Mongoose,
We've got gluten and msg in our food, tobacco causes cancer, office jobs are causing obesity, football causes concussions, and now makeup parabens are causing cancer, too. Should I just go ahead and roll myself in bubble wrap? Dear Bubble Boy, Did you know that being born is the number one cause of death? When I get a question like this I think about George Burns: smoked cigars all his waking hours and from what I hear drank like a fish, yep it finally caught up with him at the young age of 100. In our days of 24 hour news cycle and everyone being able to make money off the cause or the cure, the best thing one can do is enjoy life, use some common sense, don't do anything in excess, and don’t believe everything you read. * *The original response contained a line about celebrities and cancer which was portrayed as an insult. While the comment was intended as satire, one reader that has been greatly affected by cancer felt it was inappropriate and provided suitable reasons why. While this column is intended to be humorous and often tongue-in-cheek, I unintentionally crossed a line and have apologized. Cancer is no laughing matter. --Mongoose
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Hey Mongoose:
My daughter just turned 10 and was pretty disappointed when she didn't get a new iPhone for Christmas. I don't think she needs one because she has one of our old phones she can use on wifi, but her mom thinks Santa shouldve bought her one of her own. What age do you think it's ok for a kid to have a cellphone? Dear Mr. Grinch, I’ve been asking for a dirt bike since I was 7. I'm still waiting for it and there have been several years where I was real good. Some parents never cease to amaze me, first of all, they’ve completely forgotten what things were like when they were their kids’ age. There was no such thing as a cell phone when I was 10 and guess what, I survived. Not only did I survive I learned 3 things by not having "Satan’s CB”: 1) to listen 2) to remember 3) to improvise. Let me explain; if I were to do something outside of the normal routine that required my mom or dad to pick me up etc.. I had to 1) listen to the plan they had mapped out for me to make it work. Not only did I have to listen, I had to 2) remember the plan. For instance, “mom, can I go to Jim Bob’s house after school, his mom said it was ok.” “Sure son, I’ll pick you up from there at 6:00, make sure your shoes are on, don’t forget your book satchel and be out front, I don’t want to have to come in and get you or I’ll be there till 10:00”, said mom. Now, I had to listen carefully to the plan AND I had to remember it all day long. But, But what if an emergency came up? That’s where the improvisation comes into play. I didn’t have the luxury of sending my parents a text to tell them that Jim Bob’s brother swallowed an entire bottle of Flintstones vitamins and we were at the Emergency Room, I had to figure out a way to get word to them—improvise. First I’d call home, no answer, no machine. Next, call grandma; “your mom is at the grocery store”. Then, call the grocery store, “Betty said she just left but mentioned she was headed to bank”. You get where I’m going with this. The problem is this; we do our kids a disservice by not putting these responsibilities on them because we haven’t trained them to handle such. On the other hand, we give a 10 year old a $600 phone with the capabilities to look at naked pitchers of strangers and classmates and expect them to handle that responsibility. If your kid can afford both the phone and phone bill, let them have one. If not, they’ll survive just like you did without one. Dear Mongoose,
My sister and her family recently bought a very expensive SUV, over $50,000. She loves to brag about it but constantly overdraws her checking account. Back in the fall, she borrowed $700 from me to catch up on her bills. I drive a $8,000 car, but thankfully it's paid for. When should I start asking her about paying me back? Dear Facebook-only Rich: This one’s easy, you should have never loaned them the money! Lay off the 'that’s too harsh stuff already' and listen to me: the number one root to all problems we as Americans face today is THERE IS NO SENSE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. This starts at the top of our government right into our living rooms. What your sister is most guilty of is the thought that someone else owes her something. Be it a bail out when she overspends or that she truly deserves a $50,000 SUV. Call me a Bible thumper, prude, or whatever you wish, but two different verses come to mind when I hear stories like this. (paraphrased)The borrower is slave to the lender and owe no man nothing but to love him. Unless your sister cosigned a loan for you, she put herself in this predicament. If you continue to bail her out well, you’ll continue having to bail her out. She will have to ultimately realize that if you have more $ going out than you have coming in (and you’re not the US Government with money printing presses), you will not only run out of money but you will owe someone more than you’ll ever be able to pay back unless you cut expenses or bring more in. It sounds simple and all ties into personal responsibility. On the lighter side try this, if you have a soft spot and feel the need to bail her out again, at least get something in trade. It doesn’t matter if its house cleaning or using her fancy truck, don’t just “loan” her the money without something imminently in exchange. Mr. Mongoose,
Well, we lost another county advocate to another county because Edmonson County government don't care. Our parks system is one of the bright spots in this county so why in the world don't our magistrates care? Dear Ballpark Ranger, Have you ever been to a fiscal court meeting? Neither have I but I’m a fictional character that writes advice columns. How do you know they don’t care? I don’t know if they do or not because I’ve never been to a meeting. Looking at it from my view of things, it sure seems like they don’t, so with that said, I share your sentiment. I've never been to a meeting and am solely judging this book by its cover. The county is broke, the Sheriff’s office needs more money from what I read, other emergency services have radios that don’t work from what I read and the list goes on and on. When money is tight, be it with your family budget, business budget, or county budget, you only have two ways to make it work: You can either cut expenses or increase revenue. It really is that simple. If I had to guess, the county government works on this mantra: The squeaky wheel gets the most grease. If you are concerned enough, go to a fiscal court meeting and squeak. When you hear that there is no money (which I can almost guarantee you will), ask why. Hold your magistrates accountable, they work for you. Example, if you feel too much of your taxes go toward, let's say the library, but you'd rather it go towards our parks, then talk to your magistrate first, then attend the next meeting. If he doesn’t voice your concerns, vote him out. I had a family member attend a meeting once and they told me one of the magistrates was actually asleep during fiscal court. That should tell you plenty, right there. If that doesn’t work and you are truly passionate, start a fundraising campaign, bake sale, yard sale, GoFundMe, who cares... Talent such as Greg Hudson costs money, upkeep of parks costs money. If you can’t find it in the budget, you have to get it outside the budget, it is truly that simple. Of course, taxes could be raised, but then you'll have a large majority crying over that as well. If our elected officials don’t care about these concerns it is because we haven’t shown them we care enough to vote them out. That’s the bottom line. You, as in the community, show them we care, and they will have to-- or they will have to find another job. Or at least another place to take a nap. Mongoose,
So our state government is in turmoil again with sexual harassment claims. Our own state rep, Michael Meredith has yet to say a word. Don't you think he owes it to the voters to say something? Dear No Sleaze Please, Hero to zero, back to hero, then somewhere in between. Imagine if there was a microscope on your life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You reckon there would be things you’d be ashamed of? Would there be things that might elevate you to hero status? Sure, but people don’t care about those things, they want to see someone fail to make themselves feel better because it's much easier than doing something yourself to elevate your status. I’m not making any excuses for any politician. Trust me, no one alive loathes them as much as me, and I write about politics for a living. I’ll tell you the same thing (kinda) I told another reader, if you care about something such as hearing Rep. Meredith’s story, let him know, and you can do that by clicking here. Nothing moves without pressure, that’s physics but it works for politics, too. Remember that he works for us-- we pay his salary, he is a representative of his constituents, which are you and me. Personally, yes, I think he owes us an explanation, and based on it or lack thereof, I will form my decision as to whom to vote for next time. Mongoose,
My grandson just turned 16 and he's begging for one of those big diesel trucks. He doesn't work, in fact, I'm not sure the kid has ever got his hands dirty. What's the big deal with these big trucks? Dear What the Truck: Fads will be fads, and this diesel truck thing is certainly that. I've seen plenty of kids driving these things around, and I know their parents are footing the bill. Back in my day, everyone wanted a Monte Carlo or a Buick Regal, jacked up in the back with big tires. My parents couldn't afford to buy me one; that's why I drove an '81 Datsun...(it's what you buy when you work part-time at a gas station). While I have no idea why anyone would drive one of these trucks unless you are either: a farmer, a construction worker, or a transporter, in which all three jobs require hauling equipment and/or heavy loads, I'll never understand parents furnishing the money for the fuel they guzzle and insurance, much less the costs of the trucks themselves. Most of these things get about 10-12 mpg and they're not easy to drive. My thoughts are this: it's another way parents can make up for a life they didn't live as teens or for the dads to make up for their very small... ability to teach work ethic and responsibility, which will get kids much farther in life than fads. Mongoose,
I saw where Adidas is deep doo doo for allegedly paying players to play for certain schools. What's your favorite brand of athletic shoe and type (current or past) and why? Dear NC doubleAdidas, Back when I was in school, Adidas was an acronym for "All Day I Dream About Sesame Street." Or something like that. My favorite shoe of all time was the original Nike Air Force One. That being said, my favorite brand of shoe is Red Wing. How's that for contraindication? -MG Mongoose,
In these difficult times we live in can we all at least agree that ketchup don't belong on neither hot dogs or eggs? Dear Me Food, I'd like to add steak to that list as well. Ketchup is a condiment, and as far as I'm concerned ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise--the condiment big three--should only be allowed on ballpark foods, including- and yes limited to- the following: hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries. Anything outside of these 3 items is considered treasonous. I might also add that the hamburger is the only food listed allowed to contain all three, and French fries may only be eaten with or without ketchup. Hot dogs may be eaten with mustard and ketchup, ketchup only, or mustard only, but never naked because well it's just gross. And ketchup on eggs? Seriously? Same as mustard on ice cream... -MG |
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