Tag: Daily Prompt

I Have The Power (Sorry, He-Man…)

~ JodiLea ~ 1 Comment

DP: You have the power to enact a single law. What would it be?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Evil Poster

I hear it said all the time: “There’s no law against the ignorant”. Well, now there is – sort of.

The Law:  ALL parents must have a license to raise children. **

Mandatory Requirements for License:

  • Well-rounded Common Sense
  • Approval from interviews with State Officials and licensed parents.
  • Also interviewed: Parents, Grandparents, siblings, neighbors of applicant(s)
  • Applicant(s) must pass a Comprehensive Parent Training Course
  • Applicant(s) must pass a State Test based on Parent Training, General Knowledge.
  • Applicant(s) must test negative on ALL random drug tests.

The Health and Child Welfare Departments, will oversee State Testing and will also conduct personal interviews of each applicant.

Each State may add requirements, but shall NOT alter any of the mandatory requirements.

This is a Zero Tolerance law.

In the case of parents who already have children – they are interviewed by a Child Protective Service Representative AND a Board Certified Psychologist. Then, if accepted, they need to obtain a license After The Fact (ATF)

In the case of an accidental, or unwanted, pregnancy – the parents have 2 options. Give the baby up for adoption to licensed parents – OR – complete the requirements for licensing before the baby is born.

In the case of a divorce and parent establishes a new relationship, this person must obtain, or already have, a license.

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** It is unfortunate that such a law has to be written and enforced because of the alarming rate of abuse from a child’s own family. This law was pushed through the House and the Senate to protect the innocent children in our country.

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For More Information:

Child Abuse Statistics

Sexual Abuse of Children Statistics

8-year old Boy Tortured, Abused and Murdered

Woman gets 10-year sentence for killing her 6-month old

Man Sentenced to Life For Killing 2-year old

Family Members Convicted for Child Abuse  (The child’s Grandma even abused her – now that is sick.)
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photo credit: live w mcs via photopin cc

Fester, Fester, Fester. Rot. Rot. Rot.

~ JodiLea

Daily Prompt: Silver Screen
Take a quote from your favorite movie — there’s the title of your post. Now, write!

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Tony held tightly to his grudge for 15-years and counting. He could not let it go.  Some things that Ralph did annoyed him, but nothing caused any bitterness and ill-will toward Ralph, until he stabbed Tony in the back.

He would almost understand if Ralph’s betrayal was over money, or a woman. But not an old musty book. He and Ralph were browsing at the county flea-market, when Tony discovered what he believed to be a family heirloom. A diary, dated in 1892, when the author was 16-years old. He couldn’t wait to get home and compare the handwriting to an old scrap-book he inherited.

Tony was 99% sure that 16-year old Cassie, was his great-great-grandmother, Cassandra.

Ralph was uncharacteristically bitchy about Tony’s insisting they leave, grumbling all the way to the parking lot.

“This thing can wait another hour or so, can’t it?”

“I feel like I need to get this diary home, now,” Tony explained. “Aren’t you even a bit curious?”

“No. Just drop me off at my place, OK?”

“Well – OK”.  Tony was hurt that his friend did not want to be part of his discovery, but he said nothing when Ralph hopped out of the car and said, “See ya later!”

Tony dug out the old family Bible, scrapbooks and photo albums and piled them on his dining room table. His hunch was right! Great-great-grandmother Cassandra, and the 16-year old Cassie that wrote the diary, were the same girl. He was so excited, he stayed up all night reading her diary. It was a fascinating and entertaining book. He also learned a lot about his other family members as he read.

When he woke up, the sun was shining brightly through the kitchen window, on his head. It took him a minute to figure out why he was sleeping at the dining-room table, and not in his bed.  Cassie’s diary was nowhere to be found among the pile of books on the table. He knew he fell asleep with the diary in his hands. What the Hell could have happened to it?

Two days later, Tony was having a beer at Ralph’s, when he noticed the spine of a book burned up in the fireplace. He took a closer look. It was Cassie’s diary!

“What have you done?” Tony demanded, pointing at the fire-place. Ralph shrugged.  “I got a real bad feeling about that book you found,” Ralph told him. “It felt haunted.”

“Then you should have talked to me about it! Not go behind my back and destroy it!”  he yelled.  That was the last time he spoke to Ralph, 15-years ago.

As if his grandmother was standing close, whispering to him, Tony heard “Fester, Fester, Fester. Rot.  Rot.  Rot.”  He tried to remember the section in the diary where she wrote those very words. Oh yes – it was when she wrote about her brother, Ethan, who hated their cousin Lloyd for reasons she did not know. She worried about Ethan because she saw what his bitterness toward Lloyd was doing to him.

“Ethan’s soul is being devoured by his hatred,” she wrote. “His bitterness is spreading into all aspects of his personality, turning him into an old man before his time.”

Later (only a few pages in the dairy), she wrote about confronting Ethan and telling him he was “festering and rotting” his life away. She teasingly punched his arm, and mimicking his gruff voice, said,” Fester, Fester, Fester.  Rot.  Rot.  Rot.”  Ethan and she laughed together for a long while. Then he told Cassie he would try to let go of his festering grudge, making her happy and hopeful that she would “have her normal brother back”.  She drew two red hearts, ending the day’s entry in her diary.

Tony shivered as goosebumps crawled up his arms. His great-great grandma was trying to tell him he behaved like Ethan. Was he going to make his whole life rotten over what Ralph did to her diary?  Or was he going to let it go back into the past where it belonged?

He was certain he knew what his great-great-grandma wanted him to do.

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BTW…

The quote, said by Meg Ryan’s character “Kate”, was in the film French Kiss. If you haven’t seen this film – you should  😉

Poster Image courtesy of IBMD
Poster Image courtesy of IMBd

All Grown Up (Sort of)

~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

When did I first feel grown up?

When I traveled for the first time on official business.

Airplane Landing

I contacted one of our government contractors in St. Louis. I ordered products (digitized maps) from them and had a hard a time figuring out which ones we needed. My agenda was to tour their operations and give them comments about the trouble I had with ordering the correct maps. We needed them to make a product catalog that made sense.

So, I arranged a meeting to tour their operations and provide feedback.  My host  asked me to talk to his employees about how our team used the products they made. I told them I would be happy to. Yikes!  Now I had to write a presentation. Things were getting a bit complicated.

I scheduled the trip to coincide with my St. Louis cousin’s wedding. My dad  called this kind of thing – a “double-dookie”.  He would have been so proud.  This also saved my boss the hotel and parking costs by staying at my BFF’s place.

The day I flew into St. Louis I made my BFF and her son ride with me into the city and back. I knew I would be less nervous tomorrow if I practiced today.  The trial run went well and we made it home in time for supper.

After a sleepless night, I gulped coffee, triple checked my briefcase and asked BFF to pray for me – and off I went. I left early because I figured there would be massive commuter traffic, like in San Francisco. There wasn’t. So I’m an hour early.

I think I caused a bit of a panic for my host, but he was gracious and welcoming in spite of my early arrival. The agenda for the day was to meet with operations and see the catalog and graphics they were working on. Then lunch. My presentation would be the grand finale. Great.

I am the kind of person who prefers to “get things over with”.  Especially things that are freaking causing me stress. I had 1/2 a salad for lunch because my stomach was full of butterflies.

The conference room was packed.

Everyone in operations wanted to hear my presentation. They were even excited about it. Later, I found out that I was the first person to visit and show them how we incorporated their digitized maps into our computer software.

I could not believe how well my presentation went. Afterwards it felt like a press conference with all the questions the audience asked. I knew the answers to most of them. Some I promised to get back to once I returned home and asked the computer scientists.

I ended up having fun. In fact, I even started to feel like a savvy business woman. My confidence and ego swelled like my ankles on a hot day. I thought I was so awesome.

Until I got totally lost on the way home 😉