What???

Woo hoo:) Word Count: 3092:) And it's not even dinner time:) Rewarded myself at the halfway mark with Barbara Huffert's book, My Last Dark Day, so blame, er, thank her for inspiring me to get creative! I can relax the rest of the evening; it's Suvivor Night and CSI; unless, of course, I decide to get a jump on tomorrow's final 3000...Barb's book was great! It's a short one; only 52 or so pages, but shows what can happen when you open yourself up to new ideas...kind of left me wanting more...like what happens next? Sequel, Barb??? Does the 'relationship' continue??

I'm flabbergasted. Gobsmacked. Couldn't believe my ears when I heard this.

Did anyone else hear about this week's Time Magazine article? Some earlier episodes of Sesame Street are out on DVD...you know, the ones we (30-40's) grew up with. And apparently, they come with a warning label.

"Contents may not be suitable for today's preschoolers"..

WHAT??? Or more eloquently, WTF??? (I try to run a clean blog, but this is just insane enough to warrent the 'F' word, even in cyberspeak!)

Okay...Cookie monster has spawned childhood obesity because he eats cookies. Hellooooo....that's his whole character! Oscar is too grouchy? Oh my...so we're fat and grumpy...oh wait, isn't he a Disney character? What's next...let's outlaw the 7 dwarves because we might (gasp!) actually display an unacceptable emotion in the mornings? Or if we're over-stressed? Oh yeah...let's all go on Paxil...a friend of mine was on it for PMDD and she said it made her so mellow, she couldn't even enjoy sex...made her absolutely blah. Emotional flatline.

Well, I've got news. I'm going to eagerly invest in these DVDs before they get pulled off shelves for their 'unsuitable' content. I missed the "Song of the South" movie...it was outlawed for portraying a 'negative, stereoptype' of African-Americans. Why haven't Native Americans thrown a fit about Peter Pan? Have you not seen the Indian scene? Smoking the peace pipe, saying "How" and "Heap big pirates" or something like that. It's been a while since I've actually seen it, as our copy is on VHS and buried in storage.

For the record, I am not a white supremest. I respect my fellow Americans, whatever their race. But several years ago, when trying to read "Uncle Remus Stories" to my then 1st grader, I longed for the Song of the South movie I had loved as a child. Yes, I can mimic the dialect of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox...and this is something my children have never heard. It did not make me a racist; I did not grow up making fun of the dialect. It was funny as a child, and my kids just stare blankly when we're having an argument and I'll say, "You can pull out my ears, rip off my tail, but please, please, PLEASE don't throw me in dat briar patch!"

Am I the only one who misses that movie?

I digressed somewhere...oh yeah...blame Disney.

And I also heard that a congressman is trying to get spanking outlawed in one's own home. How the hell are they going to enforce that? And what about the couples who use this as foreplay? Can you just imagine this one...the police show up and catch the couple happily enjoying each other. Oops! "Sorry...put your clothes on; you're under arrest..." Sorry. Maybe that's not a good visual for this early in the morning! But can you see them in front of the judge, displaying their, er, proof? Okay...enough on that.

As I was saying about Sesame Street...I am not overweight; I do consume more cookies than I should, but I also eat healthy. I am not a morning person, and feel that at least once a month, everyone has a right to be a grouch. These so-called 'experts' should shut their sanctimonious mouths and let those with us with common sense raise our children the way we see fit. There is more than enough books on the subject, and yes, some of them contradict each other. Hell, I thought I had this parenting thing down until the baby arrived and he acts nothing like the other two! Eat your words, Mom...what worked for the first one doesn't always work for the rest...now where have I heard that before? Oh yes...my own mom, because my sis and I were worlds apart in temperament!

So enough with our preschooler's DVDs...leave them alone, unless mistakes are made, such as porno making its way onto them...then by all means recall/censor them. What's next, Mr. Rogers being labeled for being 'unsuitable' for being, as the radio personality put it, "fashionably challenged"?

Come ON!