FAMILY

Well First off I would like to send out prayers to all the families and victims in Oklahoma. You never know when tragedy will hit. I wish you all the best in your recovery from the events that have happened over the last few days. Ok on to the my post here, you know I have a million things that I could talk about or write. The thing is knowing when to put them out there, timing is everything. I could literally write on this everyday if I wanted to. Then I think that people would get bored with what I am writing about. I have many thing that I am passionate about. One of the most important things that I hold very close and sacred to me is my family. Now well all have our defined answers to what Family is. I have to say I have family that I am not even related to. I have a group here in TN that treat me as if I was one of the family and my daughter looks up to them and loves them all. I love this because the bond is so much better that even when we are mad at each other we are still family. I have my biological family in IN, I love them unconditionally. They would do anything in their possible means for me, and I know this. I have my adopted brothers that are scattered over several states. I keep in touch as best as possible, to keep up on their lives. The thing is Blood doesn't alway make you family, the bond between you does. Are you willing to stand up for these people when they need you the most. I have become friends with a lot of people in my life time and each and ever one of them brings  something unique to the table. I really don't think you can ever have to many friends.. But one thing is for sure if your family I will bend over back for you when you need me. My father told once, well maybe more than once. "You Always Take Care Of The Ones That Take Care Of You" and I try my hardest. Well folks I outta here for now.. Be safe and Be smart.



Peace, Love, and Chicken Grease

BULLYING

Bullying , this right here sparks many thoughts and emotions in people. The fact is that better than 95% of all people has had to deal with this issue at one point or another.  So what do we do? How do we handle this problem? I am not going to say it has gotten worse since I was in school , but I will say that the methods of bullying have change very much. There are many places,clubs, and organizations out there to try to address this and help our young people. But the same problem still stands today as it did when I was a kid. Kids are just too afraid of backlash and ridicule from there peers if they report this. One of the worst labels that you can get in school is a snitch. So this creates a problem, if we as parents,teacher, and friends don't know about the problem we cant help. Even if we do our children beg us not to say anything because of  the fear of backlash. Now as most of you know that read my blog I always have an opinion on things all the time. Right or wrong in a sense I think that with our society now a days children feel entitled. With that said and all the political correctness that is swirling around , most children haven't been taught to have what i call thick skin.  Now I am not down playing bullying by no means, but let face the facts here people kids are mean to each other for what ever reason. There is a line that shouldn't be crossed and once it is then we should constitute that as bullying. Other wise our kids need to suck it up and learn to deal with it. I know this sound harsh , but think of the logic behind it. When they get out of school and college if choose to go they are going to be entering the REAL WORLD. It is not a nice place out there , and painting the picture of that to our children is hurting them and setting them up for a rude awakening in the future. I have had some bosses that were way more abusive verbally and mentally than any bully i met in school. The fact is you will never be able to stop this completely. What we can do is teach our children to stand up for themselves build their self esteem  and learn the right way to handle these situations. A child should never feel that suicide is their last option to stop  what is happening to them. We as parents and people of the community need to stop our busy lives and listen. Once again if you don't know there is a problem you cant fix it. Ask questions and watch what is going on in you childrens lives and if you see something that doesn't feel right about one of their friends ask them, or inform the parents so they know to watch or ask. Now  a lot of the parents that I know have teens or pre-teens and it is like trying to wrestle food out of a gators mouth to get them to open up because they are embarrassed or afraid of what will happen.  We need to let our kids know we have their backs when shit hits the fan. Empower them with the knowledge that they are capable of letting things go and dealing with these bullys , have thick skin. We as parents have many  option to explore when situations get to a point that it needs to be handle by us, and we need to not be afraid to use them. I love my daughter and if you know how I feel about her you also know I would go through hell and high water for her. But I am also teaching her to try to handle and resolve problems on her own. Boy or Girl now is the time to teach our kids to have a backbone, other wise when the become adult they will get walked all over in life. I apologize if anything I said offended anyone ,but once again it is my opinion

Peace,Love, And Chicken Grease