Los Angeles recorded its all-time hottest temperature yesterday–113°. That’s the highest recorded temperature since records started being kept in 1877.
The record temp was recorded at 12:15 PM, but the thermometer stopped working at 1:00 PM. Apparently, it was too hot and OSHA required a cooling break. The temperature may have been even higher than the recorded 113°, but since the official thermometer was broken, we will just have to settle for the prime number of 113.
”Who would hire you looking like that?” That’s what a job counselor said to Hayley O’Neil, 23, when she asked what positions she could apply for.
He also tried to teach her about first impressions and asked if she thought she would have a better chance for a job if she stood behind a wall or put a paper bag over her head.
I think Ms. O’Neil summed it up very nicely with this comment, “”But this is my lifestyle choice, and this is who I am.”
She made a choice and how will have to live with results of that choice for the rest of her life. Choices have consequences. And we can’t, or at least shouldn’t, blame others for the consequences of the choices we have made. Our choices, our consequences. We own them.
As I see it, the main problem with “body art” choices is one of permanence. Tattoos, extreme piercings, and other body modifications are for keeps. Choices made today can’t be changed tomorrow or perhaps ever.
When I see someone with visible–read impossible to easily cover–tattoos on their face, neck, or full arms or piercings that look like they fell into a fishing tackle box, I wonder about the amount of wisdom they can possibly have.
Will they really want giant holes in the ear lobes in 15 years? Are they going to get tried of that big tattoo on the side of their neck?
Ms. O’Neil made a lifestyle choice. She is certainly free to do whatever she wants to her face and her body. But she shouldn’t be surprised when she finds it difficult to get job. She made a choice and her prospective employers will also make choices.
Now the summer is officially gone, the summer temperatures have arrived. I received a Severe Weather Warning e-mail today stating that there will be a high fire danger through Monday.
I can’t remember the hills around Simi Valley being this dry. Everything is primed for another fire. I hope the idiots that set fire to the hills have something else on their minds for a while. The combination of the triple degree heat, the low humidity, and plenty of extremely dry fuel is more than a little worrisome.
Today is World Gratitude Day.
It’s so easy to express our thanks, our appreciation. But, too often, we let those moments go by.
What are you grateful for?
Take some time today to count your blessings. Then take a little more time to tell someone “Thank you.”
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” — Thornton Wilder
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward
On Sunday night, Manuel Jamines held a bloody knife. He was drunk. He was threatening at least 2 women. Bystanders stopped 3 LAPD officers that were nearby. The officers told Jamines to drop the knife. The commands were in English and in Spanish. Instead of complying, Jamines raised the knife and moved toward the police officers. One of them shot Jamines twice, killing him. Total elapsed time: 40 seconds. The aftermath: 3 nights of not-so-peaceful protests, including setting fires in the streets and throwing rocks and bottles at the police.
What is the problem? Someone was threatening innocent women, the police tried to stop him, he attacked the police. What were the police supposed to do? Wait until he knifed the women? Wait until he knifed the police officers?
Instead of protesting the officers actions, the community should be thrilled that the police responded so quickly to protect the lives of their neighbors. Some of the people attending a community meeting with the chief of police shouted, “Killers! Assassins!” I think they are looking exactly in the wrong direction.
It’s time for the community to understand that without a police presence in their neighborhood, the environment would be more like it is in Mexico–daily murders. The police involved in this incident weren’t only providing safety for the community.
Random Thought 