Can the Adults Please Smoke? Part 24, Drunk on Guinness- Page 7

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:26pm

I have to agree with YWIW. There are some states I know I could not live in.

Michigan is one of them. But not because I don't like it there.

[shira467]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:28pm

Miss P, would you and the kids like to move to NY? Automatic babysitting from me!

[bwayaddict]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:31pm

Okay then, Miss P, is it because of someone's relatives and others that do live in Michigan. lol

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:31pm

Everybody "offers" to babysit, but then when you actually need it, no one is ever "available"!

[shira467]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:33pm

Maybe it's because I haven't been "asked".

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:40pm

Okay, can you come down here for a weekend so Caldwell and I can go away by ourselves?????

Updated On: 7/12/08 at 03:40 PM

[DG]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:40pm

I lived in Texas for awhile - and not even in Ausitn. Since I escaped alive and didn't end up in prison, I assume anything is possible

[shira467]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:40pm

Which weekend? I might be free :)

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:47pm

Baddy, you got it!!!!

Shira, you tell me

DG, prison would NOT suit you!

[shira467]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:47pm

We'll talk when you're in town :)

[shira's chef]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:56pm

DG, no one said ALL of the South is horrific. But in general, Arkansas seems to be so.

I'm somewhat open to where I live. I mean, I even interviewed for an internship, and will apply for employment, at a company in Minneapolis. I didn't expect to like Minnesota, but Minneapolis isn't too bad. Besides the horrid winters...

[DG]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:02pm

Cheffy, here's the thing - and it's interesting that you picked Arkansas to make your point. I have relatives there, and even 'friends of friends', and they are amongst people I care deeply about. Maybe my issue is just with blanket statements of any kind - it tends to put me 'on guard'.

Not saying I've really taken offense at your statements, just saying that any kind of expression of that nature can lead to potential hurt feelings and barrier-building. I'm more interested in things that unite, as opposed to things that divide.

I think I made that exact comment in another thread recently - I must really think that way

[shira's chef]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:08pm

I do realize blanket statements aren't the best choice, in general. And poking at Arkansas was sort of a joke.

But I have family that has lived all over the south, and the experiences they had in Arkansas in comparison to elsewhere was surprisingly much much worse. I also have some friends that tried working at the corporate office of Dillard's, a department store, in Little Rock, and they didn't have the best experience.

I think if you have friends and family there, it's a different story - just as plenty of people could crack on Virginia, it just depends. A large part of my mother's family lives in VA and I miss visiting more often! But I do agree with you, DG. The state of mind you have where you're living makes the biggest difference.

[bwayaddict]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:13pm

Off to Sam's Club for a quick shop if there is such a thing. Later

[shira's chef]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:18pm

Oooh, have fun. I've never been to Sam's Club, but I'm a fan of Costco!

[shira467]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:27pm

Baddy, bring me back a cheese wheel!

[shira467]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:34pm

Well my darlings, off to Philly. Have a good weekend!

[shira's chef]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:34pm

Hrmmm...I think I'm going to rush for In The Heights tomorrow. That will be a fun Sunday. :)

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:45pm

Well DG, I will say that I met some very lovely people in Little Rock, but when I was working there, I found an undercurrent of prejudice against blacks and jews that threw me.

Some of the people there were great, but the social structure there, and the pervasive push of the church, were too much for my socially liberal, Jewish little soul. I had never been cornered and preached/prostelized to on the job until I was in Little Rock.

It is beautiful country, with lush trees, and some amazing landscapes, but it was not the place for me. Class and knowing "your place" seem to be very strong currents there, and while again, there were some lovely folks, they were outnumbered by those that just seemed to be about 40 years behind the times.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 4:53pm

I agree with YWIW. I couldn't live somewhere where there was rampant intolerance.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 5:00pm

Funny, I befriended a gay man there, who moved to Arkansas from St. Petersburg for the job, and he told me in no uncertain terms...

DO NOT MOVE TO LITTLE ROCK - IT WILL KILL YOUR SOUL.

He was looking for options of moving away as quickly as possible.

I also forgot the ongoing sexism I faced, but that was not as bad as being told, when I mention I was Jewish "I know one of them."

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 5:08pm

YWIW, similar comments were made to me the last time I was in North Carolina, and I was highly offended, and I'm not even Jewish. But people I love ARE, so whenever anyone makes an unseemly remark about anyone's ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender roles, and so forth, an alarm goes off in my head. I TRY to be understanding and say to myself, "This person just doesn't know any better"--not to be condescending, but compassionate. At the same time, I try to get myself out of there as quickly as possible!

[DG]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 5:49pm

Interestingly, that kind of describes the environment we live in. Most of the small businesses around us are owned by Christians of a rather conservative bent, and they go so far as to use their businesses to promote their 'perspective' (I'm consciously avoiding using the term 'agenda' ) I've had some rather uncomfortable encounters while doing something as seemingly innocuous as picking up dry-cleaning!

Obviously, I get what you're saying about 'pervasive attitudes' in a region. Part of what's fueling my thoughts on this - at least at the moment - is a reactive posture on my part to the notion I get thrown in my face around here (concerning being gay and living in America) - "If you don't like it, leave". That's not something I think is viable, and so my negative reaction to that is fueling my feelings on categorizing 'place'.

All-in-all, I just think it's sad that this type of thing has to be an issue - for anybody, for any reason.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 5:55pm

DG, that is why you need to live a wee bit west, and closer to the coast!

[DG]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 6:00pm

YWIW - it would certainly be preferable Believe me, especially since I spent most of yesterday on the coast - where the weather was PERFECT, by the way! - I feel it would really improve our quality of life to live 'further west'.

We're out here because of the TinMan's old life, but that's been changed. Mostly, right now, it's simply a financial decision. We have a rather unique set-up with the home ownership here, and there would be NO WAY to even come close to replicating our lifestyle if we moved in that direction.

Ultimately, as in everything else, you make choices based on the priorities you develop. Who knows what the future holds, or where we might end up.

Eventually, we just hope to end up being two old queens living in Palm Springs and running around naked in the desert sun