A great book idea!

First, I must apologise to my fellow team blogger. You see, we made a bet a couple of weeks ago. I put my money on McCain, and she on Obama.
The loser was to write a post atleast once a week. I haven't done that.
I suppose I could promise to write atleast two blog posts a week for the next four weeks.
So there you have it brokensword.
I already know what my next post will be out. LIONEL 'dancing on the ceiling' RITCHIE's concert on Thursday. Haven't bought the tickets yet, but come what may, I AM THERE!

Okay, so my blog post today is inspired by a story a friend told me today. I suppose I was so shocked by it, completely shocked, so shocked I still have trouble believing it as fact. So my suggestion to her, is that she put her story in a book and its sure to be a bestseller...or close. More important is that it may just help parents better understand some of the challenges their children face every day of their lives in HIGH SCHOOL!

I've always felt like the teeny bopper movies were highly exaggerated. You know the type where there is always a group of bullies that...well bully the rest of the kids at school. I could never identify with those movies cause they weren't telling about my experience of school. For the first time today, I realised what a sheltered life I've had. The worst form of initiation I ever had was at my convent school - the seniors instructed us to make a silly hat, and then wear it for the entire week at school. I have a very blurred recollection of actually making the hat, but no memory at all of wearing it. I figure I probably rebelled against it. Most important about this little story is that it didn't matter that I did. The seniors weren't all that obsessed with making me feel stupid (wearing the hat and all). It was just never an issue, so I never got into any trouble with them or anything.

Today I heard of a young standard 7 (whats it called these days?) girl who not only got harassed by her fellow women, but some guys too (unfortunately I'm not going to tell that story in this post).

So it started off being a jealosy thang. The senior girls I suppose felt threatened by her because the older boys thought she was a hottie. One day at netball practice (and this is just so true of those teeny bopper movies), one of the senior girls called out to her and said, "catch" - hurling the netball at her - at lightening speed.

It hit her face so hard, she fell flat on the ground.
The young girl ofcourse didn't want to show any weakness, so she held back her tears, picked the ball up and handed it back to the senior, "here you go ma'm," she said. Yep, apparently the younger kids had to call the matric students 'ma'm' and 'sir'.
I still don't believe that.

Later on that week, she got followed in to the ladies room. About six senior girls took turns beating her up. She just lay on the floor and took the bashing. And in true teeny bopper movie style, even though people saw this happening, 'officially' nobody saw anything.

Lucky for the girl, she had a good relationship with her mom. And when she relayed the story to her, her mom wanted to kick them kids' bums herself. I know this girl's mom - she would do it in a second. But fearing that her mom getting involved would make matter worse for herself, the girl begged her mom not to get involved.

The girl missed school for a while, she was just too scared to go but her mom told her enough is enough, you have to stand up to these girls. The girl asked if she could go to school with a knife...that would be her protection, she told her mom. While her mom said hell no to the knife idea, she did advised her that all she needed to do was just to get one of the girls, just one girl and thats it. (hahaha, I still think that's too unreal - sure sounds like it isn't real doesn't it?).

The girl settled for a hockey stick as her protection. And off she went to school. In no time, the same group of girls followed her to the girls bathroom. Before they even got close to her, she warned them, you touch me, and I'll kill you. I swear to god I'll kill you, she said to them.

The one girl responded. Who do you think you are? You think you can take on all of us?

She then responded. I don't need to take all of you. Just one of you. That's all I need. Just one, she said echoing her mom's words.

The one girl then approached the girl. The girl swung that hockey stick and "BHAH" - hit the one girl on the stomach. The one girl fell back and the girl went on top of her - ready to give her a beat down. The other girls retreated. And she let the one girl go.

Talk about a FIGHT BACK strategy. She went on to tell me another story about a little boy who got beat up by older boys at the school. The little boy had a Nigerian father, a BEEG nigerian man for a father (obviously the older boys didn't know this, else they would have never messed around with the little boy). So the one time, right after the boy got beat up, his dad fetched him from school. He could see that his little boy wasn't okay and asked what happened. And so the little boy told his BEEG nigerian dad what had happened to him. When the dad heard the story he demanded that his son show him who had done it. And he did.

The BEEG nigerian man and his son marched on to the rugby (it had to be the rugby guys) field where the same boys that beat up his son were. He asked his son to point out who had hit him. And when he did, the father went straight to one of the boys and slapped him silly. And then warned the rest of them, if any of you mo-fos touch my kid again, I'll kill you.

Hahahahahaha, do you believe that? I know a lot of bullying goes on at some schools. Maybe even most schools. I was never exposed to it. So I can't identify with it at all. What makes children think they can get away with beating up other kids, for no apparent reason. Just for kicks? Why would anyone want to do that? I just don't get it.

Anyway, this girl that told me these stories...and many more, might I add, I figure should write a book about it. All I could think about as she was telling me these story was all those other kids that have really kak relationships with their folks and suffer in silence as a result. All those kids that get teased and beat up their entire high school life. Stuff like that has to have an impact on you. A very negative impact? I wonder what those kids grow up to be? Serial killers? Wife beaters? Drunks?

After hearing this stuff. I kept thinking...when I do have kids - they are gonna have home school.

Top Gear

I am in love with the Top Gear Trio. If ever there was a combination of characters in television that was perfect, that complimented each other in every hilarious way, that just was solid, it is Jeremy, James and Richard.

These past two weeks I saw the Top Gear Botswana and trip to the North Pole.

Amazing, insane, hilarious, shocking. These are the descriptive words that come to mind. I was totally blown away by these two particular episodes. I was a top gear fan before, but this was just amazing. This was Television at its best and what Telvision should be about.

I don’t love cars but I respect the passion others have for them. I myself can appreciate a good looking automobile. It is the same thing I suppose with my relationship with other good things in life. Gadgets, state of the art homes, Dell XP’s etcetera. I do not have to own them to appreciate the beauty in the form and function.

This is the door that Top Gear lets me through, to experience the best of the best, vicariously yes, but at least I know what is out there and what is good to have, to drive, to scorn at. The Top Gear guys look down on the beetle but I can appreciate that it is an iconic symbol of an time/era that till today, tries to survive. I’d have chosen the beetle to battle across the Kalahari.

But yes, if you ever get the chance, watch, Botswana and the luxury journey to the North Pole. It is nail biting stuff but also hilarious. I particularly enjoyed the toilet scenes on the journey to the North Pole.

CHANGE

So I was wrong. And boy am I happy I was wrong. I sat watching McCain this morning, delivering his speech. And he looked particularly disappointed. But I was impressed with him, and how he handled his defeat. Even when his supporters booed at the sound of Obama's name - which he mentioned a few times during his speech - there was some dignity in how he did it.

BUT THEN, later on that morning BARACK OBAMA waltzed on stage in Chicago and delivered his - and if it was not clear to you before, it became clear which of the two was most deserving to sit in that white house. There's something incredibly dreamy about his delivery of speeches. They kinda make you get all worked up, all excited, all energised - ready to take on the world. I felt tears building up in my eyes as I listened to him talk about a 106 year old black woman who had seen all that was possible in America. The change that DID take place...in the past years and again today as Obama became the first black president of the United States of America.

I went on to cry 'heeeee, heeeee' - you know the kind of cry I'm talking about? When your face gets all shriveled up and you make strange, 'choking-like' sounds. I was more proud to be a human being than anything else today.

You know, it is quite easy to take his whole 'change' slogan lightly. But if you really think about it, if you really internalise it and understand what it means - you couldn't have listened to his speech and not cried. I have had so little faith in humanity lately...actually for a long time. And for me it became oh so gloriously clear today that ANYTHING is possible if you just believe and you hope. Everything that I perceived to be wrong in the world suddenly became an opportunity for change. The things we can achieve as a people are endless. Who was it that said something like, 'together we stand, devided we fall'. Barack Obama reminded of that today.