Moving slower than molasses on a cold day.
The Good, The Bad, and The Pretty
Moving slower than molasses, I’m still in Ohio but determined to leave this week for Pennsylvania. It’s cold, it’s flat, and women are often treated as objects, and men are reluctant to stand up for a woman when they see a man verbally abusing her in public (a church-like environment). I didn’t witness that event, but heard of it in detail from a man who was bothered by it. A few of the other men listening said it was none of their business to say anything to this man they knew, a man who had done this before.
As the only woman present for this discussion, I was quick to tell the men who said it was none of their business that it was, in fact, their business to teach the other members of the fellowship how to treat people, to be respectful. I pointed out it was easy for me to see why I was the only woman there… they had chased all the others off as much by the aggressive behavior of some as the passive behavior of the others.
I probably just lost all male readers in Ohio, but I call them as I see them. Needless to say, this is not an isolated incident in that town but rather an underlying part of the culture in this area (near Dayton). It’s not everywhere, but it is a far more common and accepted occurrence than I’ve encountered in a long time. But this happens to some degree every day all over this country…
UPDATE: This article better describes how pervasive this problem is in our culture. Please read.
Now for something pretty… (hey, I never claimed to be good at segues)
Kerrville Chalk Festival
Every summer Kerrville, Texas, hosts a chalk art festival. It was another hot Texas summer (as if there was any other temp possible in Texas in the summer), but the Kerrville Chalk Festival had a good turnout and a few dozen artists. The pictures were amazing.
They had a few food trucks at the event. One was Spike TV’s “Frankenfood” winner, Brooklyn-born Chef David “Bully” Page. I had his famous PB & J Shrimp Po’boy. Awesome!
PB & J Shrimp Po’boy by Chef Bully.
I chatted with Chef David “Bully” for a while. Nice guy, originally from the east coast (always a plus). While I’ve never seen Frankenfood, I hear he can be a bit of a bully, hence the “Bully” moniker. I’m not sure if that’s just for the show – he was really sweet to me. I was short a couple bucks for the sandwich and he gave me one anyway.
The photos below are of the chalk art by many different artists, few of whom had their name displayed. Much of the art was still in the process of creation. If you enjoy chalk art, you’ll enjoy this. If not, feel free to wait for the next post.
And now, Slideshow! It’s like you were there, but didn’t have to endure the Texas heat. You’re welcome.
Shame on those men who declined to step up and correct the behavior of another man. This is just one more example of the growing tear in our moral fabric.
IIt was better in northern California – such behavior was rarely tolerated. It was tolerated even less in Monterey and Santa Monica fellowships.
The situation reminded me there’s a reality show (maybe called “What Would You Do?”) where unsuspecting folks witness a staged controversial scene. Their reaction is unknowingly being filmed. I shudder to think how the men here would measure up.
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