October 30, 2009
by marfmom
8 Comments

Neighborly Love?

I want to know what is wrong with people.

Are we so connected online that we’ve stopped connecting in person?

Is our “Me” culture so pervasive that we simply don’t care about each other anymore?

Today, my son learned to crawl. And along with the crawling, he began to get into things. I followed him around, working to finalize the baby-proofing that I’d already begun. Going after the cat? Baby redirected. Air freshener? Removed from the wall.

But this evening, as I was preparing his dinner, Menininho apparently got into something I hadn’t anticipated. I set him down to eat and he began to scream. Checking his mouth, I saw a rounded white object in his throat (the doorstop cover?) and tried my best to sweep it out, but it disappeared. Next, I flipped him over and hit his back, but nothing came out. He kept screaming and I was frantic. I ran out my door and screamed to the neighbors for help. I pounded on my neighbor’s door so hard my knuckle bled.

My neighbors were home, but no one would answer. One neighbor stuck his head out the door, then closed it. They ignored my hysterical baby and me, even though we were begging for help.

Luckily, I snapped back and realized that as long as Menininho was screaming, his airway wasn’t obstructed (duh), and called the pediatrician. When she called back, she decided that based on my description of the object (ended up not being the doorstop cover and I have no idea what it could have been) that it wasn’t something that would show up on an x-ray and should pass easily on its own. Whew.

But I want to know: How can you ignore your own neighbor’s plea for help?

Last night, my husband was on his way to Target with Menininho when he witnessed an accident farther up the highway. The offending driver took off, and no one stopped to help the man who was hit, even though his trunk was now his backseat. Mark pulled over, checked on him, called the police, and didn’t leave until he was sure the man was alright.

And who hasn’t heard about the attack that took place here in California last week, where 20 teenagers watched one of their own classmates be brutally assaulted? No one called 911 for over 2 hours.

Now, I’m certainly not trying to paint a bleak picture of the world. There is still a lot of goodness all around. But when things like this happen, as little (tonight) or as large (the terrible assault) as they may be, we need to take a moment to reflect.

Are we aware of those around us?
Are we willing to help our neighbors, to aid strangers in distress?
Are we teaching our children to be active and responsible citizens?

If not, we need to be.

October 29, 2009
by marfmom
12 Comments

A Halloween Past

I’m pretty sure I came straight from the womb as a Tree-Hugging, Bleeding-Heart Liberal.

You doubt me?

Each September, my mother asked my siblings and me what Halloween costume we wanted her to make for us. As a 7 or 8 year old, I requested a princess costume. But not just ANY princess costume, mind you. Princesses are frilly things who wait to be rescued by princes. I’d definitely grown out of insisting that everyone at church refer to me as “Cinderella.”

No, this year would be different. I would trick or treat as the Be Kind to Animals Princess.

[Incidentally, I believe this was the same year I wrote a heated letter to the editor of the local paper bemoaning the over-industrialization of my neighborhood because I felt it was encroaching on the deer’s natural habitat, and because Mom told me I was too young to personally plead the case at the Zoning Commission meeting. But that’s neither here nor there.]

I give my poor mother props for attempting this costume. She created a dress out of our mauve (or was it plum?) colored futon sheets, though it looked a little like a wizard’s garb. The sleeves and bottom were trimmed with silver zigzag piping and she used puffy paint to attempt various animals along the bottom of the skirt.

Just in case that wasn’t enough to get my theme across, I decided that instead of the usual “Trick-or-treat!” I’d say “TrickOrTreatI’mTheBeKindToAnimalsPrincessSoBeKindToAnimals! Thanks!”

That lasted all of 3 or 4 houses and as many confused looks before I chickened (excuse the pun) out.

I wish I had some video of this to show Menininho someday when he complains about being “different,” as most children inevitably do, so that I can prove that I used to be different too, but still turned out OK.

I mean, I did turn out ok…right?

* This post in honor of MamaKat’s blogging carnival, in which I am responding to prompt #5.