Who do I still think I am??

This one's about the children.

30DBC PROMPT: "How do you think we should protect young persons from seeing/learning the evils of life? Is it even something we should do? Is it even possible?"

What's up everyone? It's "Opinion Thursday" for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , which is actually one of my favorite days to write for. Why? Because informed opinions can't be wrong. Oh sure, they can be morally upsetting, or you may not agree with them, but for the most part the beauty of having an opinion means you're not wrong. Unless you're talking about wearing white pants after Labor Day. We all know how wrong that is. And I'm gonna go out on a limb and say unless you're Oprah-rich and living somewhere in the Caribbean, white pants just shouldn't be worn ever. Although most of you probably aren't slobs with facial hair that makes eating a chore, and food doesn't randomly drip from your beard to your lap. That doesn't happen to you? Oh, ok...me neither then.

So anyway, yeah, this prompt. Haven't we already covered the "I'm the last person you want to take advice from regarding today's youth" somewhere before? I'm pretty sure I did. But since you asked, here's my take...

You can't shelter kids; you can only support them emotionally in the aftermath when things don't work out. You do all you can to ensure they'll become good people, but it's physically impossible to keep them away from people who weren't raised with the same ideals. You'll never understand why some people are drawn to others regardless of the likelihood of them winding up hurt or on the short side of the ledger. All you can do is be there for them when they fall. Unless they keep falling, and then maybe it's best if you get out of the way...the longer the pillow or training wheels are still there, the possibility exists that they won't mind these things happening because they won't know how to clean up their scrapes. So yeah, it's a fine line.

Another point to make is that while you're doing all you can, that still doesn't make young people immune from life. You can ban everything you want, but a resourceful person will still find it anyway. Look at candy, music, and sex. You can rant a blue streak about the dangers of all three at a young age, but kids aren't stupid...if they can't get what they want under your watch, they'll get it another way. It's better in the long run to be open about the dangers of certain things rather than shielding and pretending they don't exist. Better to warn your kid about the possibilities unprotected sex can lead to than to find yourself being a grandparent in your thirties. And cavities...we're talkin' about cavities...naw man, not that.

The point is, the world is a beautiful and scary place. Under every rock is the chance for hope and horror. You do the best you can, but you've got to believe that's good enough and your seed has been able to make good decisions and/or have been able to surround themselves with well-intentioned people. The society we live in nowadays doesn't hold back on negativity. Watch your local news for five minutes and you'd be hard-pressed to want to put a child into this world. But you can't do that (I'm pretty sure there are laws against it) and nor should you. Bad things are a part of life. That's why they (I don't know who "they" are, but you might) say it's better to be a well-rounded person. That doesn't mean you're swelling with positive experiences. It just means you're aware of all that life can throw at you, and you're better equipped at dealing with things when they go down the shitter. And trust me, if I'm not smart enough to be helping anyone raise their kids, I'm at least experienced enough to know that life isn't always free coffee at McDonalds, puppy dog kisses, and meals in silence (or at least minus the blather of "pretend good-day" talk).

BCF PROMPT: "Do you listen to music when you write? What kind do you prefer? What would happen to your writing if you switched it up, tell us about it? If you don't tell us why?"

Even though I've spoken about this before, I'll be glad to oblige the prompt again. No. I can't listen to anything while I'm writing. I have a hard enough time with my thoughts as it is, let alone trying to blast them out while music is playing.

And I love music. I started a Facebook page because I love music (which really, is only proof that in this day and age anyone with half a brain can do 90% of what's required of anything related to being on the internet). I have a vast knowledge of songs, bands, artists, what have you...all of which is pretty useless in the real world.

But no, I can't do two things at once like that. Can't watch tv and talk on the phone. Can't write and have music playing. Can't walk and expect traffic to move around me. Some things just aren't meant to be. For me, at least.

I think this question was posed recently as well by WDC Support on the newsfeed. Many answered with "yes, light classical music" or "some instrumental jazz". Sounds good in theory, but my attention span difficulties make it a problem to type when my fingers are more concerned with drumming along to a beat that may or may not be there. And yes, that's a real thing.

When I do something, I want to be able to do it well, and not be compromised by anything in my surroundings. Even my ex knew better...there was just a look on my face apparently when she'd come into my ManCave to ask me something while I was trying to come up with the next greatest blog entry the internet had ever known. "Oh...you're writing...never mind"...thankfully, world-shaping decisions didn't need to be made during those moments. That's how badly I prefer not to be bothered...when the most beautiful girl in the world is telling you dinner is ready, and you're starving, but you need to finish your thoughts because if food interferes with them, they might go away.

Says the guy who smack-dab in the middle of his blog has a segment entitled...

MUSICAL BREAK!!

Rarely do I get an opportunity to match up the perfect song with a prompt or two. But I think I came close today...with the sexiest Canadian male (or any male I'll ever have the privilege of deeming as such). It's music you can feel comfortable playing for your mother, which is exactly what I did on our last roadie to CT this past weekend. I don't remember if I played this exact song, but whatever. It fits.

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

I'm appreciative of the fancy new awardicon ribbon this tiny little nugget of internetgasm is sporting from groovygirl, because of the sarcasm. I don't know whether to be proud, or schedule my therapist visits more frequently.

So I gave in, like I do with most internet trends, recently (and later than the crowd), and started playing Words With Friends. Which is basically Scrabble at the pace you'd prefer to play at. And for a person who likes to write words a lot, I'm positively horrible at it. Which is no surprise, because I was never really good at Scrabble anyway. And when the weatherman on the tv news you grew up watching houses you with a 191-point word, you need to rethink your life's choices regarding internet games. And it's not just this guy, who doubles as a Mark Twain one-man play (http://www.marktwainlive.com/)...I'm getting rolled left and right by everyone I've played so far. It should be called "Words With People You Kinda Know Who Can't Wait To Kick Your Ass At 'Words With Friends'".

And, well, since I've yet to begun doing good things in the world today (besides posting that pic on Facebook of a bra with a Rubik's Cube instead of a clasp in the back) and I haven't taken a nap yet, I should probably hit the "Save Entry" designation on this and GTFO of here before you decide to do something serious, like let me babysit for awhile. Peace, the same thing for our lives, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!