A Tale of the City

The Jason Show took part of the cast and crew on location to vibrant San Francisco in preparation for Amelia's stay in the Bay Area to go to the University.

Business was first.  We had freshman orientation for students and parents alike.  As I walked around campus, watched the people, and listened to the information, two things popped into my mind repeatedly:

Amelia was made for this University; this University was made for Amelia.

and

Why didn't I go here?

After business was taken care of, we met up with a previous regular on The Jason Show, Rossana.

Rossana knows the Bay Area like the back of her hand, so she showed up the sights.  As we toured the city by BART, bus, and car, the thoughts recurred to me:

Amelia was made for this city; this city was made for Amelia.

and

Why don't I live here?

With so much beauty and culture and diversity and march to the beat of your own drumedness here, I say: 

Amelia was made for this city; this city was made for Amelia.

and

Why don't we move here?

Amelia was made for this city; this city was made for Amelia.

Maybe someday we'll live here.

It Runs in the Family

Insanity, that is, not straight teeth.  These newly revealed pearly whites cost over $5,000.00!  And worth every penny.

Hike Along With Jason

The writers and producers at The Jason Show always enjoy posts showing photographs of where the Show viewers make their ways through life.  The hills surrounding the setting of The Jason Show, and most of Los Angeles county, looks a lot like this:

Well, not this.  These are my legs and feet.  And my shirt.  Yes, I went  hiking.  Yes, I was hiking topless.  Go ahead everyone.  You may swoon at the thought.

This is a typical hillside in our area, after a particularly heavy rainy season.  Oh, so lush and verdant, don't you think? It's practically a jungle.   However, by the time this episode is aired, it will no doubt look like this:

This is a view of one of the local freeways.  

During certain parts of the day, this freeway looks more like this:

This is an Oak tree.  It is against the law to cut down an Oak tree here, and every street and every neighborhood is named with some sort of variation on Oak.  Oak Hills, Oak Lane, Oak Ridge, The Oaks, Southern Oaks, Oakwood,  Oak Avenue, Oak Road, Oak Crest, Oak Vale, Oak Poke, Oak Throat,  Oak Eee Dokey,  Oak on a Rope, Oak a Cola, and Diet Oak.

Mount Everest, here I come!

The Letter of the Law

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus18:22, and cannot be condoned under any

circumstance.  The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a US man, and

posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.  When someone tries to defend

the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other

elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations.  A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians.  Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7.  In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24.  The problem is how do I tell?  I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9.  The problem is my neighbors.  They claim the odor is not pleasing to them.  Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath.  Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death.  Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality.  I don't agree.  Can you settle this?  Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight.  I have to admit that I wear reading glasses.  Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27.  How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm.  He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend).  He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot.  Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town

together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.

James M. Kauffman,

Ed.D. Professor Emeritus,

Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education

University of Virginia

PS (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian)

Respite

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

Stream of Consciousness Blogging: My Hermit Fantasy

It has been a thoroughly difficult couple of weeks on the set of The Jason Show.  It's been one thing.  And another.  And then another.  And then, yesterday, ANOTHER.

I would ask you all if you'd like to join me in a year of hermithood, but now that would just defeat the purpose, now wouldn't it?  Pursuing my fantasy of of hermithood is something that I must accomplish alone.  Funny.  I just typed "fantnasty".  Freudian slip?  Maybe that's what I need: a fantnasty.

I love my family, each member, dearly.  But sometimes when you put them all together you come up with one great big ball of KrAzY!  Including me of course.  I like to think that I am the rock, the glue, the foundation of this family with which I have surrounded myself.  But in reality, I get the sneaky feeling that that I am no more solid and secure than any other one of them.  As my sister said the other day when discussing our father's paranoid schizophrenia, "What if we're both crazy right now too and we don't even know it?!"

What?  My father's schizophrenia?  Yep.  Surprise!  The cat's out of the bag.  That will be a WHOLE ENTIRE SEASON of The Jason Show when the writers can finally bring themselves to put it all down on paper.

My Corona is kicking in.  Ahhhhh.  Sweet, temporary relief.  Does that sound bad if I say that?

Bad Decisions

One of the most painful parts of being a parent is having to watch your child make bad decisions.   We all make bad decisions from time to time;  hopefully we learn from them.    What do you do when your children continually make bad decisions?  What do you do when your child seems to make more, way more, than their share of bad choices, and they're not just sort of bad decisions, but they are decisions that are colossally bad?   What do you do when your child has, since about the age of 13,  made decisions that have made it seem like they're hell bent on their own destruction?  What do you do when your own son or daughter has made decisions that have sent deep, painful repercussions reverberating through the core of each and every other person in the family?  And all you want, all any of you want, is for your child to be happy, or at least on a road that will eventually lead to happiness.  But when they make choice after choice after choice that you have accurately predicted would lead only to frustration, misery, and dead ends, then how do you react?  How do you react when your child does not ever seem to learn from his or her mistakes, despite the misery that these choices have caused?

And now, this weekend, as I sit here, a child that I diapered and fed and bathed and taught to ride a bike is in the midst of making yet another decision of large proportions that most likely will lead to heartbreak, anger, frustration, and loss. 

When does a parent draw the line, especially when a son or daughter has become an adult?  How do you help when they have their own lives, responsible for themselves?  What do you do when you have been there for your kids when they needed you, when you have helped them through countless, unspeakably rough times?  Dreadful times. Times that have left scars on you soul.  What do you do when your child embarks on another series of decisions? When do you just stand up and say, "No!  We will not support you in this in any way.  Your last bad decision of this sort nearly shattered the whole family into a billion tiny pieces.  We will not take part of this at all!?"

What would a good parent do?  What about unconditional love?  Are you loving unconditionally if you reject their bad decisions and in the process push them away so far that they may never return?

Clean Your Own Butt!

Three members of my family are smokers.  As one of the non-smoking family members, one of the challenges of comingling with my smoking family members it to not breathe their smoke.  One of their challenges, of course, is not being able to smoke inside their own home.  Sometimes, at night when I'm upstairs watching TV with the window next to me open for some fresh air, I will unintentionally smoke half of somebody else's cigarette who is sitting outside on the patio.  On a clear, calm, beautiful evening, cigarette smoke has an uncanny way of finding its way across the yard and into an open window.  I try to be tolerant, just as I hope others are tolerant of me and my weaknesses.  Besides, everyone deserves the right to cause their own cancer and the cancer of the people around them, right?

Well.  Worse than the smoke are the overflowing ash trays and the littering of cigarette butts.  It really chaps my hide when I have to end up cleaning up somebody else's overflowing ash tray or scattering of butts all over the yard.  I was just outside doing some watering and I found little white butts here, there, and everywhere;  in the bushes, under the tree, in the gutter.  You may say, "Well, Jason Show, nobody is making you clean it up."  True.  Nobody is forcing me with a gun to clean their butts.  But I DO have to look at it, which, really, is there anything uglier than a full ash tray?  And when we have little ones around, the butts have to be cleaned so they don't get into them.

Now.  It is a known fact that some of my favorite bloggy friends are smokers.  I'm certain that none of you make others clean your butts, right?

You clean your own butts, right?  Right?  Right?

Some People, and Other People

Some people refuse to get along with other people, and some people and other people always want to put one person in the middle.  One person used to fall for that all the time, and that one person always felt responsible when some people didn't get along with other people, but then one person learned that if some people refuse to do what it takes to get along with other people, then there is nothing one person can really do about it.  Some people are stubborn as mules, and other people are, too.  Some people just can't see eye to eye with other people.  Some people have the illusion that they are doing everything they can to try to get along with other people, and other people think they are bending over backwards and making concession after concession with some people.  But in reality neither some people nor other people are doing what it takes to resolve their differences.  One person has gotten to the point where one person can just distance one person's self emotionally, shrug one person's shoulders, and refuse to accept responsibility any longer.  But then, once in a while, some people have particularly big issues with other people and then one person starts getting angry and upset all over again.  Then one person gets in a huge funk.  Sometimes some people and other people are so caught up in themselves that they don't really care how one person feels.  One person wants to lock some people in a room with other people and not let them come out until they have truly, in actuality, worked out their differences.   One person realizes that it is just life for some people to not get along with other people.  But one person doesn't like it, not one bit.  It has been said that one person just needs to grow a pair, or at least get thicker skin.   One person has come a long way in that department, but sometimes one person's pair seems to shrivel up inside and one person's skin becomes as thin as paper.  One person wishes some people could just get along with other people.  One person is sick and tired of some people and other people singing the same damn song, just a new verse.  Sometimes one person wants to disappear.  One person wonders how some people and other people would feel about that!  Maybe then some people would be sorry and find a way to stop this nonsense with other people.  Then perhaps, just perhaps, one person would want to reappear.

Pomp and Circumstance

Today was a big, happy day on The Jason Show.

Pay it Forward Challenge!

One of the most exciting things going around the blogosphere right now is the Pay it Forward Challenge.  I was chosen a couple months back by Kelley from Yeah, Sure, You Betcha as one of her Pay it Forward recipients.  It was very exciting for me!  So, after a while, this is what I received in the mail:

Kelley is a veteran 3-day participant in Minnesota.  Once she read that I am going to be doing my first 3-day, she sent me a very thoughtful email and a couple of links to help me get started.  And now, I have my own little care package to help me survive my first 60 miles.

Thank you so very much, Kelley!  You ROCK!

Now it's your turn!

Rules

 1. You must have a blog that I can access and read (I need to learn more about you so that your "prize" is specific to you!!)

2. Just leave a comment on this post by next Sunday, June 6th. I'll draw names the following Monday and will notify you of your win via your own blog. No need to follow me, tweet about it, etc.

3. If you win, then you promise to talk about the Pay It Forward Challenge and do this yourself on your blog! (read: easy blog material!)

The Prize: To be determined by reading your blog so it will be specific to YOU! That's what Pay It Forward is about: sending you a little something to put a little smile on your face!

  Blogging has added such a positive dimension to my life.  I'm thrilled with the opportunity to Pay it Forward to other bloggers.  Good luck!

Now go leave a comment and make me feel good.  Winning the pay it forward challenge is WAY easier than winning the lottery.