I Was Wondering

     Some days there is no blog material floating in my brain and today seemed to be one of them.  I did have an idea, but it is a topic I've written about many times before and I feel like I'm beating a dead horse.

     There is a stack of newspapers by my chair, where my husband puts them when he is finished reading.  I have not read them in as many days as there are papers stacked.  I picked the top one up this morning and scanned through it, wondering if some creative topic would give me a call to action.

     Yesterday while I was taking a break on the back deck, I could hear them approaching.  Two young boys, maybe around the ages of 10 or 12.  They were talking to each other and before they came in to sight, I think I heard the F-bomb dropped about ten times.  Runtly, the dog, was also on the deck  and when he finally heard them, he began his big bad dog bark.  I heard the word 'dog' mentioned in the conversation and I thought to myself, "Yeah, drop the F-bomb on my dog".  The boys spotted me about the same time as they saw the dog and the conversation turned into, "Oh, look at the cute little doggie".  I smiled at them and they continued on down the alley, resuming their F-bomb dropping conversation.  

     This always bothers me, the fact that they had no qualms about using that kind of language knowing I could hear it.  I'm not a prude, I remember very well what it was like to be young, daring, disruptive.  But, I will not pass up the opportunity to call someone out on disrespectful behavior, a trait that may someday lead to my demise.  I wondered how they got through a day in school without getting into trouble.  I wondered if that was common place in their home.

     The article that caught my eye in the paper was the never ending battle of the fast food joints and raising the minimum wage.  I'm not going to get into the logistics of how that works and does not work.  The article mentioned a man who had worked for the fast food industry giant for 32 years and was still making less than nine dollars an hour.  That in itself is sad, if you have that kind of dedicated employee, which are few and far between anymore, then for crying out loud, pay them more.  But I was wondering if maybe there was a greater story to be told with this particular individual. He had obviously learned how to live within his means.  He probably understood the value of his earnings better than most.  I wondered about his lifestyle and imagined it was simple and not filled with a lot of material things. I wondered if he had ever had a credit card, or two, that were maxed out and bet he did not.  I wondered if he had a savings account and how much was in it.  I envisioned him as being kind and respectful to his customers, probably having known many of them for years and had watched their children grow into adults.

     This instant gratification society we live in has created far more damage than meets the eye. The ideas of hard work, being diligent, being respectful and saving for a rainy day are becoming obsolete.  I do not look forward to the day I stand in line, smiling nicely to the young man on the other side of the counter and hear the words, "Here's your F'n cheeseburger".