Fighting crime one Gabe at a time......

A simple evening shopping leads to a crime stopping adventure.  Last week as I’m shopping around one of my favorite discount non-chain stores, I encounter a crime being committed…well, what I saw to be a crime.  A gentleman walked into said lovely cheap store with nothing in hand and proceeded to walk out with two very large bags of items without first stopping by the checkout counter to pay for those items. So, as I pull into the parking lot tonight (along with my trustee side kick, my partner in all things non sexual), I spot a vehicle that appeared to look like the prior week’s get-away car!  I get out, nonchalantly walk to the back of the car and make note of the license plate (2 things here…nothing was nonchalant about peering my head around the back of that car for a whole 5 seconds and calling it out to said partner in crime and second, I forgot the last four numbers of the plate as soon as I walked away), we proceeded inside the store not believing that the suspects would be inside less than a week later.  I informed Wonder Windy (aka partner in all things non sexual) the physical description of the three perpetrators as we are entering the scene of the “alleged” crime.  We weren’t in the store 5 minutes before suspect one was spotted (and I believe he was wearing the same white t-shirt as last week so he doesn’t appear to be smart enough to steal something else to wear!). Once identification was made, I informed management (well, the little old lady with gray hair at the fitting room who called the manager three times but he never came).  Oh well, the team of associates followed them around the store until they finally departed..one at a time, and might I add, leaving behind a buggy full of items they had planned on stealing.  Not my business some may say but to those people I say, “You ARE welcome!”.  If people continue to steal, it drives the cost up for us buying consumers and I can only find so many clothes my size at the Goodwill people!  Needless to say, I was wearing my super hero cape tonight foiling the criminals plans to loot a store!  Super Girl better watch out….Wonder Windy and Capt'n Cook are on the prowl.  You never know if we will be appearing at your favorite store next….(unless it’s high end then it’s safe to say you won’t see us there unless we are the perpetrators, we got pennies to pinch around this phone booth ;-) ).  As I tuck my cape back under my dress, the phone rings, the Mongrels are in need of rescue, Geesh, that cape never gets a rest!!!  

The NOTS in it....

Spinnin' me around,
Had me so confused.
I was dancin' all alone
Barefoot with no shoes,
To the beat of my own heart.
Wishin' I could go back,
Back to the very start.
Cause the start was so clear,
Just let go of the past,
And all of the fears.
The fear of the NOTs,
Like all the times before.
The NOT good enough
Knocking down my damn door.
The NOT strong enough,
Comin' apart at my seams,
The NOT pretty enough,
For the man of MY dreams.
The do NOT touch me man
He’s feelin’ some type of way,
Got me NOT feeling like myself
NOT knowing what to say.
But let’s tell it like it is
From here on out.
It’s all of your NOTS
That give you the doubts.
So, why you're wastin' time
And feelin' your way along,
Don't be lookin' for me
Cause I'll be movin' on.
See, I am that chick
More loyal than you know
You just didn't have it in ya'
To love me and let go.

"Don't let your mouth block your blessings"

When people talk about the gifts that God has given them, I have constantly wondered, what is mine?  I contemplated this for many years and one day, I thought to myself the only thing that I somewhat do well is run my mouth. If you know me, you know I’m a talker and have been since I was born.  In fact, I’m pretty sure my first breath wasn’t a breath at all but a word spoken that no one understood at the time!   I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY WORDS!  So, maybe that is my gift?  The “gift of gab” (if that’s truly a gift) has not always been used to promote happiness or understanding, and at times has been very venomous and spiteful.  I know, that sounds so horrible but it’s the honest truth. Now, as far as what I’m supposed to do with this “gift”, I am left a little lost, so for now, I will continue to pray about that.  BUT, that’s beside the point of this post, so let me get back to it.

With me glowing in my love of my words, it happens that lately, I have found my thoughts senseless and completely jumbled inside of my head. The words are there, but nothing seems to come out.  It’s like I can almost touch them but I can’t speak or type them.  My lover, Language, has been my best friend for years and now wants to pack his bags and leave?  What am I to do without my words?   Then, it finally dawns on me…maybe...just maybe, I’m not supposed to DO anything!  That this is God’s way of saying, “There is nothing you need to say or do, but trust ME!  I am handling this.”   It’s like He had taped my mouth shut and blocked my mind so that I didn’t interfere with His work because He knew the words that I wanted to use and they were not loving or kind, or even polite.  

What's the moral of my epiphany:  When God starts to work and we step in the way and try to do things on our own, we are interfering in business that we have no business interfering in!  So sometimes, if the words don't seem to come so fluidly to you, there is a reason for that.  Trust in the silence because God's plan is bigger than any of the words that I love so dearly!   

Lies are more becoming?

Without the truth you are left with a handful of lies that don't amount to anything real.  You'll find yourself spending time digging through the words that were spoken in your ears like a child whispering your name so softly that it catches every feeling you've ever had and every feeling you've ever wanted to have.  

Then realizing those whispering words were tarnished with the blackness of the untruth.  That the minutes spent digging through the words and the hours spent pouring over the language and the total time spent rocking that child to sleep with the murmuring words flowing from their lips were all spent in vain.  The truth never resided within that place because it cost too much.  

Lies have taken the beauty out of our speech to each other with all the ugliness they portray.   

So, why is it we are so willing to put our headphones on and listen to that melody being played in our ears?  Because when those tarnished words are being trickled past the lips into our space, we want to believe those words as the beautiful truth from the beautiful person with the beautiful soul that was sent by God Himself straight to us, to deliver those heavenly words to the spirit that flows within us wanting nothing more than love and adoration from that beautiful soul speaking those words. 

In order for us all to stand in the truth we must first be willing to speak and listen to our own truth.  The truth that you may never want to hear the unadulterated gospel from someone that you love due to the heart breaking sound that may follow.  The truth that we are all worthy of not being slaves to the lies spoken into existence by those that do not find worth in the truth itself.  So men and women will continue to speak their lies through their stained lips, all the while binding the truth within, never to escape past their thorny prison.  

Let me tell you somethin......

How to keep your mouth shut when all you want to do is scream sometimes? 

Well, let me help you out because I have finally figured out the formula for doing such a thing.  But let me warn you, it could cause you to maintain a level of resentment and anger within yourself that at some point you may not be able to shove down any farther.  Imagine, if you will, a little person that resides deep down within you and as people say/do things that little person wants to climb up but you keep your hand right at the top so that when she starts to get to the top, you just push on her head until she is at the bottom again then you repeat this process over and over and over again. Until one day, you realize that little girl is no longer gonna be pushed down anymore and she comes out of the top with a vengeance.  Like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando with the rocket launcher full of all the things you’ve been wanting to say for so long shooting out of your mouth toward the other person.  Needless to say, ultimate destruction and possibly a little vomit to boot!  So, now that you are fully warned, here are the steps to follow on your way to (what I like to call) “Slapping a smile on instead of slapping someone”! 

Step 1:  Whenever someone says something you do not agree with or you find utterly full of bull malarkey, you engage your upper jaw and your lower jaw by spreading them apart and completely biting down at the same time hoping that your tongue did not get wind of what you were about to do and run toward your tonsils because you have full intention of injuring it to the point of not being able to speak.

Step 2: Whenever a person throws something up in your face, be it either a previous lover or a current “EX”, repeat Step 1 but with a little more emphasis on the bite down and (if on the phone) hang the phone up claiming there is static on the phone. (Think Verizon, can you hear me now commercial ?) 

Step 3:   Whenever a person presents their friendship as being “better” than yours or they act like being your friend is doing you some sort of “favor”, repeat Step 2 and make sure you actually see blood this time. 

Step 4:  Whenever a person treats you like a complete child when you have already established that you are a real life grown up that has spent 17 years raising two kids on your own, Repeat Step 3 and run in the opposite direction of where this person is – even if you are only on the phone, drop the phone and run the opposite direction.  

Step 5:  Whenever a person confuses you to the point of never knowing where you completely stand with them or the status of your “private” relationship, repeat Steps 1-4 and if that doesn’t work, let that little girl inside come flying out with that rocket launcher and maybe, just maybe, she will be sportin’ a grenade or two in her pants to throw out and help the mass explosion that is about to come out of your mouth like word vomit! 

I hope these steps have helped you in learning how to sufficiently shove your tongue down your own throat in hopes of keeping the peace and not allowing your words to get the better of you in any and all situations.  

Whiteness

I had a dream the other night about a white room... With white walls and bright white lights, so bright nothing else could be seen.  I felt the ground beneath me, solid and firm.  I was running toward the exit but it felt like an invisible white wall was in front of me and like a giant hand was holding me back. .. Back from my future... Back from my past... back from everything I knew in this life.  I opened my mouth and screamed, screamed so loud that it was the loudest sound ever made,  but it was only in my head because no sound came out... no voice was mine being heard... no sound could escape this white room.  I was covered but in nothing at all..I reached out for you, but you weren't there. No one was there... I was unequivocally alone in this white room, with it's white walls, with no sound escaping.

How little are we talking???

When it comes to the little things how little are we talking????  
As I scroll through memory lane (aka my cell phone GALLERY), it only takes a few photos to draw my attention to a couple facts: 1) that the camera coming at me from my right is NOT a flattering angle, and 2) that it's all those little moments that we end up forgetting as life progresses. 
Have you ever heard someone tell a story and when they recall a small minute detail they say, "I don't know why I remember that part"?  It's because we usually forget all the smaller details of things like why we were there or what we were wearing in those tiny moments.  
While scrolling through my "memory", I see pictures that remind me of all the every day moments that I often forget like the Male Mongrel trying on this absurd looking sleeveless jean jacket in Rugged Warehouse and the time he ate so much at Cracker Barrel that he almost didn't make it to the car...and the picture where I caught "Mega Moody" walking out of the Circle K on a random night or the many selfies she takes when my phone is left unattended....and the selfies I take with my favorite elderly lady (aka the Grammy), with the silly things she does to make me laugh... and the pic of Lauren De Taint-es holding up a plastic mustache straw while wearing a paper bandana around her head pretending to be Hulk Hogan, and her and James grilling burgers in the rain at her house warming party....and the video of a friend lip syncing a song just to make you smile...and the summer weekends spent at Carowinds with both the Mongrels and their friends or Saturday Nights at the drive-in watching a double feature out under the stars.... so many memories being held on a tiny disk.  It's these pictures/videos that make up our lives...a flip book of times past.  Things get chaotic and we forget that it's the day-to-day memories that mean the most because it involves the people that are there every single day.  It includes the people we love, the ones we trust, the ones that drive us past crazy, and the ones we value and hold dear.  Don't discount those little things that happen each day in your life.  Grab hold of those memories and let them sink in deep because you never know which ones will end up being your favorites or which one will change the course of your journey in life.  
Celebrate every single day, love beyond your capacity, be kind when all else fails, and forgive farther than reason allows.