Perception is Everything

     Everything we see or do is subject to different perceptions. A lot is based on our background. What one person reads into something might not be what I read into it. It is important to always remember that perception is important and give people the benefit of the doubt and find out what they perceived.

     I recently saw a meme on Facebook that I shared however it offended someone. I did not find it at all offensive because I perceived it differently. However a wonderful friend of mine saw the same meme on another persons wall and had a different perception than I did. He explained it respectfully and thoughtfully making me see it in a different light. 

     The meme read: When this is over, let's remember that it wasn't the CEO's or the billionaires who saved us. It was the janitors, nurses, grocery and food workers.

     When I first saw this meme all I saw was finally someone was showing appreciation to those who are always taken for granted or looked down on. So many people look down on janitors, servers (unless in a high scale restaurant), food service workers and other people in service type professions.  I mean who goes to Disneyland and thanks the custodians for the wonderful work they do? Well except for me. I also thank those who keep the restrooms clean for all of us. When I do they are so appreciative and tell me that no one ever thanks them and they appreciate it so much. So I saw this meme in that same manner. As a way to say I appreciate them and all they do!! 

    My wonderful  friend saw it in a different way and posted his thoughts on his own wall. He said that without the CEO's and billionaires we wouldn't have some of the other professions. Or something like that. Mostly he said we need to appreciate both. 

     I do agree that we need to appreciate both but I still feel like many people look at the billionaires and CEO's as heroes or idols of sorts. I have heard many people tell their kids to do well in school so they can have a good profession. That is well and good and we should all strive for the best, strive to be successful but that might look different to some people. To some people being a janitor is successful and something they want to do. There is nothing wrong with that! 

     I have heard parents say to their kids "You don't want to grow up and flip burgers do you?" in a derogatory tone. People should tell their kids they will be proud of them no matter what they do as long as their are successful and have happy lives. Many people look down on the service profession so I perceived the meme as an appreciation to them, I did not see it as a negative to the billionaires and CEO's. They get plenty of glory and people look up to them so I did not even consider them when I read the post. 

    But after reading my friends post I saw that the meme might look different to one person than it did to me. It was another instance that showed me how different we all perceive things and how important is to respect that fact. The meme to me now is just divisive and I would not share it again because I perceive it in a different light. All roles are important! 

The Tidy Bowl Man and The Curse of the Toilet Paper Shortage

     Many years ago I worked for a writing site, Bubblews. They were a great site but then reverted from serious and good pieces to literal fluff. So, to follow their rules I started writing fluff. I took it to the limit and wrote about the Ty-D-Bol Man…I am not sure who remembers the commercials from the 70’s about the little man who lived in the toilet and told people about the new toilet cleaning products.

    My fellow writers got a kick out of my fluff articles especially the Ty-D-Bol Man articles. They were short and well, very much full of fluff. I even added them to a book I put together full of compilations from my Bubblews days, both serious and fluff.

     Now in the year 2020 we are once again a world obsessed with toilet matters…fluff if you will… The other day I was on the search for the hot commodity….TOILET PAPER…yes TP has become a hot item. For some reason because of a pandemic virus that has nothing to do with potty matters people decided to hoard TP making it next to impossible for those who need it to purchase.

    As I was going from one store to another looking for TP I was thinking of alternatives to the hot product. I decided that a water bottle (you know the kind you can squeeze and a stream of water comes out) would be a great tool to clean my underside when I run out of TP. Then my thoughts turned to my little friend The Ty-D-Bol Man..as I sat at the light I laughed out loud very hard. I thought of a story about this little man and his woes if we all used the squirt bottle to clean our nether regions…

    These are difficult times for all of us so I thought a bit of fluff might be a way to lighten the load…

     I would like to share with you my original fluff pieces and then my new ones. I hope you enjoy…

The Ty-D-Bol Man and 2020’s Great Toilet Paper Crisis

Written March 20, 2020

     Many years ago I wrote about marrying the Ty-D-Bol Man. You know, that cute little man who lives in the toilets telling us all about new cleaning products. He still lives in the toilet bowl you know, we are just to busy to see him. I know he is there because well, for no other reason than I have faith in him…

     Right now in the year 2020  many people are hurting for TP. So I thought I would start using a squirt bottle to clean my nether region.. I wonder what my little toilet friend is going to do if many of us can’t find paper and we start using squirt bottles?

    I can see the Ty-D-Bol man now, just floating around in his little boat minding his own business whistling a happy song when all of the sudden WHOOSH this rush of water floods his boat which capsizes and SPLASH into the water he goes. Poor little man is now soaked. He scrambles around trying to get back to his tiny boat with no luck at all. The water keeps coming at him…he tries to yell for help but his cries are muffled by the water as it begins to swirl and down the drain he goes.

    He finally swims his way to his tiny boat, dries off and finds himself floating around again only to find that the next house has the same water bottle. He is just floating around again minding his own business, whistling his happy tune when swoosh the water fills his boat. This time he is not knocked out of the boat right away…it fills with water and he slowly sinks. Poor little man then is hit on the head with a rush of water, not like a gentle rain, more like a strong force of nature. He then goes through the swooshing and swirling trying to find is way back to his boat but down the drain he goes.

    Time and time again the poor guy finds his way to his boat and time and time again he is either washed into the water or his boat is sunk by the  torrential floods from above. He is becoming very stressed and tired of fighting for his life every time he gets back in his boat.

    One day the Ty-D-Bol Man finds his way back to his boat after being knocked off. He catches his breath and yells “Hey you up there, do you know I am here?” The person turns around and looks into his home, she is an older lady with gray hair. “Well  hello down there, who are you?” she asks.

Ty-D-Bol Man: “I am the Ty-D-Bol Man. I live here in your bowl, I think the world has forgotten all about me over the years.”

Barbara: “Wow I did not know you still lived in our toilet bowls. I have not heard of you in years. My name is Barbara.”

Ty-D-Bol Man: frustrated “Yes I do still live here and you people have been trying to drown me recently. You used to send down fluffy little pillows but now you send this huge flood of water, knocking me off my boat making me get wet and almost drown. I am very tired of it!  Plus it is rather gross in this water you know.”

Barbara: “I am sorry, we are in a TP crisis so had to figure something out.”

Ty-D-Bol Man: “Well can you figure out another way please? I am fighting for my life down here.”

Barbara: “Sorry sir, but this is the year of the great TP Crisis and well you know it is 2020.”

The End.....until next time....

Where’s the Ty-D-Bol Man When you Need Him?

Written October 27, 2014

    After all of the buzz about toilets and bodily functions I got to thinking about the  Ty-D-Bol Man. Hew as the little man who lived in your toilet many years ago. He would tell people about the new Ty-D-Bowl products. He wore a sailor suit and floated around in a little boat.

     I wonder how he ate and such but maybe the things people left in the toilet provided him food. That is kind of gross.

     I sure could have used him the other day when I had to clean a really filthy toiled at a house I take care of. If he had been there I would not have had to clean it.

What if I Married the Ty-D-Bol Man

Written October 27, 2014

      I wonder what would happen if the Ty-D-Bol man got married? I wonder if he is still living in the toilets? He was when I was a kid but hasn’t been around in years. I wonder what would happen if I married the Ty-D-Bol man?

     I also wonder what we would do when not talking to the women in the bathroom. I can imagine that after our marriage I would get into his little boat with him and we’d sail of into the sunset. Well, not the sunset since we are in a toilet bowl but off into the land of plumbing.

     After I married him I’d find out how he eats and what he eats. That is a scary thought, and then what about Ty-D-Bol kids? I don’t think I want to marry the Ty-D-Bol Man.

Ty-D-Bol Man Commercial

 Bubblews World of Pooh 

    

Corona Virus Knee Jerk Reaction: The Importance of Avoiding Knee Jerk Reactions and Changing How You React to and Handle Difficult Situations

     Recently I read a news article that San Francisco was ordering its citizens to only go out for necessities and emergencies. The article I read stated that they could be charged with a misdemeanor for violating this order.
"Police Chief Bill Scott said at the press conference that violations of the order are punishable by a misdemeanor, but “that is an absolute last resort.” 
I read this and instantly put a post on Facebook stating that they were becoming the new Russia and they were becoming a police state. This was a knee jerk reaction. Knee Jerk reactions most always have negative consequences! 

     I have worked hard to make it a rule to never post anything political on my Facebook wall because I do not want to get into politics there. It is not why I am there. I also work hard to never post things when I am emotional....emotional words spoken or typed can cause hurt to others....But my emotions got the best of me and I spewed. The consequences of this was upsetting a very good friend. That made me very sad! I am sorry for it and do not know really how to undo the damage.... 

    Were my comments my belief?  Really not important, not something to put out on Facebook and for sure not something to react to emotionally. I cannot change anything by reacting emotionally.

    These are hard times we are in right now, I am extremely worried about our economy, about the people I know and love without essential supplies because others have taken more than they will ever need in their lifetime. (those who prepared are not the guilty parties, those who hoarded are). I am worried about the elderly or people on fixed income who were not able to get to the stores before the hoarding began. Many could go hungry because they can only afford to buy food once a month but when they went to buy their food supply, none was to be found...that worries me.  I am also very worried about those I love who have lost their jobs and might become homeless because of it. I am worried we will never recover economically from the fallout.....those are the things that scare me...but letting my emotions get the best of me is not the answer, that will not help anyone!

    How do I stop the worry? I don't! However,  I deal with it in a positive way by helping who I can and not letting my emotions guide me. 

    How to fix that I put that emotional statement out on Facebook? It can't really be fixed because it is out there...so all I can do is move forward and remember to think before I speak or type...to act with reason, not my emotions!  I know this and practice it most all of the time....but there are times my emotions get the best of me.

    I was going to post the link to the article that prompted my knee jerk reaction but this is not about that article or what was in it, it is about how I reacted emotionally to it and the importance of reacting positively.

    Do I still feel that way I did when I ran on my emotions? Not important....How I feel will not help anyone. Things are as they are, there is nothing I can do to change them. I can  however change how I react to them. It is a part of the growth mindset which I forgot until I took a professional development refresher class for work today. 

    Yes these are very difficult times! They are hard on all of us. Some will have it harder than others but a negative mindset will only make it harder. This is a time to be as positive as possible, to stick together emotionally, to think of ways you can help those who might have it harder than you and to mentally lift each other up!  If you can't help others monetarily you can help them by praying or having a positive attitude. This is my goal as we go through these difficult times. 
     

The Norovirus Train Outbreak

    Back in the year 2009 my mom, both of my  kids and myself went on the yearly school field trip to ride the Durango Silverton Railroad. There were four classes plus their families on the train. I would say maybe 100 of us total, maybe more. We were in two portions of the train and other passengers in the other portion. I am not sure how many of them there were but when we stopped for lunch it looked like maybe 50 or so. I am telling the story from memory so numbers might not be exact....

    We had a wonderful day. We saw beautiful scenery, had a nice lunch and fun train ride. The train only goes to Cascade Canyon dung the winter months so we were on the train about 4 hours. Went back to school and everyone went home...it was a great trip!

    That night my youngest woke up vomiting, then my oldest woke up saying he felt sick. He is like me and fights vomiting so we both fought it but were in pain and had diarreah. None of us wanted food the next day. It was a long night. We were all so ill.

    The next mornig my mom called and asked if we had been sick. She said she had been so sick all night throwing up. I got calls from others who were also up all night throwing up 

     That Monday I had to return to work, I worked at teh school my kids atended. The kids stayed home. That day though there were not many kids at school. As the week went on there were kids carrying trash cans down the hallway. The health department came in and we found out we had Norovirus. We are not sure how we got it but all but one person on the entire train got sick from it. Then we took it to family members. They had to shut the school down to do some high power cleaning. 

     I learned a lot about  a virus I had never even heard of. It guess it is one of the cruise ship viruses....it can attack large groups of people. This is because the vomit is contagious. The spores get in the air and if you are near it and breathe them you will get sick. It is also contagious through contact. It is a strong virus and does not respond well to cleaners.  But what makes it worse is those spores. They thought that someone had gotten sick on the train, the spores got into the heater vents and we all became sick! 

    It was not fun, we were sick for several days and for weeks after the outbreak the custodians followed kids around wiping doors down every time they were touched. 

Norovirus

Cruise Ship Virus
     

Hand Sanitizer Danger

     Personally I do not like hand sanitizers. I think they help germs mutate and cause  germs that can't be controlled. Some people also use them instead of hand washing thinking they kill all germs when they do not. Also we need some germs to build our immune system. Mostly though I do not like them around kids because they are dangerous. the number one ingredient is alcohol and alcohol is dangerous for kids.

     I worked in a school a few years ago where a young student put hand sanitizer in his water bottle and drank it. He did it just because he wanted to. No real reason, he is a kid and should not have had alcohol at his disposal. I mean would we just sit a bottle of pain killers in the room with kids? No we would not. Would we put a bottle of whisky in the room with kids? I sure wouldn't. Would we put any kind of poison in the room with kids? No we would not. The labels say to keep out of reach of children...right? The school removed all hand sanitizer bottles after that!They became aware of the danger.

     I still work with kids and most of them have hand sanitizer in their back packs. They think it smells great!  They will take it out and ask me to smell it. All I smell is the alcohol but they think it smells great. These are 6 and 7 year old kids. They are carrying around a small bottle of alcohol and this is ok... They are taking this to school and it is ok. However these are kids and they could drink it, if they do, they could die. To me none of this is ok!

    Please people beware, don't buy your kids small bottles of alcohol, schools need to stop allowing it in the building. Get back to washing hands before someone dies. It says Keep out of Reach of Children for a reason! Lets protect our precious little flowers...our kids.

Kids Drink Hand Sanitizer

Coronavirus Pandemonium and Y2K Frenzy Promoting Selfish and Crazed Behaviours

      As I have been hearing about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and watching as it is crippling the world economy and wreaking havoc with the stock market, as the media promotes fear and worry...... as people are exhibit crazed behaviors I have been wondering why people are so scared. I have read and heard many doctors say that while it is risky for some people, the elderly and immune compromised to get it,  many will not even know they have it and many people will recover. .  I understand that some people will die from it due to the complications that arise and I understand that there are those who are compromised because of this virus but not everyone who gets it is going to die. The statistics show that more people have died from the flu. However people are not freaking out when someone gets the flu. 

           So why the worry? Why the pandemonium?  Why are so many people literally freaking out? I really do not know. What I do believe is that this entire crazed behavior mirrors the frenzy that took place during Y2K. Remember that time when the year 2000 would make the computers crash and the entire world would shut down?  People were so scared, they were irrational and well, crazed.

     When I heard stores were running out of things like Clorox, wipes, hand sanitizer, water and of all things TP I wondered if it was really true. Could people really be hoarding again like in 1999?  I also wondered why TP? This virus does not cause digestive issues, are people so scared they think maybe their version might result in digestive issues?? I do not know and do not understand the hoarding, crazed behavior.

     I decided to go to Costco to check it out for myself and see if it was real, if people were that crazed and selfish.....I  also just needed TP.  I didn't need it because I am scared that I might run out if the world shuts down....it is just time to buy it.

    The reports are true, Costco was  out. We went to Wal Mart and they were out of Clorox, sanitizer, wipes, water and TP.  I am just floored. First of all the pandemonium of it all is ....well...in my mind...ridiculous. If people are quarantined then others can drop of TP and other supplies for them.... the virus is not digestive so they do not need that extra supply for any other reason than irrational hoarding.  

    My next thought was of the selfishness of those who are guilty of depleting the supplies. Iif they buy them all out what about the rest of the people who need them? What do we do? Just do without as far as the hoarding people are concerned I guess. Nothing really more to say than it is a very selfish act on the part of those who are depleting the supplies so no one else can buy them. 

    I saw a story where women were fighting over TP which is just mind blowing to me too. 

    Am I worried about getting COVID-19? I am not!  I am just as worried about getting a cold because I have a tendency to get pneumonia from a simple cold,  I am mostly concerned that I will be quarantined if I have a cough or cold which by the way folks is common this time of year. I am also scared of the  entire pandemonium frenzied selfish crazed behavior of the people in the world..(it is not just the US, it is all over the world). The behavior of people scares me more than COVID-19.

    Bottom line folks, wash your hands just like  you should have been doing all along, stay home if you are stick and don't freak out, all you are doing is fueling the fire of the frenzy. 

Here are a couple of very informational messages from the Surgeon General and Dr Drew.. 

Resources:

Dr Drew on Coronavirus

Surgeon General Says Risk of Coronavirus Remains Low, Most People Will Not Need Hospitalization