Hello from Philly. We managed to make it through airport security without one single item or person being searched. No one felt it necessary to confiscate my lip gloss or Luna Bar in the name of national security.
I'm pretty sure I saw someone try to buy drugs within the first two hours I was here. On my subway ride from the airport to the hotel, I passed the time by thinking about when, a year and a half ago, I had been robbed by two black men and I couldn't describe them to the police. So I sat on the subway staring at black men thinking about how I would describe them if necessary. "He had corn-rows." Or, "he was wearing a football jersey and a big square diamond earring and Adidas." "His pants were in danger of falling off." Don't you like the thought process of the inner-city church Pastor's wife?
The Pastor is working, but the kids and I saw the sites. Today, we rode on the double decker tour bus and saw an overview of the city. We also toured the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We did all of this in spite of the fact that one of the children just wanted to stay at the hotel and swim.
Later, when the Pastor caught up with us, I tried to be a good wife. Really, I tried. But, what, I ask you, about me says "she looks like the type of girl who wold like to walk around in the rain." ????? In a city that clearly embraces public urination, I certainly don't mind splashing around in the water that washes it away! I was trying to make the Pastor happy by walking to the AIDS thrift store so he could buy two shirts for $3.50.
Then, for maximum embarrassment, even though I safely ran for hours in my rubber flip flops, I waited until I was in the hotel lobby to fall on my bottom and my wrist and say a word my son had never heard me say. I blame the cinnamon rolls.
We are staying at a Holiday Inn Express. Even though I am embarrassed by the whole slip and fall thing and not happy about the people in the room next to us who made sure we didn't sleep last night, the hotel redeems itself with the delicious cinammon rolls. I only ate one, and part of a second one this morning. That is an improvement over my pre-Weight Watcher cinnamon roll escapades. I spent time this evening trying to find the nutritional information, but I couldn't find it. It's just as well. I'd rather be in denial. And if you know, don't tell me.
Now I am watching a show on cable about morbidly obese people who have to go to special clinics. I wonder if that will be a deterrent to the cinnamon rolls tomorrow morning. The Pastor wouldn't let me watch edited-for-tv "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" because it's not appropriate for the children. Well this show is not helpful to me and the fact that I want to eat a cinnamon roll tomorrow morning.
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11 comments:
I watched that morbidly obese show too! And I was eating a chocolate ice cream bon bon at the time, and I had the same reaction.
Ok, I just had to come out of silent lurking to say that.
You really caught me off guard with the "2 black guys" comment. I've really enjoyed your blog up until that moment. I really hope that wasn't meant as offensively as it sounds.
Did you know your blog was being trashed on another?
http://designing-minds.blogspot.com/2007/05/another-fun-blog.html
"Greek Wedding" is not appropriate?! I gotta watch that again. I had no idea!
About the daylight drug buys and public urination ... that's a big-city thang, not a just-Philly thang, so please don't hate my city when you come here. Although I only ever actually witnessed a guy peeing on the street, in person, one time in 10 years.
Also your kids will hear language worse than you used on the subway here.
Can't wait to get here, can you!
p.s. I defended your love of panties on that other blog.
I usually enjoy your blog, but this time, one paragraph disturbed me. Your "descriptions" of black men and your inclination to think that another one will rob you are pretty inappropriate. Even if you aren't racist, it's a good idea to be more sensitive and careful with the words you chose. There is already enough divisiveness in our world that doesn't need to be carelessly perpetuated.
the comments on this gal having "inappropriate" comments on "2 blacks" is not racist. any person who has any crime perpetuated against them is conditioned by a new set of fears/anxieties to situations like the situation of the original crime. had it been two whites in suits who robbed her, she'd feel the same way about them now.
"cornrows", "big...diamond earring", "pants...falling off"? Interesting choice of people to describe, maybe the people that robbed her looked similar to these people. But remember that plenty of law-abiding good kind people fit these descriptions, too.
Ouch
Does the pastor talk like this too?
"cornrows" and the descriptives of his shirt and ear-ring are, perhaps, accurate descriptions fo the factual persons she was looking at. and perhaps her pants "falling off" comment was part of the sarcasm of her typical blog entries. "cornrows" are no more racist than saying "flat-top" and descriptive earring is no more racist than "live strong" armband. she openly said she was describing black men - maybe that exposes her own fears or anxieties - but it doesn't make her racist. she didn't say they were criminal - she even described something of the feeling she had before when she "couldn't describe them". No where did she say all blacks are not law-abiding good kind people. have you seen the church she attends - the pictures on this blog somewhere from weeks ago . . . fear and racism are very different issues.
hmm
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