BODY SHAMING, BAR OBSERVATIONS AND KERRY

SO NOW IT IS TWO MONTHS INTO the new year. Did you buy into that old dragged out saying *New Year, New Me* bullshit?

YES I SAID IT. How many times have you pinned all of your hopes and dreams on this expectation that once the new year rolls around, we all will magically change every single bad habit we have had since we were probably about the age of five and somehow, because it is the turn of the new year, make our dreams come true?

We have all said it..done it, been there. Worse yet, we place these new ideas and expectations at the WORSE possible time of the year….smack dab at the end of the holidays! The absolute worst time to try to change our bad habits. We are stuffed full of appetizers, alcohol from endless and possibly dysfunctional family gatherings, office parties or nights spent alone drinking wine, eating dark chocolate and watching repeats of holiday specials on Lifetime or back to back football games.

I am here to say NO MORE. It is time to rise up and cast away the shackles of fat shaming and the* God Forbid New Years Resolution*. I declare March 1st as the time to reset our body clocks. No more gloomy and wintry nights of having to roll out of bed to exercise and tramp thru the snow and ice at the butt crack of dawn. The winter is natures time to hibernate, rest and rejuvenate! Let us human beings do like the bears. I will crawl out when the sun starts to shine and I can once again see birds. Follow nature people!

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So last night I went to one of my regular haunts after work to have a beer and some chicken wings and unwind since the next day would be my day off. I made the now known mistake of going around ten pm on what I have learned from now on as *College Nite* I have since learned it starts at ten pm. I will never — for the love that is holy -partake in anything like that again.

First of all….I would say the roughly half of the crowd (and when I say crowd I really mean call the fire marshall capacity crowd) were possibly college people. And by college people I mean people that look like maybe a hairs breadth over the age of 21. Over 21 by a yawn. The other half were local riff-raff that most probably rolls into the bar en masse to take advantage of the *College Nite* prices and the many available men. The Fishin is Fine on College Nite Y’all.

When I first arrived, I should of known something was up when the place was pretty crowded and it wasn’t a game night. Don’t judge me for knowing that. All of the tables were full, so I sat down at the bar.

Now, being female and being raised from a mother and father who hailed from the South I was taught and told that only whores and pick up artists sit alone at the bar. I have struggled with that analogy and worked my way through that after being taught that .I have not picked up men CHECK NOR have I picked any pockets as of late. I mean never. No no no. that was a joke.

The worst thing about sitting at the bar on College Nite? The young…and I mean young guys and girls who hang off of the side of the bar..Touching arms with You!..waving Mommie and Daddys credit cards while ordering shots and beer- all while you or I are just trying to hook up to the shitty -overloaded WiFi and finish off the buffalo dry rub wings without having to smell the disgusting RedBull breath of the guy ordering 6 shots for he and his Bros so that he can leave in an hour and barf it all up in the alley next to the bar.

The saddest thing about the whole sitting at the bar experience is the already tanked fellow who is drinking a beer by himself who finds himself flirting with two non-college riff-raff skanks that only the clear eyes of the non-intoxicated can tell are only there for the free drinks and or to roll said victim later on that night. Trust me on this. When I left, Mr popular was gleaming in his sudden popularity with his open tab and young and new, best friends. I am sure his girl sandwiches got what they wanted and he was left high and dry, so to speak.

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There is a corner store near my home that after hours, if the weather is right will find a few down in luck or homeless fellas begging for spare change. From my experience, the ones that approach me are harmless and only ask for a quarter at a time.

There is one fellow in particular, Kerry, a young black guy who for some unknown reason is missing lower part of his right arm. He rides a bare- bones bicycle and on most evenings you can find him standing off to the side of the building asking for a quarter or whatever spare change one can offer. Kerry and I are friends. He knows my name as well.

Since I have met Kerry, I am guessing I have given him over the course of a year maybe fifteen dollars in change and singles. He is young, harmless and so sweet. It has gotten to the point that when I am going to this store, I check to see if I have any change to give him. That is our relationship.

So about a week ago, my phone charging cord died on me. My phone was near dead and I had no other choice than to go to the corner store and purchase one there. When I pulled up, there was Kerry. I didn’t have any change to give him. As usual, when I arrived, he waved and we acknowledged each other and as I was entering the store I told him I didn’t have any change and that I had to buy a phone charger for my phone last minute as mine had suddenly croaked on me.

Kerry dug in his backpack and handed me his….do you want to have mine Cindi?

At that exact moment in time I felt that if I had a mission to accomplish here on earth, I had settled at least part of it.