FIFTY PERCENT OFF DAWG!!!!! GO ME!

I was in Target the other day doing what we all do in Target...roam around looking for ish to buy with that red sale dot that we don't need to buy but it's super cute and it's on sale and well...it's really, really cute and really, really cheap.

Yall know how Target sets us up for failure.  Humph.

Well...I rounded a corner and saw this:

Patio umbrellas?  Rugs?  50% off?  I AM SO HERE FOR THAT!!!!!  I snapped a quick pic and sent it to Robby and then to my sister because I knew she'd been looking for one.  Then I sent it to a few girlfriends in the event they were too.  I mean...I NEVER find umbrellas for 50% off.  The most I ever see is 30% off.  I AM HERE FOR A SALE!  I'd been saying we needed to get one but then I was like...do I need to add to the stuff we have to move soon but again...for 50% off...NO.BRAINER.

So I made my decision wisely.  Picked a nice neutral color, rustproof, etc. Basically...I got the most expensive one they had.  Why?  FIFTY PERCENT OFF DAWG!  OH YEAH!

I'm damn near skipping to the register.  The  young lady scans it and I note the price didn't reflect FIFTY PERCENT OFF DAWG!!!!!  OH YEAH! Me...the signs say 50% off.  Her...um...  So, I show her the picture.  She makes her light flash.  Manager comes over.  Manager leaves.  Manager comes back, hits a few buttons and makes the umbrella price FIFTY PERCENT OFF DAWG!  OH YEAH!

Manager:  It's supposed to only be the rugs but it's not your fault.

Me:  *BLINK*  So...it's NOT fifty percent off (no caps)?

Manager:  *sigh*  No.  They were supposed to separate the rugs from the umbrellas and only put the signs on the rugs.  

Me:  Damn.  Sorry.  So...

Manager:  Enjoy your umbrella.

And I drove my cart out slowly, hesitantly.  Dragging my feet.  Called Robby.  Told him.

Him:  FIFTY PERCENT OFF DAWG!

Me:  (getting excited again)  Yup!

Him:  AWESOME!

So I came home, put up my new patio umbrella, made me a good lunch and sat outside to enjoy it under the lovely new shade created by my umbrella which was FIFTY PERCENT OFF DAWG!

And then the flies came.  

It was hot as hell.  

I dropped my damn big piece of chicken swatting away flies cuz know what else likes damn shade outside in the damn heat?  YOU GUESSED IT!  FLIES!  DAMN FLIES!

I had to change clothes cuz it was really humid as hell outside and the big piece of chicken was barbeque and now I had a damn stain on my t-shirt AND my shorts where the damn chicken rolled down and then I had to go out and get a damn fly trap cuz seriously???????  I HATE FLIES!  I HATE FLIES!  DIE!  JUST DIE!!!!!

So I picked a cute one. (THIS ONE) That could hang from my new umbrella.  And then maybe I could enjoy the damn thing.

Now that I think about it...it just might be jinxed.  You know...cuz it wasn't FIFTY PERCENT OFF DAWG!

*sigh*

go.me. (no caps)

Has this ever happened to you?  Did you feel guilty?

Pool Party + Police = Dammit I'm tired hell!

When I'm at a pool, I act a donkey's butt.  I love pools.  I'm not around pools often so when I am...WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  SPLASH!  AND WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE SOME MORE!

When I was a teenager and around a pool?  YAAAAAAAAAAAAS!  SPLASH!  SPLASH!  SPLASH!

Kids and teenagers act like kids and teenagers around pools.  Pool parties are not tea parties.  Nobody is sitting around with their pinky out messing up some crumpets.  They are fun and loud and filled with laughter, music etc.

That's what goes on at pool parties.

Now...I don't know who the hell, what the hell nor do I know all the hells...but this nonsense regarding calling police on kids really needs to stop.  Call the parents.  Unless you FOR REAL feel like your life is danger...don't call the police on kids.  For a few reasons.  First off...we've all been kids.  We've all done really stupid things as kids.  Things we would never do today.  It's called maturing.  Most of us seem to do that pretty well with guidance from our Elders.  Getting police involved in silly teenager ish just seems silly.  Police have enough on their hands dealing with FOR REAL crime and criminals.  A pool party getting loud?  COME ON PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!  Think about the pool parties you've attended...how many of them were in the library?  How many of them were filled with quiet people reading books?  The best pool parties of your life...did anybody get shot up?  Anybody died?  Was their looting?  Mass murder-ation?    Was there straight up debauchery going down?  (Well...there prolly was.  Yall know there is always a group of at least three girls in heels with the itty-bittiest of bikinis on stunting on land cuz they AIN'T getting in the water...)  LOL!  N.E.WAY!!!!!!!!!

Pool parties.

Yeah.

So...what was going down wrong?  Well...according to what I've read, the party was at the community pool of the subdivision.  According to HOA rules...each household can only have 2 guests.  Well...according to the young lady who threw the cookout/pool party...most of the attendees were residents of the subdivision and they'd all attended school together.

But the young lady could have said that because she was reminded of the HOA rules.  Now...let's backtrack here...I'm on the phone currently with Dr. Punkin and I just said...well...you know if we were teenagers rolling around and somebody called us and told us such-and-such was having a pool party what would we do?  

Dr. Punkin:  Go to the pool party!  

Me:  Yup.  Her mama make good potato salad!

And we laughed because really...that seems to be all you can do these days when something like this comes up.  You discuss, find something to laugh about and keep reading about it  cuz really...da hell we gonna do about it?  We know how we feel about calling police on kids.  It's not something we do unless we honestly felt our life was in danger from a kid.

Now...community pools have rules so yeah...you gotta do what the people say do right?  AND...if you want to have a party...your HOA should have guidelines you can follow to be allowed to do so right?

Right.

Okay...so...there were Black kids and White kids at the party...but the only kids being targeted were Black.

When I first saw the video the volume was turned off.  I saw this policeman roll on the ground like he was doing a stunt for a movie and start running after kids.  I then saw other policemen acting like policemen should act and turned on the volume.  They were TALKING to the kids trying to figure out who should be there and who shouldn't.  One police officer was basically telling the kids to not take off running when they see police and I'm thinking...um...I don't want any parts of kids being around police with guns so I don't want them running either.  I'd prefer they backed away slowly and got home SAFE.

Yup.

The dude leaping through the sky like a ninjacop?  He was totally doing the most-est-er-est.

But hey...back to the pool party people.  No weapons are being concealed in bathing suits.  Bathing suits worn by KIDS.

It seems that some people chilling at the pool took issue to all the kids being at the pool.  They were chilling.  Nice day for the pool.  Hell...they pay for that pool too you know...and here comes a bunch of loud kids cutting the fool at their pool.  Now...had the kids been kids they were familiar with it makes you wonder if they'd just look up annoyed and say something along the lines of..."Stupid kids" and left to grab lunch out or just open a bottle of wine and chill out at home.  You never ever know.  

But...if the teen's account of one of the women telling them to go back to their Section 8 housing is accurate...well...I'm not surprised things got out of hand.  I'm not surprised tempers flared.  I'm not surprised it turned into a racially driven situation.

Now...the young lady on the ground?  I'm feeling some kinda way about that.  Why he needed to even touch her was beyond me.  I mean...I guess more is going to come out about it all...but yeah...a 15 year old girl in a bikini isn't a threat worth responding to with physical violence.  When she sat up and started hitting her words by popping them into her hand with the other however?  I knew it was gonna go down-t soon.  She was emphasizing that her mother was going to handle this ish with the swiftness.

I kept watching hoping she'd stop talking.  Hoping it wouldn't escalate.  Hoping that nobody would get killed.  

Someone sent me a message asking if I'd seen the video and what my thoughts were regarding.  I told him that honestly...it just made my already tired heart even more weary.  

Just like a few good kids can spoil a pool party for everyone...just as a few jerky adults can spoil relationships between kids and adults...ONE weirdo acting cop made all the rest look bad even though the other cops seemed to be doing the right thing.

But...what do we do?  What can we do?  I'm sitting here about to finish reading my book.  If yall think of something EFFECTIVE besides my writing about it...let me know.  

Oh...and don't call the police on kids.  Call parents on kids unless you feel your life is in danger.  Don't make a kid jaded too soon.  Kids?  If a police officer tells you to do something...do it.  Get home safe.  The adults who love you will sort it all out once you're home safe.

Thanks in advance.

THOUGHTS?????

Thanks from Camellia Beans!!!!!

So...this happened!  Camellia Beans loved my recipe and shared it on Facebook!

Camellia Beans 

SUPER.DOOPER.COOL!  For someone who grew up eating Camellia beans...it was truly an honor.  Well...yesterday they made the experience even cooler by sending me a box of goodies!  GO ME!!!!!

I can't even tell yall how awesome sauce that is to me!!!!!!!!!  I'm still all grin-t up!

GIFS!

Scenario from real life...

It's dinner time and there are leftovers.

Two people.

Person A warms their food in the microwave and then puts person B's food in the microwave.

Person A...let's call him Robby, sits down to eat his food.

Gets REAAAAAAAAAAAL comfortable with it.

Then...he realizes his food isn't as hot as it should be.

Person B...let's call her Monnie, is waiting for her food to warm properly.

Should Robby...

A.)  Wait until Monnie's food is warmed properly, let her get her food and then put his food back in the microwave?

B.)  Take Monnie's food out before it's finished, put his food in, heats his food properly, removes his food and put Monnie's food back in to finish heating properly talking some...BUT I WAS ALREADY EATING!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ANSWER.