Blah, blah, blah...random ramblings

Sometimes the news can be mighty amusing and full of gushing nonsense about nothing. Take the breathless news today that Tiger Woods had been seriously injured in a car accident backing out of his driveway in the wee hours of the morning after an alleged "domestic incident" possibly regarding an alleged affair with another woman. The news reports were full of reports of how his wife rescued him out of the heavily damaged vehicle by smashing in one of the windows with one of his beloved golf clubs. Another report had him lying on the ground, in and out of consciousness, being tended to by his wife while they waited for an ambulance to arrive. Well, folks, turns out the real news was that his injuries weren't serious, just a few facial lacerations that were treated at the hospital and he was released shortly afterward and returned home. Amazing how the media can exaggerate some things to create high drama, especially on a newsday dominated by the progress of Black Friday and how many shoppers were out there crammed into stores buying stuff they probably don't need anyway. This was a break from the economic news that was sure to turn heads and grab our attention on the television screens. Well, I am glad for Mr. Woods' sake - and that of his family - that he wasn't seriously injured after all, and anyway, I know from experience how much facial cuts can bleed and look bad when they really aren't. So that's probably what got everyone's knickers in a twist thinking that he was in bad shape when he really wasn't. Made for good publicity, I guess.

I know that people in Washington aren't laughing about it, but I think that the idea of a couple crashing a White House state dinner was pretty hilarious. That took a lot of chutzpah and they even managed to get pictures taken of them with Vice President Biden, President Obama and some other dignitaries at the dinner and then posted them on their Facebook page! I wonder if these people with whom they were photographed even had any clue who they were, or were they just acting like they belonged there with everyone else? I guess they were trying to sort of "audition" for a reality show. Well, that's one hell of a way to do so, and my guess is that they'll get what they want, their 15 minutes of fame. If these folks were looking for celebrity, well, they've got it now, with their names splashed across every newspaper and web site in the country. Some years ago, there was a big celebrity splashed hoopla here in my hometown when the Kent State University Fashion Museum had its grand opening. Well, I live right across the street from it and I half considered "crashing" the party by dressing up in one of my gorgeous Mediaeval gowns and doing myself up just right to look like I belonged there as a part of the fashion exhibit. I mean, if you act like you belong someplace, most people won't question you and will assume that you're supposed to be there, which is probably how that couple got photographed with so many dignitaries. Well, suffice it to say I didn't "crash" the party at the Fashion Museum, but the thought of it left me grinning wickedly at the very idea of gathering up enough chutzpah to try it, just for giggles.

Black Friday - gah, what an abomination, standing in long lines waiting to get into a store in the wee hours of a cold late autumn morning waiting to crash through the doors when it opens and make a mad dash for some unbeatable bargain with about a thousand other customers who all want the same piece of merchandise. No, thank you. I'd really rather sit on my sofa in my pj's with my laptop in the warmth and comfort of my apartment, sipping coffee and shop online and let the stores do the gift wrapping and shipping of stuff for me rather that my having to do all that myself, running around burning up gas in the car and coming home burned out and exhausted. No struggling to find a parking space that doesn't involve walking for what feels like a half mile just to get to the desired store, no surly customers, no grumpy exhausted cashiers, no sitting in long lines of traffic waiting for a light to change, only to have it turn red again when it's my turn to go through, causing me further aggravation, no gift wrapping that looks like a three year old did it (I cannot seem to get the hang of nice neat gift wrapping), no rushing to the post office, UPS or FedEx store to frantically ship something on time for Christmas delivery...no, none of that for me. Sitting on the couch in my pj's, laptop handy, sipping coffee in the warmth of my apartment is the way I'd rather do it, and I haven't even begun my Christmas shopping yet anyway, so I didn't spend today shopping online as it is. But if I felt compelled to do Black Friday shopping today, this is how I would have done it. Much better in the long run for one's sanity during this often hectic holiday season!