Too Busy for Chivalry?

Let me start this blog off with what I encountered as I arrived home from a nice trip to the dollar movies with my kids.

I pull into my parking lot at approximately 4-4:40pm which is on an extremely traffic packed road right at a red light. I see a woman with a teenage daughter and preteen son, a uhaul truck halfway unpacked and their stuff from the truck scattered around in the parking lot in front of my complex.Now my apartment faces this parking lot so I continued to stare from my blinds as I came in and found CC my hubby at the computer.

(Don't snicker you know you would be nosey too.)

As I small talked with CC I observed this woman on the phone, obviously irritated, repeatedly running her fingers through her hair and talking to her kids, looking around and holding her chest. I saw her son darting around looking in boxes. Then I saw her daughter looking at her mother, her brother and their stuff. Suddenly I was transported back in time.

It was no longer a Uhaul but a Penske. They were no longer in Idaho but North Carolina. The little boy was my brother, the tensed woman was my mother and the teenage girl was me. I couldn't control myself. Without a word to my family I was in my shoes and crossing the battered field that separated us . I approached this woman and looked her in the eye. What I saw broke my heart. Fear.

I smiled and offered my hand introducing myself to her and her children. It was when I said "Can I help you?" that she broke down. She cried a little and said she had thought I was going to ask her to leave. I was so enraged at the assumption. Is that what this world has come too? A single mother with two children's first thought at someone approaching is that they are going to be asked to leave. I estimated that hundreds of cars passed by this scene in the time before and after I arrived. Not one person had the courage to whip in there role down the window and say "Can I help you?"

Why is that? I have two theories. One is we are simply to busy with where we are going and what we want to do to be aware of our surroundings. Two is that those that did consider asking were too scared she would say yes and then they would have to help. We do not like to be put out as a society. We are selfish, inconsiderate and unaware. Except when life's unfairness effects us directly and we go HEY!

So as for the woman. The reasons why she was in this situation is unimportant. The point is I trudged myself back over that field to my apartment, told CC and my Boy (he is 14). "Time for some service." Then after a little bit of explanation they happily came to this family's rescue. Shortly after they started our neighbor, super single mom mail lady, also came and pitched right in. I'm ashamed to say she did more of the manual labor than I did. However, she is super so it's easier for her.

What would you have done? Truthfully....

What's up with YA fantasy?

Saturday was a good day. I had a date day spending time with my husband. We did some religious activities together and then, in our Sunday best, had a nutritious meal at the local McDonald's. As we ended our morning and went our separate ways, we both had errands and obligations to attend to, I suddenly found myself at the mall. Then just as suddenly I was knee deep and happily surrounded by my addiction. The Words. What my husband rather unaffectionately calls books.

I went to the store with the intentions of finding a cooking/diet book. Nevertheless, I found myself bouncing back and forth between the historical romance section and young adult fantasy section. I decided to purchase a book in YA about werewolves. I spent $20.00 on the hardback.

I left the book store so eagerly I almost forgot my original errand in the mall. I was bustling with the potential the new "words" could provide. I went straight home and did my chores quickly and saw to any potential needs my children might come up with so as not to be interrupted and thus igniting my Medusa like attributes.

Then I sat back on my super soft, down padded bed and snuggled up to get my fix. I must admit that what first attracted me to this book was the cover. This jacket was alluring, pivotal and beautiful. So you can imagine my utter dismay as I opened the book and ran my fingers along it's inner pages. I did not feel a smooth lattice work of equal proportions. The pages look like something my six year old cut out then put together with a stapeler. They are all misshapen and roungh edged.

Nevertheless, because of the junkie I am, I press forward. I made it to chapter 3 and could tell that I wasn't really happy with the way things were going. What do you think I did? What would you do? Remember I am a junkie. I read on. At about 11:00pm I was half way through the book and had met my breaking point.

I had endured several aspects of the story that I could look past. However, when the characters were being forced into situations of sexual abuse by authority figures of the straight and homosexual nature I was officially done. Not only am I done I will get my money back.

I used to read YA because I thought it would fall better within my ideas of moral reads. That is not the case anymore. The saddest thing about the whole ordeal is that this is not the first time this has happened. It is acutally quite common. There are also several common denominaters in my experiences as well. If it's YA fantasy set in modern times then it going to have something offensive to my own personal convictions more often than not. Why is that? Do teenagers really find joy is such sad and unacceptable behavoirs? Isn't fiction supposed to be fun? I will say when I do find the not. It's like finding a hidden snickers bar days after Halloween is over. Unexpected, satisfying and oh so sweet.


PS. I have purposely left the name of the novel out of this entry. I believe what I believe. Those are my personal opinions. I refuse to review a book in any form whether negative or positive when I cannot even finish it.