Blog - Page 4 of 11 - Life Views 101

September 28, 2022September 28, 2022

Whine With That Cheese Please!

Humans are selfish. When we think of the happenings going on in the world we always think how they affect “us.” It’s natural. Our world revolves around what is happening in our life. So, while there are many things exploding in the world, I must still take a moment and complain.

My grievance is the treatment I received from the car rental place, actually I should say the website for the car that I rented as I was misled.

You want the story in a nutshell. I’ll give it to you in a walnut, that might be big enough. I traveled 1200 miles to see my sister who is not well. We are both in our seventies, and I don’t know how many more times I can make this trip. I normally drive, but it has gotten too much for me, so I flew into Toronto and rented a car.

I made all my arrangements online. And when it came to renting a car, I did the same thing. I figured the drive from the Toronto airport to her place in Orilla was easier to make then the drive from my home in Kansas to her home in Canada.

There are always hiccups in the road aren’t there? So, when I rented my car in August the Internet website handled it very well, I foolishly thought. The printout that I received stated that I could drop this car at the Best Western Plus Hotel at the airport and take their shuttle to the terminal if it was after hours. The fee was $10 to $20 to me. I felt the extra fee well worth it as I would have to drop my car off at 05:00am in the morning as my flight home was leaving Toronto at 8:30am.

Here comes the hiccup. Before I left the car lot, I stated as a question that “I could drop the car off at the Best Western Plus Hotel as I was leaving at 05:00am on September 22^nd and take the hotels shuttle to the airport.”

The car rental staff person looked at me like I was foolish and stated that “No I had to bring the car back to the lot and put the keys in the box and call a taxi or Uber to pick me up and take me to the airport.” Let me say that this lot was in a very industrial, busy area 15 to 20 minutes away from the airport. This business expected a 71-year-old woman to come to their lot at 05:00am, sit in the dark, call an Uber or taxi, and hope that they arrived in time to get me to my flight.

My big concern was would I be able to sit there safely, let me say that again, safely in this car while I waited for some unknown person to pick me up and take me to the airport.

I was dumbfounded. I said to the guy that the printout said that I could leave the car at the Best Western Plus Hotel after hours and catch their shuttle. He said, “Show me” at which time I pulled out the paperwork and showed him where it was printed from this website that I could catch the shuttle and leave the car at the Best Western Plus Hotel at the Toronto airport. The staff person said, “No that is wrong, you have to bring the car back here.”

Believe me had I known this ahead of time I would not have rented from Zoom or used the website that I used to rent the car. I would have gone a different route.

If there’s anybody out there who has ever driven around Toronto on the highways, you will understand my upset and fear at the thought of trying to return that car at 05:00am in the morning. The traffic is horrendous and there are lanes of stopped traffic all along that route.

I was in a state of shock. Here I was far away from home in an unknown area upset that now I had to figure out a different way to bring this car back or bring it to the lot and figure out how to get transportation at 05:00 o’clock in the morning back to the Toronto airport.

The Toronto airport is one hell of a busy place. You must be there very early to get things done. I spent my whole time with my sister worrying about getting that dam car back to the lot.

My final decision was to return the car a day early and stay at a hotel the night before. I cut my vacation a day short and spent $364.83 Canadian on a hotel room that I stayed in for seven hours to drop this car off in the daylight and feel safe that I would be able to get to the airport on time. The car rental place did not even refund my early return. And then they balked at even taking me to the hotel as it “wasn’t at the airport.” he said.

Their suggestion was that the shuttle person could take me to the airport, and I could take a taxi to the hotel. I am not kidding you. They wanted to drop me at the airport and leave me to find my own way to the hotel. What terrible people!

Let me say, as it turned out, the hotel was only about 10 minutes from their car lot. There I stood in their lobby with tears pooling in my eyes over the fact that these cruel men would expect me to find my own way to the hotel after driving through horrific traffic to return my car a day early.

There are monsters among us, unkind, heartless people

Finally, they decided to take me to the hotel as there were five new clients coming into the lobby to rent cars, and I am sure they did not want an old woman standing there crying over the dilemma she found herself thanks to them.

Now, I’m not looking for sympathy. I want you to understand that I was going by the paperwork that I had from the website which included me dropping this car off at the Best Western and taking their shuttle to the airport. It did not include me sitting out in the dark at 05:00 in the morning waiting for somebody to come and pick me up, somebody I wouldn’t know, somebody who would know I was a tourist, and who I should trust to take me safely to the airport to catch my flight back to the states.

What I want is for you to feel as outraged as I do when you hear their the websites response regarding this miscarriage of justice. They told me there is nothing they can do to get a refund for me, then they sent me a copy of a voucher that left off the part about returning the car and included only four pages. In this email they stated, “It doesn’t say anything about pickups or drop offs.”

My copy has six pages and is directly from their website. I printed all the documents as soon as I completed the transaction. This website is all over the world. How can they be so deceitful? They sent me a fake printout. It is not what was available to me at the time of the booking. I have copies and sent them pictures of what is in my printout.

At this point what I expect is a full apology, and a full refund. What do you think will happen?

I guess the lesson that I’ve learned that I want to share with you is that no matter what it says in print on the Internet I would say that you call and verify every single detail before you make a trip far from home. No one should be expected to sit in the dark somewhere in an unknown place and try to find transportation anywhere. Not with the world wide web at our fingertips, or at least that’s what I thought.

Fool me once but you will never fool me again. I shall not use the internet to plan a trip ever as I am sure there are many, many other people out there who have lost lots of money over similar situations. For me, I will go directly through the business I will be dealing with and hope that in the end they will be truthful and trustworthy. What do you think my chances are?

Oh, and by the way, the hotel that my sister and I stayed at in Windsor refused to give me a refund when we left a day early. We had made the trip from her home to Windsor to see family. She is on oxygen and can barely get around. I had to push her everywhere in a wheelchair. It about killed us both.

The casino hotel in Windsor said they could not give me a refund as it was “prepaid.” Hotel.com got me a refund and were quite wonderful. At least I got lucky once. How about you, have your gotten lucky on your trip?

Thankful I made it home safely, and as to you, I hope you have a wonderful day, you and I deserve it.

Things will always get better, love you grammy.

June 26, 2022June 26, 2022

Ranting About Abortion

Hi, this is Kris, welcome to my blog. I don’t usually do back-to-back blog pieces, but I really wanted to talk to you about this topic as there are so many rallies going on right now

I have wanted to share my feelings about abortion for some time, and even though I may be a day late, that’s OK, sometimes a little voice is heard more than the voices of many. I hope this will be the case.

I would like to start with a poem I wrote which will be the only words I transcribe into this blog; the rest will be me talking because I have a lot of ground to cover. So, just look at my poem, sit back and hear what I have to say. Afterward I would certainly like to hear from you so send me an email through my blog page.

I think my poem says a lot. I’d like to suggest you read it several times.
Every time I say the words out loud, I am surprised by their power. It’s very intense, and I think it says it all right there in just a few words.

I do not write poetry. This poem came to me after watching some folks on television picketing against abortions and their counterparts preaching a “women’s right to do with her body what she wants” which makes me sick. So here is my poem because sometimes we just need to say what is in our hearts.’

I have a poem

Some say My Body, My Choice.
Then comes coupling, obscuring the voice.
one heartbeat, then there are two.
One must die, who will choose.
Little voices screaming in my head.
You can’t be here, you are dead.
Bits and pieces on the floor.
How can you stand all that gore?
My Body, My Choice.
Can’t you hear its tiny voice?

(I have attached the whole document in case you wanted the whole transcript)

Going-on-a-Tangent Download

June 26, 2022June 26, 2022

Blogcast 2: A Philosophical Tangent On Abortion

I am going out on a limb here, but I have been up all night with these thoughts rambling around in my head. Finally, I couldn’t take it and decided to put my thoughts on paper.

When does the “me of me,” become me? At what point in the development of this ball of cells does the “me” enter into the equation?

No, I am not kidding! When do I enter the picture? When does the “me of me” become me, and where am I until that moment?

Do I enter this creation of cells at the moment of impact when sperm meets egg? Or the first doubling of the cells? Or do I enter after the hundredth? Or is it at the millionth?

When does the “me of me”, the feeling, sensing, thinking part of me come into this great ball of replicating, developing cells?

Where am I until I become the “me of me?” Do I exist at all? At what part of this developing creation do I enter? At what stage?

Science can not answer this question. No one can. The greatest minds have never been able to answer the question of when the “me of me” becomes me, during this life giving process in the development of a human being.

This form that is sitting here typing out these questions was specifically created for me. The I of me was placed inside of this huge mass of cells. It is me but, where is that part of me that feels, thinks, remembers, cries, loves, and creates? What is my location inside of this mass of cells? Am I in every cell? Am I inside my brain? Am I inside my knee? Or am I inside my heart? Where am I in this mix of cells? No one can answer these questions!

Do you know that some research has said that the human body is 1/2 to 1 pound lighter right after the moment of death! Is that me leaving this pile of cells? Or is the poo leaving my colon?

Science argues over the description of life and when it matters. It argues over when it is okay to destroy that ball of cells. It argues over when it is viable. But, it never mentions when it becomes “me” as the cells are churning and creating a human being. It never mentions when the “me of me” becomes part of these cells.

So, when you take those deadly sharp instruments and hack away at the cells inside, do you know that you are destroying the “me” of those cells as well! The “me” of those cells that was specifically created for the “me of me.”

How many abortions occur a year? What is the current statistic? A million, tens of millions, how many?

I worked college health for over twenty years and I can say for certainty from my own experience that over 90% of the young women who came into our office for information on abortion felt ” it just wasn’t the right time.”

These young women were not victims of rape. They were not giving birth to deformed monsters they didn’t want. They didn’t have a clue, ” it just wasn’t the right time.!”

The moment a sperm meets an egg and implants is that moment of creation. What becomes of that creation is up to nature, and the woman carrying that creation.

Abortion should not be used as a form of birth control. There are plenty of other options to use, abortion should not be a choice.

It seems that sex is in the news all the time in some form or other to sell everything from magazines to underwear. Every time I open yahoo someone is posing nude to ” show off their beach body”, so why are we so uncomfortable with our bodies, and what occurs at the time of intercourse, that we don’t take responsibility for that moment when creation occurs, and say to our partner, ” hey wait a minute.” It could save a life.

I would never have wanted to miss this moment.

I know many of the responses to this question, ” we didn’t plan it”, it was a one night stand”, “I don’t even know him or her that well,” ” I am not ready for a baby,” and on and on goes the merry go round.

Sadly what abortion has allowed to occur is that no one is responsible. You can just rake it out, dead or alive. No worries, ” it’s your body.”

I think as a society we have failed our young. We must educate them that intercourse can and will result in the creation, let me say this again, in the creation of another human being if we are not careful. That is what nature intended. Intercourse is the method, most times, by which another human being is created. It is how human beings continue on this earth, usually.

Do we tell our children that intercourse can and will result in the creation of another human being? Do they teach that in school? Do they USE those words.

It is not just about what disease they may catch, it is about what can and will occur if they have unprotected intercourse.

I have heard all the arguments so spare me. I know the drill, but along with my questions about the “me of me,” and when that begins, I want to ask another philosophical question or two!

What is your purpose in life? Who were you meant to become once the “me of me” entered your pile of cells? How do you know what your role will be in the creation of the “me of me” should you create another human being, if you just rake it out?

Who decided the time was right at that moment when you were created? Was it really an accident or planned? Is life just one great big random moment in time?

Millions and millions of abortions a year! Millions and millions of ” me” that will never exist. Think about it! Could you have been a ” me of me” that did not exist? Was it the right moment for your sperm and egg donor to have a ” me”? Ask yourself that question!

I believe that most of us were just moments in time. Not planned at all. We just became the ” me of me” once those cells started replicating. So where is the ” me of me” until it meets it’s great big pile of cells? Who will take responsibility for that creation of life? Think about that? And as I always say, have a great day, you and I deserve it.

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022

Ranting About Abortions.

Sometimes we just need to say what is in our hearts.

The title is ” I have a poem”

Some say My Body, My Choice.

Then comes coupling, obscuring the voice.

One heartbeat, then there are two.

One must die, who will choose.

Little voices screaming in my head.

You can’t be here, you are dead.

Bits and pieces on the floor.

How can you stand all that gore?

My Body, My Choice.

Can’t you hear its tiny voice.

January 9, 2022January 9, 2022

Dam the Holidays

The fireworks are over. The crowds have found their way home, and we are returning to the mundane day to day stuff we call life.

Hello, welcome to my Blog, this is Kris.

I hope you made it through the holidays. If you have followed my blog, you know that the holidays are my least favorite time of the year. I hate all that fake happiness and good cheer. We are so pressured to be joyful. If we are not happy during the rest of the year, Christmas won’t make that much difference.

I grew up in a very poor family filled with drunken relatives, so the holidays never went well. Even into adulthood I felt that left over feeling of dread and sadness that would envelope me after the shit hit the fan. Holidays did not represent good times.

Now a good therapist would say create your own good times, and I try too, but there is still that emptiness inside that says it isn’t real.

It is like that commercial where the lady carries a happy face card on a stick and waves it in front of herself at family gatherings. No one sees how she really feels.

I call my episodes Christmas affective disorder. Or to be plain “I hate Christmas disorder.”

To me there is really no purpose to Christmas. According to many brainiacs it was not when Christ was born so why the fake celebration? They say it is a time to share with family, but the cost is ridiculous. We need food, gifts, decorations, clothes, trees, and all the other hoopla that goes with it. By the end I am exhausted and feel empty inside. I know my daughter-in-law gets overwhelmed trying to do Christmas with her family, her husband’s family, (me and mine), and then her own family. I mean why do we create such stress for ourselves. Who thought this up?

I looked up how this whole Christmas thing got started and found some interesting facts. Below is one fact.

For many centuries, gift-giving took place on December 6 around Saint Nicholas Day or in early January after New Year’s Eve. The popularity of this custom grew after the positive reception of the 1823 poem The Night Before Christmas and the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.

Another fact. “In 1800s New York, the overlapping interests of middle-class families and the wealthy produced a cultural practice that’s still in place today. Check out this web site to read the whole article. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/12/why-people-give-christmas-gifts/421908/

Fact three, it was really pushed through, promoted, encouraged, all on the tail of commercialism. Big businesses promoted the family theme to “make money.” ( that’s’ my quote).

You can research the rest of the details if you are so inclined. I am not. Suffice it to say that big business invented this great money spending holiday, and it took off like wildfire.

Well, I have had enough. I am not going to participate again. I will not go into debt buying gifts that end up in a pile somewhere. I am done.

What you say? Yes, I am done with this Christmas crap. I am going to talk to my family and from now on we will only share a meal together which we do a hundred times a year, and perhaps some quality time. Just like we do throughout the whole year without any obligation to purchase gifts. Birthdays are the exception.

I bring this up because I know that I am not alone with my Christmas Affective disorder, disorder. There are many that suffer for months until it is finally over. And I am here to tell you that it is okay to give up Christmas and Thanksgiving. We won’t even go into that holiday. You do not have to follow anyone else’s trends. Do what you want or do nothing. It really is up to you.

Turn off the television, forget all the adds for the latest electronics and toys. Most adults would rather buy their own things then end up with some item that they would never have bought for themselves.

The idea of making time for your family should be something to reach for throughout the year, not just for two months. We can love each other, and nurture that love in many little ways all year round.

I get the whole family theme behind the holidays, but it does not need to be tied into monetary things, or obligations. It should be something you give from your heart.

I love my family; I love my grandchildren. I think that is the important aspect of all these holiday themes. Family and love. I shower them with love and gifts all year long because I love creating happy memories with them.

What I say to you is create happy memories! If you do not have any family spend time with a friend but do something together. Play cards, watch movies, play sports, talk, go on an adventure. It does not need to be tied into a holiday theme. It can just be a moment of sharing. Those are what really feel the best anyway. I cannot tell you how often I have relived and laughed at the silly things my granddaughters and I have done together. “There” that is the secret behind all the holiday themes, togetherness.

So, for today know that you are not alone. You are never alone. You are in someone’s thoughts somewhere. And for today, have a great day, you and I deserve it. Oh, and have a Happy New Year.