Storms, Work, and A “Stupid” Issue!

I have a lot to say this morning, and unfortunately, many people have no power and my message will only reach some.  So firstly, and most importantly, my thoughts and heart are with those in northeast who will now struggle with the aftermath of one powerful Sandy.  Thinking of family members in the dark, and friends and family members on the shores of Long Island and New Jersey, who will step out into a nightmare this morning.  The single best thing I can say to these people, is hold on.  Though things may not be the same today as they were yesterday, for most everyone, life will go on, and your surroundings will be rebuilt.  Used to be that Florida was the hurricane state, and yes, we have had our fair share, but no place stands immune, now.  From the gulf states, to the eastern seaboard and beyond, hurricanes no longer seem to discriminate.  We all need to be careful what we wish for, for in the wish for more jobs, there once again will now be.  These storms of devastation always create jobs.  Think of the numbers of people it will take to clean-up, restore buildings, fix roofs, and so much more.  And while on topic of jobs, even without the storm, there are many.  People need to WANT to work!  Mitch and I feel grateful that both our grown boys are and have been gainfully employed in jobs of their choice, since they were teenagers (except when Kyle was a full-time student).  While the media and naysayers tried to wear them down, they either never heard them, or heard them and ignored them, because there IS work to be had.

Speaking of work to be had…Regularly their are job fairs, so there must be jobs!  In fact, this Thursday here in South Florida there will be a job fair, with over 750 jobs up for grabs.  Macy’s,  G&K Services, O2Media, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Pollo Tropical, PartsBase, The Continental Group, Education Dynamics, International Buildings, Community Blood Centers and WPTV-5, are just some of the companies that will be looking for help.  This fair is from 10am-2pm at the Marriott West Palm Beach, 1001 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm.  For more info go to jobnewspalmbeach.com.  If you know someone locally that is looking for work, please pass this along.

Now, to jump to what is REALLY on my mind this morning.  I am getting on my soapbox about a “stupid” trend, and I don’t mean a trend that is stupid…I mean a “stupid” trend!  Someone please tell me when it became OK to call people stupid.  This one single word, is causing a lot of unrest amongst people, and I have witnessed it myself too many times in just the past few weeks.  Just because people don’t agree, doesn’t make them stupid.   What you eat or don’t eat, doesn’t make you stupid.  You are not stupid for endorsing a candidate, and definitely neither of the Presidential candidates are stupid, or they certainly couldn’t have made it this far!  You don’t have to agree with their policies, but that doesn’t make them stupid.  And using the word is mean and only causes unrest.  Just this morning I watched the news about Governor Christie calling people who did not evacuate selfish and yup, stupid, saying “I am going to arrest all the stupid people in New Jersey”.  Sure, we all have made some stupid decisions in our lives, and we probably will again.  Don’t confuse bad decisions, or more importantly decisions that simply aren’t the same as the ones you would make with stupid.  Sure, I believe in freedom of speech and I know we all have the right to THINK whatever we want…but early on in life we learn to filter our thoughts and words.  Maybe we all need to exercise the filter idea a little more in an effort to reach a more peaceful place.

A storm like Sandy reminds us all that there are some things we will never have control over, but so many other things we DO have control over…Imagine a world in which we filtered our negative words and opt to speak kindly to one another, despite our differences….That is something we CAN make happen, and my guess is that this morning, people who might otherwise think one another stupid, will come together to help one another out of the storm and into the light.  Coming out of the darkness, there is much to be learned.