it is what it is...is there a bordello in the house?

What does one say when they find that they may be living in a bordello?  That they rent a room while working in the city and perhaps a sourie by day of sex is about?  I guess one must first take a glimpse of their past living quarters....

Let's recap to 4 years.
A home where family themselves strip you dry of cash.  You barely have enough to eat, they have plenty to vacation with......you plan the escape.

The escape is to a lovely apartment, in a small quaint town.  Close enough to the city to get to work, far enough to enjoy the suburbs.  A rain or two floods the town and insects...stench...and rotted wood remain.  You run for safety...

End up in a home of 6.  Kids screaming, parents screaming the only moments peace is when you get off the bus after a 3 hour commute and take the then short drive.  By the time you get back from work after spending 14 hours away the food is all gone.  Another moments peace is when you drive to the gas station to get coffee and a buttered roll for dinner.  You get very sick.  Stress is just taking you down.  A savior arrives...

You stay with a family friend and the first month you are recovering.  Soon after the many faces of one appears.  You can't keep up with the personalities, the disorders or the new found knowledge that Bipolar is a scary disease.  You plan your escape....it takes months....

You rent a room.  The interview is swell.  The room is lovely, the perk is that it has it's own entrance.  You rush to pack,  you rush to move, you sleep like a baby.

There are hints...the company logo on the Internet service.  The truth that you never see the roommates during the evening.  The lack of jobs yet no need for money.  The slew of men you see coming and going on a day you stay home sick.  Can it be???  Nah!!!!

You investigate...you get a friend to make calls...you get the answer...You live in a bordello.  An ignorant non hooker paying rent to hookers.  You plan your escape...it will take months to replenish funds...

You still keep asking...is there a bordello in the house?

it is what it is...being 'in' the element

I hadn't realized how much I miss culture.  Not just the food (most of which I can not longer eat anyway) but the way people are.  We are NOT the same.  There are many difference that I miss; like......

I got on the bus today and there was the old familiar and usually standard 'Hola', whether you are a stranger or not.  They take the same bus and so make the effort to know who is on and who isn't.  A stranger is a curious thing to them so...you have conversation.

Then you have those with the 'wassup' or 'GOOD MORNIN' and they check you out; making sure you are not some riff raf on their route.

Then you have those with the wave while saying a greeting (much more forward, they ask where you are from...etc.)

The ride was pleasant to say the least.  Plus, there is safety in that.  People watch out for you when they know you are on the same route daily.  I find this common in the suburbs.

I drove around the neighborhood and it is a town I was once very familiar with.  My father used to work around those suburban towns.  Each one I visited held a lovely memory...a diner, a park, a store, a building.  I felt as though in a way he was telling me that I would do well here.  I would heal well and plan ahead....  As he did.  He lived around those parts (we lived around those parts) during a time he needed to financially grow and he did that.  We suffered for nothing while growing up.

With the hustle and bustle of the impersonal NYC and the similar small town in NJ, it is great to breath in the scent of the trees, grass and flowers while smiling back at someone that is not in a hurry or upset.

Being 'in' the element is definitely healing.

It is what it is....let me think

The more I observe people the more I see patterns.  As of late, it's the 'no need to finish saying or thinking, I will tell you what to do' mode that people have adapted.  This society of speak your mind is missing the point......Speak something intelligent, funny or at the very least interesting, don't just speak to hear your own voice.

I have noticed it is hard to be happy about something and share it.......for example:

I have found a new place to live and it comes with a bed so I don't have to spare immediate cash for one.. (before I am finished) 'What size? You should get a large one, made by....., with some......, and get covers from .........

I will be living in the Suburbs again, I find that I miss it.....(before I am finished) 'What about being close to people....what about if you get sick or need something........have you thought about this area.....or this area........'

I am no longer in a relationship with XYZ, I don't want to get into the logistics but I think I want someone that is more compatible.....(if I am lucky I get that much out) 'Why???? Why not wait till you find someone else....what is wrong with him.......have you tried being more patient, blonde, thin, quiet, dead.......'

Really.....how about just listening.  JUST listening.  How about accepting the idea - for now just the IDEA that someone may not need your blabbering, opinion, advice, help or analysis.  Better yet how about an old fashion 'Good for you!'

Winston Churchill said it best - "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

as well as

Bethania McKenstry - "I'm not sure I want popular opinion on my side -- I've noticed those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts."

Venting...Religion, Psycho, Victory oh my

The prodigal son returns after several years of angry silence; anger on both sides.  The mother is invited to church, she goes in the hopes that she will see and meet the grandchildren born during those years of anger.

Another invitation - yet only to the church.  Is the son really trying to reconnect with the mother or is he listening to the salvation recruiting?  The answer remains to be learned.  The religion a night and day difference to her own.

A country is joyous over the decade long wait for a murderer's up comings.  The preacher of doom has met that doom.......

How victories can anyone be?  Underhanded methods of persuasion is still just persuasion.  Rooting your anger in the hearts of many is still just anger.  Do we really rejoice in death?  Or in the victory of justice?  Do we rejoice in the possibility of reconciliation or in the victory of the possibility itself?

Dorothy said it best.....A place where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain...