Kids Say The Darndest Things

My supervisor sent me to run a couple of errands in a town and place an order on his behalf (all in a town 30 miles away). It's fiscal year closeout and we had a little money left. I figured after the errands, I could stop by my favorte fast food place (that's not available in the town where I work) and pick up my lunch and take it back to work with me. Despite the heat, I was in a fairly good mood and was actually singing stupid made-up ditties. My supervisor felt the pressure of the deadline approaching, and I wanted to help him. I felt like I was doing some good.

One of the places I had to go to was a home-improvement warehouse-type store. It was bad enough that it took 20 minutes to get someone to help me so I could place my order with them. It was even worse when my knee and back hurt enough that I had to sit down in a chair in front of the counter.

You know what really got me? A three or four-year old boy with a big mouth. While the clerk was typing my order into their computer, in front of four employees and ten customers, this little boy looked at me, opened is big mouth and loudly exclaimed in a slow southern drawl, "HIYA ... BIG ... FAT ... LADY!!!"

I was shocked and mortified.

I looked at this boy with my eyes wide open, and the only words I could get out of my mouth was, "Excuse you????" I then looked up at his mother to see how she was going to handle this situation. Only when she saw me look at her did she bother to correct her son.

What added insult to injury is that this kid had one of those briar-eating grins on his face like he knew he said something funny or clever. His mother told him that what he said wasn't nice and he was to tell me he was sorry. He kept grinning, looking around at all the people. She told him to say he was sorry or she would spank him. He kept grinning. She told him to say he was sorry or she would spank him in front of all these people. He stopped grinning. He had a look of surprise, like, "Huh? Are you serious?" He still wouldn't apologize. She repeated her threat. He started whining and mumbled that he was scared. She said, "Well, you weren't scared when you made your hurtful remark. Tell her you are sorry." He looked back at me and whined some more. She told him one more time. He still wouldn't apologize.

She finally looked at me and apologized for what he said. She said she was embarrased and that she would see to it that he is taught not to say things like that again. She then proceeded to spank him, then took him (crying) and her other two children outside.

I really wish she had just gone ahead and apologized for his remark and then dealt with him when they got to their vehicle. Needless to say when I finished placing my order and got back to my truck, I lost my appetite. I fueled up my truck and drove back to work.

The cashier agreed with me that the boy probably was allowed to make similar comments at home and got laughs from his family members. She also noted that the mother didn't react until I looked at her and "put the ball in her court" so to speak.

I'm sure someone is going to tell me that I overreacted and I should have just let it roll off my back. However, I beg to differ. Yes, I'm obese. However, I'm not the fat lady from the Big Top; the circus is not in town. I am not a f***ing freak show!!!! I am a woman with intelligence, values, desires, and a reasonable sense of humor. I deserve love and respect like every other woman on this planet! I want the world to know that I did not appreciate that child's remark, and it should not be condoned.

IBC: Inflammatory Breast Cancer ... IMPORTANT

It was brought to my attention that television station KOMO in Seattle, Washington, did a story on Inflammatory Breast Cancer: The Silent Killer. I viewed the video and was left speechless. Women as young as teenagers have died from this fast-growing cancer. Maybe it's because I've lost a friend to breast cancer, or maybe it's because my dad is taking chemo treatments for colon cancer, but the minute this video ended, I was making posts on MySpace, VinXperience, and sending e-mails to all my friends about this. It's that important.

The video speaks for itself. Folks, please click on the link below to watch this six-minute segment.

http://ww3.komotv.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=785456&

Please help spread the word about this recently-discovered cancer.