Take it Like a Man: The Wednesday Medley



Thanks to Terri from
Your Friend From Florida
for the Medley questions.

Wednesday, January 16th, is National Do Nothing Day!! National Nothing Day was proposed in 1972 by columnist Harold Pullman Coffin. This day has been observed annually since 1973. Of course, the way to celebrate it is to do nothing!

To commemorate Do Nothing Day in SOME way, tell us something about your life (or the life of someone close to you) in 1973!!

There's not much to tell.  In 1973, I was a year old.  Our family was living in Wellington, Alabama in a little 4 room shack (not 4 bedroom, 4 room) with a well and an outhouse.  We were Little House on the Prairie.

Now that we are thinking back, please tell us what your favorite pastime was as a child.

My two favorite pastimes as a child were riding my bike and roller skating.  As an adult, I still ride, but I haven't found a suitable pair of roller skates.  If I ever find one, I'd love to try skating again.

What is the best way to cheer you up on a bad day?

Is the question how can someone else cheer me up or how can I cheer myself up on a bad day?  Just the simple act of someone showing true caring and spending authentic quality time with me cheers me up.  I cheer myself up with music, taking a walk, watching a cheerful/funny video, reading from a favorite book, making someone else laugh, or taking a nap.

How old were you when you first started dating? Do you remember your first date?

I've never been on a real date. 

Today is also National Fig Newton day. Do you like figs/Fig Newtons?

I like figs, but I'm not that crazy about Fig Newtons.

Tell us something random about your week.

Recently, the Gillette company released a new commercial on the dangers of "toxic masculinity."  I'm sure many of you have heard about it, so I'll not go into too much detail about the commercial here, but I will submit a few points to ponder (rants).

• First, what is their motive?  Do they really care, or are they pushing a social hot button as a marketing ploy to sell more razors?  Hey, I'm not saying that the attempted message wasn't a needed one, but do we really need to hear this from a razor company?
• Second, masculinity is not toxic, displaying injurious behavior regardless of gender IS toxic.  In other words, many of the rude behaviors displayed in the commercial are also perpetrated by females.  I hate to bust your bubble, but women also bully, fight, and sexually harass others.  These are not relegated to just males. 
• If Gillette is going to continue the trend, I hope they next tackle "toxic femininity."  You know, where women bully other women and impose ridiculous unattainable standards over stupid crap like weight, race, marital status, socioeconomic status, etc, and encourage their daughters to do the same.  I hope they let women know that they need to be accountable to each other when they observe someone emasculating her husband, boyfriend, or son in an attempt to prove herself strong and superior.  They need to stress that there is such thing as "woman-splaining" and that it is definitely not cool.  Hey, I watch wives do it to their husbands all the time.

My frustration is not so much vented at the commercial as it is the angst--rather than thought and honest discussion-- it has stirred.  I'm so tired of anyone, be it a company, a religious organization, political organization, or a media outlet who pushes for division, strife, and separatism.  I feel so sorry for men, especially Caucasian men.  Modern American society has made them the enemy when they are not (and don't be a Southern white male--Lord, have mercy).   Ignorance and hatred are the real enemy.  Why don't we try fighting that instead of each other?

Rant over.  Now, I need a laugh!

This masculinity definitely ain't toxic!