A Story For A Friend.

I lived in downtown Chicago for almost 3 years. A taxi/cab only had 3 purposes for me; I was running late for work, it was too cold to wait for the bus, or I was too drunk/tired to take an hour on the subway and bus to get home. Call me naive or self-centered but it never occurred to me that people used cabs for any other reasons than the ones I had already come up with.

A good friend of mine recently started a job as a 3rd shift cab driver in the South Suburbs of Chicago. He has been doing this a couple of months now and some of the things he sees are so raw. This friend is also an ordained minister. He is someone who loves well and this is the best job for him. He takes people to and from airports, to and from bars and casinos, but also to grocery stores, hospitals and medical treatment facilities, and delivers prescriptions. He meets people from all walks of life. There are hookers, strippers, gamblers, drunks, and other addicts. There are "upstanding" members of society who visit the aforementioned and make threats if their identities are revealed. There are the elderly, sick, or both who need assistance getting around. My friend has experiences and stories with all of these people. Not every night consists of a life-altering revelation, but they all have their own merit and impact on my friend.

He has a blog with these experiences. Some are funny. Some are sad. Some make you think. All of them make you feel. I highly recommend you read Night Moves: Diary of a Chicago Area Cabbie Preacher Man. Read it. Share it.

Disney Rant 1: The Little Mermaid

I was listening to "Kiss The Girl" from The Little Mermaid. For the first time I listened to the lyrics, all the way through, without trying to sing along. I'd never heard these lyrics before,

"And she don't say a word
She wont say a word
Until you kiss the girl"

I never really thought about that. Yes, I know the premise of the movie. But there they are, on a date, "floating in a blue lagoon" and this guy knows nothing about her. He has no idea who she is. Not even her name (until he hears the voices.)

It's obvious he doesn't know the lobster, the frogs, or the flamingos are singing, yet he hears them. He even asks her if she hears anything and she shakes her head no. She's letting this man think he's going crazy. He doesn't find it the least bit strange that this woman hasn't said ONE word, through the whole date, AND he can guess her name because he heard it in his head? 

Now, I know men are said to be simple, one-track-mind people, but I'd like to think it would take more than a pretty girl, sitting in a boat, not saying a word, "not a single word", to get a (sober) man to kiss her.

Am I expecting too much from the male race? I don't think so. So someone tell me, what does this guy see in her? Aside from her obvious beauty (red-head...duh) what does he really think she has to offer? Do they have anything in common? Prince Eric obviously knows his way around a ship and fishes. He fishes. Let me say this again, he fishes. He's probably killed Ariel's friends. Seriously. How is a MERMAID supposed to be with a PRINCE FISHERMAN? Think vegetarian with a butcher. That's dumb.

here's a video of that scene where they're in the boat....

AND URSULA! That bitch is worse than a used car salesman. She convinces this girl to give up her father, her sisters, and her voice by telling her that "men up there don't like a lot of blabber..." Now, I'm sure that's true to an extent, but do guys really want someone who willingly gave up their ability to speak, just to be with them, when they'd never really met? I know some men who would call that creepy and stalker-like. Just saying. 

Ariel's not all that brilliant either. She's the one that went to the evil sea-witch, signed the contract (even with all of those creepy soul things swimming around), and ditched her family. Kind of a shady thing to do. 

the one with Ursula scamming and some creepy soul things

Tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way. And I'm sure I'll have more to say on related Disney Princess topics so for now, we'll call this: Disney Rant 1.