Anonymous Gamblers?!

My friend recently became hooked with gambling. I mean “hooked” because like any drug, be it physical pill, smoke, or injection, or emotional high, some people should never start because they can never stop! Any casino we pass, my friend MUST stop in, just to see the exotic interior decorating scheme….yeah..that’s it…and while we’re there … maybe there is a machine or two that needs money. Funny thing, I didn’t realize that Harrah’s, Cactus Pete‘s, and Mandalay Bay were in need of such funds from someone who can barely make their monthly phone or truck payment. I advised my friend that indeed such generosity was touching, but maybe there are better charitable institutions that could do well with the money. Perhaps putting money into a bank account could help their children go to college, or buy a new home, or put into a 401K for a leisurely retirement.
If you don’t currently gamble…my advice.. DO NOT START!
Okay gang, I know at first it looks exciting..all those pretty lights, all those faces who are winning and yelling (might be drunk too). Yes, there may be in fact 5 ways to win, but there are also 19,875,625 ways to lose! And yes, the dealers may be very kind to you, but they make tips from your winnings, and keep those tips when you end up at the table with nothing more than your socks. The bouncers are not so nice as they peel your fingers from off the edge of the table, pick up your struggling body as you are screaming: “just one more spin…just one more roll…I know this time!”, and hurl you out of the casino like a football.
My friend at first was very laid back about losing money. A shrug of the shoulders and a quick smile, we’d walk out. Now however as the months of addiction have begun to take hold, I started to get tapped for money. In time, the cool façade began to fall away as a, “please let me borrow a couple of dollars,” turned into a more needy, “I just need a five or a ten.” Uh-oh I thought. I started to become aware that giving more money to someone who promised desperately to return it, would be like me giving alcohol to an alcoholic. It really isn’t fair to them, because you are enabling them to hurt themselves. I care about my friend and advised that no more money could be had from me, to gamble with. I think my friends age dropped from 36 to 10, as I was suddenly confronted with pouting, rage, anger, apologies, promises, and then a sudden indifference to our friendship. Geesh. This over a denied two dollars!
I fear for people who will only learn when reaching rock bottom. If you know someone who is addicted..to anything,.. try to get them help, but also try not to be an enabler to their addictions either. The key is to stay calm, rational, and remember that it isn’t always you they are upset with. Addicted people are frustrated with themselves, their lives, their inability to focus on something better and failure, whether realized consciously or not is very depressing. Love your friends, and remember that even “tough” love may help them in the end!!

Fruitcakes, not just for Christmas

I used to think that fruitcake only showed up during Christmas from those relatives that live a thousand miles away from you (hopefully) and, having a lack of gift giving imagination, send you a dried, non-edible, permanently preserved lump of brown-gooed stuff. Always usefully cool when you need a doorstop. However, I'm extending the definition today to include crazy people at the grocery store.
Okay...to be fair I already hate shopping. I usually know specifically what I want and just want to grab it, pay for it, walk to my vehicle and leave. Arrgghhh, but then....dum dum da dummmmm.... we have to wait ... in..... line. No problem until...you get the fruitcake in front of you that has to pay for everything, one item at a time. Yesterday, this happened to me, an unwitting victim. I had 3 things to purchase, went to the 20 items or less line. This line is a con....set up to make you think that you, the conservative shopper can get in and out of the store easily. A woman in front of me, saw I only had 3 items and continued to cut in front of me with about....45 items. She explains that she indeed has 20 items or less..only in 5 different trips, and will pay seperately for each group of items. The register jams, the clerk looks about as interested as a cow in steaks, and there I stand....3 items away from freedom!!!!
Then the rude shopper starts to tell me how annoyed she is that she has to wait. MMmm hmm.. I know exactly HOW that can be. LOL.... The only thing to think here is WOW.
Patience is a virtue, it is one to practice at all times in many different kinds of situations!!! Forgive people for whatever nutty thing they do because sometimes, they don't realize that they are the fruitcake stopping the door from letting you pass!! :)

Here's to all those fruitcakes, may you all have good days and go quickly through those shopping lines!

The Magicians Owl