bold is mine..
It's everywhere.. makes me so sick and so scared for our society, my future grandchildren. Ya know, it used to be, you find a dirt bag where you expect a dirt bag.. and he/she looks like a dirt bag.. everyone they ever had anything to do with knew they were a dirt bag, even if only in hindsight. I'm a (recovering) criminal, a (recovering) drug addict, and was raised in massive dysfunction, the adults in my life were often the very dirt bags we must watch out for. But sometimes some of this stuff just blows even me away.
"And look where it's at
Middle America, now it's a tragedy
Now it's so sad to see, an upper class city,
Havin this happenin'..." -Eminem
Well, let me say first, LostGirl,
Congratulations for surviving your early life and for rising above being the "scum bag" that the tea leaves or the crystal ball (dirty crystal, I'm sure) said you would surely be!! Your inner strength to rise above it must be amazing because every day is both an opportunity & a risk.
My father was an alcoholic who joined AA and stopped drinking (never to drink again) when I was about 8 years old. My Mom & Dad and I would attend "open" AA meetings, and I learned a lot about addiction and staying straight & how some folks were more prone than others to be addicts. I don't drink at all, but I don't frown on those who do responsibly.
That aside, what I am getting to is, "One day at a time." That's all we're given -- Today. We were taught to ask, "Give us
this day our daily bread...".
This day. This day. Not next week or even tomorrow.
So bless you for what you have done & are doing this day & every day.
And you're right -- "bad" people and bad influences are
everywhere now, not just in the "poor neighborhoods" or in the alleys or in the bus stations
or in the projects or the big cities -- they never were exclusively there, but we liked to think that some places were safe. Such a phenomenon that is not understood or certainly not curable. Yet. And this world is such a beautiful place, full of good people and good things. That same sentence would also be true if you substituted "scary" or "dangerous" for "beautiful" and "good."
We've got to be more responsible, more watchful, more helpful, more spiritual (in one's own way), and stronger for ourselves, each other & those who can't do it on their own. Or we'll all fail.
I could go on & on.
Eminem's subtle lyrics are right-on...
Bravo, LostGirl!! (Sounds like your name needs to be changed....)
I hope the locals will remember this child and be watching for news on this childs case for us. I need to hear what these parents have to say for themselves.
