Southern Musings

There is a genius in the world of business. Okay, so there are more than one or two. The one I want to thank for my memory of the day is a business in San Diego. The CNN.com video is titled The Smash Shack. Why is this woman a genius? She charges people to let them smash things. She gets paid money to allow customers to don protective gear and smash plates, glasses, and even picture frames.

This video brought back more than a few memories. No, I do not have a penchant for smashing glassware. I was thinking more along the lines of some major smashing. Smashing that really gets your blood pumping, your muscles aching, and all that anger out. All you need is a sledge hammer and an old junk car. NO! Not the one you use to drive to work each day. I’m talking about one from a junk yard. Preferrably one that is donated. Why donated? Because you do not want to spend money to make money, if you can.

Okay, so where does making money come into this. You will see in a bit. Before you think that I’ve completely lost what little mind I have left, I need to start over at the beginning.

Years ago, I was in a marching band. We needed money. We had a fun day planned. We had all sorts of booths and activities. My dad happened to own a wrecker service and service station. I know, get on with the new information. Sometimes people just never picked up their vehicles way back then. They were wrecked. They may not have had insurance. For whatever reason, the vehicles sometimes stayed in our “lot” for decades. One such car was put to good use. It was donated for our fund raiser.

Why would we want an old junk car that had probably been in a wreck already? Back then, they were still made of metal. It would take some strong muscles and a good sledge hammer to make much of a dent in them. So, my dad hauled the car up to the school. Handed them a sledge hammer. People lined up to pay to smash the car. Smash they did!

The car was slaughtered! I wish I had a photograph to share with you. It was amazing at the damage that these, mostly high school, boys did to this car. It looked like it had been hit by a freight train instead of 16-18 year old boys. They got to use their muscles, the band got the money, and the car, well, it probably didn’t care. At least it was not sitting in the junk yard for those few hours.

Now days, you have more issues to contend with. If you were to try this today, you would have to deal with car titles, clean up, enviromental protection, safety equipment for the participants, and on top of all of that someone somewhere would find some small loop hole to make it illegal or an insurance nightmare. Times sure do change. Not always for the bad, and not always for the good.

If the world had more places such as the San Diego store that allowed people to take out their anger in a controlled environment, would the world be a better place? Would we have less road rage, fewer attacks, less people on trial for murder? We may never know the answer to that question. I sure wish I had a concrete building and a couple million plates to find out.

Would you pay $6,800 for two dolls? An Arkansas woman did just that. Brenda Moore of Bentonville won the boxed set of Elvis and Priscilla wedding day dolls in a charity auction to benefit Presley Place. Since the Moore’s gave to the charity anyway, why not give a little more and get a set of signed dolls for showing off to their friends.

Moore was not the only one to go to some rather extreme measures to be some of the first to receive their boxed set. 150 fans lined up to be at the Graceland souvenir shop when the dolls were unveiled. An additional 40,000 sets will be distributed to retailers later in the year. What lucky big girls will be receiving boxed sets for Christmas?

Italy is a long way from my little southern town. As if the miles are not enough of a difference, the way people act is an obvious give away. CNN.com ran a news story that has been circulating over the media during the weekend. In Italy, sunbathers sat or walked on the beach only yards from where two dead girls lay covered in a beach towel.

Yes, the miles away are far and show a vast difference in the south and Italy. Even more of a difference is in the attitude of the sunbathers. Having lived in the south my entire life, I can attest to the fact that we have some pretty nosey folks living here. There may be a few that would try to act like a civilized person of character and not run up and peek under the beach towels. I seriously doubt that many would be able to sit calmly acting like nothing was going on even if they were a football field away.

Hey, it’s true, we are nosey! Southerners would want to know what was going on. After finding out, the reaction would vary. Some would walk over and stare at the bodies covered in the towels. Some would leave the beach in a pure panic of being so close to a dead body. Many would be whispering about the girls’ families and how they could allow their little girls to be put in such danger just to earn a small amount of money. Okay, they did not have to get into the water to actually sell the trinkets, but who could resist the urge to cool off a little between sales.

There are many that are complaining in outrage about how disturbing it is to see pictures and video of people casually walking by or sitting nearby. They are simply going on with their day like nothing out of the ordinary is happening. I wonder what their lives must be like if this is so common and ordinary that they can sit by so unconcerned.

These folks sure aren’t from the south. If they were, then the complaints would be about how these poor little girls’ privacy was violated by those jerks raising up the beach towel to look at them. Okay, those would be the type of people that gives the south a bad name. The ones standing by wringing their hands and talking about the families of the poor little girls and how this tragedy might affect them would be the more civilized southerners. Myself, I would be sitting their crying for the lost potential of a 12 year old and a 13 year old that will never have the opportunity of growing old and experiencing the fullness life has to offer.

The full story on CNN.com can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/21/italy.drowning/index.html.

Children are to be cherished. They are gifts of joy that touch our hearts. Sometimes they may be a bit difficult to deal with. Sometimes they simply have too many difficulties to deal with. They come into the world trusting and needing help with even the simplest of body functions. They grow and become at least somewhat independent. The time between should be filled with safety, security, love, and happiness.

We know that nobody can expect to be happy, safe, secure, or even felt to be loved all of the time. Should that mean that we should allow any child to face sadness, insecurity, loneliness, or fear for most of their days? What if that child belongs to a total stranger, if given the opportunity to help, should help be provided?

CNN.com is full of videos and stories of horrors faced by children all over the world. How about the ten year old in Yemen that was married to someone against her wishes? The marriage was arranged by her parents. Although, there are claims as to the conditions of the marriage being broken, nobody stood up for the young child. At ten, she is still a child. A child that was strong enough to do what was necessary to begin the process of divorce when her own family would not or could not help. Who was there to protect her? She eventually found a protector to stand up and help her through the process. After marriage, rape, and divorce, can a ten year old be a child again?

It does not just happen half way around the world. Children need help right here in the United States. Even those with parents that love them and that try their best to protect them. CNN.com also shares the story of a fifteen year old that is facing deportation after a foreign adoption. She lives in Pennsylvania with parents that have been fighting with the immigration department over whether she will be allowed to stay or if she will be forced to leave the only country she has ever truly known. Without any way of knowing who her biological family is, where would a fifteen year old if forced to leave this country and the only parents that she can probably remember?

Is there anything we can do to protect the children of the world? One person is limited as to what they can do. The culture of many countries allow for arranged marriages. Should we try to step in and tell them how to live in their country? Well, personally, I have always heard that you need to clean out from under your own doorstep before you try to tell someone else to clean out from under theirs. There sure is enough for us to straighten out in our own country, state, or even city before we try to straighten out other places.

Take a look around and see what needs help. Do children go to school without necessary clothes or supplies? Is health care available to those that can not afford it? Are there places for the homeless to go for shelter and food? How about the families that are trying as hard as they can but still do not have the money to keep the lights or water working in their home? Can something be done about those things?

In many areas, there are groups that are trying to help. The need often is greater than the resources available. Few people would sell their home to donate thousands of dollars to help the needy. Not everyone has millions to spread around the world to help others. There are much smaller ways that help can be given. Some do not even require a financial requirement. Soup kitchens need servers. Shelters need clothing. Abused women need cell phones. Schools need volunteers to help struggling students. There are many online groups that make craft items that are sent to those in need. How some of these include children may not be immediately clear. Children get hungry and need soup kitchens and shelters. Abused women often have children. The online groups may send school supplies or holiday gifts to the children in need.

The children of the world need help. They need to be allowed to be children and enjoy life. They should not be facing fear, torture, hunger, or loneliness. Stand up and make a difference. Join a large group, help an individual, share a donation, or write a letter. Even if the help provided is not enough to solve the situation, for at least one moment a child was not scared, lonely, hungry, or unloved. For that moment, they were simply a child.