee the scene, I had to witness that man casually put his penis back into his elastic-waist shorts and then saunter back to the payday loan establishment a few doors down. I would bet that the payday loan shop doesn't allow anyone to use their bathroom, so the man decided to do what he did. I've never seen a woman do that. You know what women do. They wait. They hold it until they get to a bathroom. I have also wondered to myself if there is something inherently flawed with the male urinary system and they are physically unable to wait, poor dears. Of course, I've never seen any one of them actually let loose inside a store, mind you. "Oh no! I think my waters just broke." No, that doesn't happen. They must have some kind of control.
If some men feel they absolutely cannot be made to wait, perhaps it is time we started marketing diapers to them. Either wear a diaper, or we'll ticket you $100 for peeing on the sidewalk. That sounds like a uniquely American situation. We love to punish people. That's why we have so many people in prison.
On the other hand, we could simply take care of one another in a better way by providing bathrooms in shopping centers and public places as a matter of course. You know why we don't have those? It costs money to build and maintain bathrooms and we don't want to spend money on other people. Our hard-boiled individualism reflects itself in this and many other anti-social cultural constructs.
Public bathroom in Thailand
I often wonder why, with our great freedom to construct a society of any type we want, the western world, for the most part, has imagined itself into a world that is far uglier than it has to be. I think this is why we are so addicted to entertainment. We must escape into an imaginary dimension because we can't stand the one in which we actually live....the one we have constructed.
Gas Station in Carmel, California
Some towns, however, have too much civic pride to let their streets turn into troughs of urine. In chi-chi tourist towns, like beautiful Carmel, California, even the gas stations and toilets have to be constructed and decorated in a specific style. There are very strict rules and building codes about this, all of which are designed to eliminate the ugly while harmonizing with nature. I don't think neon is allowed within the city limits. The residents of this town have an aesthetic vision of beauty that cannot be breached, and I am willing to bet that one would be hard pressed to find an ugly alley in which to pee in that little burgh. Even the toilets at the beach are substantial and beautiful.
Public bathrooms at a Carmel beach
Carmel proper is a smallish town, a wealthy enclave, and can afford to spend a lot of money to maintain a certain look and level of cleanliness. As with all things, it boils down to the availability of funds. Not all towns have the wealth of Carmel, which is where a Federal government program would come in handy. But there is that pesky selfishness we have to contend with. People in California don't want to pay taxes to help raise the standard of living somewhere else. "Who cares about the wellbeing of people in New Mexico? I've got mine, and that's all that matters."
I'm convinced that it is time for a paradigm shift to a model of society that is supportive of all its members, one that is kind, gentle, loving and generous toward one another and the earth on which we live; a culture that recognizes the need for beauty that is in harmony with nature and doesn't want to cover everything over with cement. Just as the industrial revolution pushed Americans off the farms and into the city, it is time for another model to take over. We only have to decide what we want and then put it into action.
The first thing I want is for everyone to have access to the basic needs of life, and what could be more basic than a sanitary and attractive loo? That, and a telephone that doesn't require an advanced degree in computer sciences to operate.
Silver Rose Parnell
Copyright (c) 2015
All rights reserved.
Interesting, I once said something to two drunk men, one of whom was urinating up the Church one evening, seems any alley is good enough. I was not impressed. There are no public toilets down one end of the town now as the local government didn't want to maintain them anymore. There used to be some in the library and then they started to lock these. Once I asked for them to be opened and she didn't want to do it so myself and my grandson had to walk home and do the library another day. But when I complained to head office they said they should have opened them for us. So will ask to speak to head office if that happens next time. In the old days the council always maintained the toilets and often someone would be paid to sit there and keep an eye on them but not anymore. There are some public toilets up the other end of town though.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Portugal, 40 years ago, there was this ice cream parlor / restaurant / coffee bar I liked to frequent. It was in Lisbon, a large establishment, and somewhat upscale. There was ONE toilet for the entire restaurant. A woman stood outside the door, handing out ONE little square of toilet paper for each patron. You know, in the Bible it says that you're supposed to go out in the desert with a tool, dig a hole, do your business, and then cover it up. when we began creating cities of wall-to-wall pavement, we really needed to update our consciousness of what was necessary in this realm.
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