Walk This Way

On my old blog dashboard, I used this title once before. Since I've been unable to access it and update my old blog, I have to write it anew.
This is one of Aerosmith's biggest hits, but as of the end of 2007, it seems like very few people walk anywhere these days. This is evidenced by the huge guts and fat asses of kids still in high school, forget the adult population! I LIKE walking. It's a great way to see our world at a liesurely pace, I've found all kinds of neat things that I would have missed in a car, and it also helps me lower my blood sugar. As a Type 1 Diabetic, this isn't always an advantage, but nobody ever said that life is E-Z, and if they did, they lied! It never ceases to amaze me that people will drive around a medium sized parking lot for half an hour looking for a space close to the store, rather than just parking and walking fifty or sixty yards. We're evolving into a nation of lazy self-absorbed slobs. In the beginning of October I broke my ankle in three places, and had to wear a cast for seven weeks. Getting around on crutches was a nightmare. I developed huge sores under my arms, that wouldn't heal because I had to keep using them if I wanted to get around. Little things I took for granted became nightmares. In my apartment there is no kitchen sink, so I use a laundry sink in the adjoining room. Ever try to carry a stack of dirty dishes on crutches? After trying this out, I abandoned that strategy and would hop on one leg to and from the sink, which lead to the next difficulty. Filling up a pot of water and then trying to get it to the stove without all of it sloshing out. Do that for seven weeks and see how jolly you remain.
The winters here on Long Island have been milder than I can recall when I was a child. We haven't had a White Christmas in about five or six years. This year we got a cold spell earlier than usual, and I'm sure many people in this suburban haven don't realize it, but home owners and businesses are required to clear the sidewalks in front of their abodes and stores. The average Joe will only shovel a path from his front door to his driveway so he can get his car out, and then he's gone. Clearing the sidewalk is a thought that doesn't even cross Joe Averages' mind, because nobody walks. But lo and behold, here comes old dumb Tony hobbling along on his recently broken ankle trying to wend his way though the uneven mess of a sidewalk that Joe left unshoveled in his haste to get to work on time.
When I was in high school, the minimum wage was $1.72 per hour. So a big snow was a way for a kid to go out and earn some money. I remember after a "snow day" one kid coming to school the next morning telling us how he made sixty six bucks shoveling driveways. Snow blowers have all but eliminated that source of income for kids, but even if they hadn't, I seriously doubt that any of these fat-assed blobs would bother to even try it.
Getting back to my original thought, when the sidewalks aren't shoveled, people must slog through the snow. Once the temperature drops, it freezes into hard, uneven, irregular forms that are even worse if you're recovering from a broken ankle. Businesses are just as negligent as homeowners in this department. One of the worst cases is the local Home Depot, they're on a main road with a long stretch of sidewalk bordering their store, and they can run televison ads about how they help sponsor employees to the special olympics, but they can't get one of the snow blowers that they sell and clear their sidewalk. Good way to build customer relations! Of course as long as their parking lot is clear, that's all that matters, since I'm the only dipshit who bothers to walk to this home improvement emporium. I wonder if I boycotted them, if anybody would notice?

The Kids In America

I have a blog going but since nobody reads it, I lost interest in posting my thoughts. As an overopinonated loner, I have this impulse to let people know what I think, regardless of whether they're interested or not. I've been watching the CBS series " Kid Nation" on a fairly regular basis. There isn't a whole lot of orignality in the new network TV shows, and the writers' strike has decreased the wealth of worthwhile viewing on the tube. Getting back to opening thoughts, I've been unableto log onto my original blog site because it required a password that is something other than what orignally comes to my addled brain. I used to work in radio, and always titled my blogs after the names of songs. This one is stolen from Kim Wilde and it was a minor radio hit in the muscially dismal 80's, the decade of disposable music.

The premise of Kid Nation, is that a bunch of kids under the age of sixteen or seventeen, I'm not positive which, are set out in a "Ghost Town" and are to rule and govern themselves. First of all, this is a farce. They are being manipulated by the powers that produce the program. It isn't like " Lord Of The Flies" where a bunch of kids are shipwrecked on an island and have to fend for themselves, these kids are being shaped and molded by what a "log" of the town that died dictates. Ahem, kids ruling themselves??? I don't think so. There are the usual mixture of reality show personalities, they're just younger than the casts of "Survivor" or " The Amazing Race". There is also a host who imparts his feelings into what is going on, so it isn't what it claims to be in the advertisements. But it IS still compelling viewing. I can't be too harsh on CBS for not letting the show become totally anarchy, but that sure as hell would've been good for ratings!
Like any reality show, creative editing can make things look a whole lot different than they play out. But it truly bothers me that they keep touting it as 40 kids ruling themselves. Say for instance the kids aren't doing a good job of following their assigned duties, the counsel members go to the town center and look at the log book of Bonanza City, where by some fantastic coincidence the settlers wrote about how the town had slipped into decay because people weren't doing their work. Because they're dealing with young kids, and the potential for lawsuits is a real possibility, they have to keep a lid on things. But I sure would much rather see a bunch of kids set loose and left to their own devices, no coaching, prodding, nudging from any outside sources, just let the cameras roll and see what comes up. I've always had a fascination with stories of survival, but as a type 1 diabetic I wouldn't last long in an extreme situation simply because I've got a medical ball and chain around my ankle. Mentally I think I'd do well, because I can look at situations from a variety of angles but I'll never get an opportunity to find out, unless CBS decides to feature a new reality show called " Medical Survivor". Yeah, I know...fat chance!