Trafficking in America

"I've only done this vice-squad job for three years. I've been a cop for 29. If you had told me three years ago that a 14-year-old girl would go to a food court, meet a guy, and three hours later be selling herself, I'd a said, no frigging way. It happens every single day, every day." 

This was a quote I read today in this article  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-rather/pornland-oregon-child-pro_b_580035.html

As I read about trafficking and prostitution I feel so sad.  Why are these young girls falling for these tricks?  But it all comes down to wanting to be loved (in my opinion).  Then I think of the girls we have in our aftercare home and see the same thing happening with them.  This deep desire to be loved.  So when someone shows you attention, you are drawn to them.  They are the band-aid on your wound.

Malls seem to be a pick-up place for a lot of girls in America.  I wonder if there needs to be more awareness done in malls.  Signs could be hung in food courts, or even on the paper that is put on the trays of food.  The mall security people could be trained in trafficking awareness.  Who knows how many girls could be saved before they enter into this horrendous trap.

Here is a youtube skit on Human Trafficking that I thought was good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA3hU7fJzvg 

Too Hot To Trot

Yes, it is time for me to complain about being hot.  I am sitting in an air conditioned room and still sweating.  Is this menopause?

Yesterday I and a friend braved the heat to go shopping.  Wow!  Even though it was after 6PM the heat was still baking.  We felt hot wind blow on our faces as we pushed our way through the crowd of sweaty people, trying to find a few bracelets and maybe a t-shirt or two.  We were probably only out for an hour, but by the end I felt the need for an ice bath.

The heat is way over my comfort level.  I lay around at home under the ceiling fan.  I have no energy, no appetite, no desire to do anything.  I know that the other millions of people are suffering along with me, but they seem to do it less dramatically.  I need to figure out how to thrive in this heat.

I looked up online to find things to do in really hot weather.  All the ideas were outside activities.  Stupid.  Who wants to try to do anything outside.  And water activities do not work.  The water is hotter then the air.  So that leaves me with indoor activities that I can do in front of or below a fan.  Puzzles, movies, sleeping, .... that is all I can think of.  If you have some good, low energy ideas, please leave a comment.  I want to thrive in the heat (if I can first of all survive it).

Dead Puppies Aren't Much Fun!

This morning, Steve and I were talking about the little puppy that has been down stairs at our apartment building.  He is always so happy to see us.   He wags his little tail and comes to smell your toes.  So cheery for a street dog that has nothing.  But this morning he wasn't in his usual spot at the bottom of the stairs.  I looked for him but he wasn't there.  Then I walked out the gate and saw that the sweet little puppy got ran over right in front of our apartment.  There he was. Dead.

Uranus has Violent Winds

The heading on a news article this week cracked me up, "Gassy Uranus has Violent Winds".  I'm thinking about bring it up in a few conversations.  "Hey, did you hear Uranus has violent winds?"

Anyway, today on the way to church we stopped to get gas.  That is my segue into the story of our car breaking down.  We stopped to get gas and Steve asked them to fill the coolant also.  For some strange reason, unknown to me, here in India, women work at gas stations.  They usually don't work in restaurants as waitresses, but they work as gas pump attendants.  So the ladies were filling our gas and Steve opened the hood only to discover that the pipe of the radiator had a big, gaping hole in it.

The car wouldn't start after the discovery so the ladies had Steve get back in the car and they pushed us to a parking spot.  Again I thought, "Why women?"  Steve asked them to call a mechanic.  I went inside the mini mart that this gas station thankfully had and bought a coke and some munchies.  It is a strange mini mart.  It had an Archies in it, which is like a Hallmark store.  So there were some stuffed animals and games and niknaks.  Then there were videos, including playboy.  Then there was lots of imported food.  I didn't buy any of that stuff, just a coke and some chips of the Indian kind.

Soon the mechanic showed up in his "car help" van.  He checked out the engine and drove off to get the new parts.  We sat some more in the car, watching people.  I noticed how one of the gas station lady's job is to wash the windows.  Many times she would be still working on the back window when the car would just drive away.  Thankless job.  Finally our mechanic came back and fixed us all up.  The charge was 1100, but Steve tipped him another 100.  So in dollars, that is $24. for a mechanic to come save us.  Pretty good.  And we were still on time to church since we were going for worship practice early.

Pooless Wonder

I have been trying to go without shampoo for around 10 days now.  I think I actually caved twice during that time and used shampoo.  My biggest issue is itchy scalp.  I have had an itchy scalp for as long as I can remember (42 years maybe).  Steve thinks I should go to a dermatologist but I will probably not get around to that unless I happen to be walking past an office of one while I am out and about one day.  So instead I go to my own doctor, the internet. 

The pooless recipe is baking soda.  And the anti-itchy scalp remedy is also baking soda.  For pooless you use it mixed with a lot of water, but for anti-itch you use it like a past.  So I tried that this morning.  I have gone several hours without itching, which is pretty good I think.  But now that I started thinking about my scalp I feel the urge to scratch.  So the next remedy is yogurt on my head for 30 minutes.  My problem is not knowing where to sit while I wait those 30 minutes with yogurt on my head.  Do I sit on the floor of the shower?  And what should I do while I wait?  Maybe I could paint my nails or something like that.

I don't know if I can make it to completely pooless status, but I am trying.  I like the fact that I will be saving money and it sounds cool to be helping the environment.  An added benefit is that it keeps my shower a bit cleaner too.  Oh, it just occurred to me what I can do while I am waiting the 30 minutes.  I can clean the shower with my head.

Murder for Hire

I haven't been following the Dr. Gosnell case much, but I see today that he was found guilty of murder.  What he did in his clinic is horrible and sick.  And not just him.  All his staff who participated in these horrific killings are guilty.  But I also think that the mothers of these children are equally guilty.  Yet no one seems to be talking about the women who paid someone to kill their child.  Isn't it ironic that a lady can go to a "doctor" and pay him to abort a baby that could live outside the womb and she isn't held responsible, yet if she were to be the one to give birth and then slice the baby's throat in a hospital (or anywhere else) that she would be held guilty of murder?  When does her "right" become murder?  After natural delivery only?

I am reminded again of my previous post about the baby who was found on a footpath beheaded here in Delhi.  I bet the person who did that to the baby would be called a murderer.  How different is abortion?  As long as the baby is killed and dismembered in the safety of the womb we don't call it murder but call it a woman's right.    The more you let yourself think about it the clearer it becomes.  Just because abortion is legal up to a certain month doesn't make it right.  Abortion is murder! 

Trauma Therapy

I don't quite know what I should do for my therapy sessions in dealing with trauma, but for starters I will blog about it.  I don't have normal trauma.  My trauma comes from being empathetic to others.  Or from letting my thoughts go wild.

The other day I was just reading the newspaper when I experience a traumatic event.  Just reading the newspaper!  There are always little squares of Missing Person or Seeking Identification that I for some reason read.  Sometimes I read them because I find it comical how few details they have about a person or how they describe someone.  But that day I saw a disturbing picture.  It was a picture of a dead body that they were looking for identification.  The thing is it was a newborn baby and the head was missing.  There is no way to identify it because I am sure the mother just left it on a pathway after giving birth.  But to see that poor baby all sprawled out naked and thinking about the value of life made me sick.  Why do the newspapers post things like that?  Why do people kill their babies?  It just really disturbed me.

And then a totally different area that I think traumatizes me is walking in front of the security guards at the metro stations.  They hold their rifles out, often just resting them on the sandbags.  I can't help imagining the gun going off while I walk in front of it.  I always speed up my step.

And of course, thinking about the stories of the girls who come to our aftercare home is probably traumatizing me in a way.  The things this girls go through is horrific.  And knowing that most of the people are still free, walking around, abusing others is not a comforting thought.  I want to see justice done.

So if anyone has some good advice for me I am listening

Stupid Rules

I read this morning about a boy who has a skin disease so he is growing his hair long to help cover some of the bald spots.  He is not allowed in his school because of the hair length rule.  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/05/pennsylvania-boy-with-skin-disease-sent-home-from-school-over-haircut/

Yesterday there was a news report about a boy whose team one the State Championship but they were disqualified because the boy raised his finger to God in thanks.  The rule is that you can't celebrate your win (or something like that).http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2319303/High-school-track-team-disqualified-state-championships-religious-hand-gesture.html

And how many stories have we heard now about guns being made out of pop tarts or sticks or paper and the kid getting suspended. 

I understand that there needs to be guidelines and all, but really, it seems that some situations are not black and white.  When there are stupid rules it only creates rebellion.  There is a verse in the Bible written as instruction to fathers that says, "Don't exasperate your child" or "Do not provoke them to wrath."  It would be good for schools to remember this bit of advise too.

Be Anxious About Nothing

I have been taking anti-anxiety medicine for around 8 years now I think.  I guess I have an issue with anxiety.  Well lately it seems the medicine has stopped working or else my anxiety has increased beyond what the medicine helps.  So I have been trying to figure out how to help get things under control.  Not being in control tends to make me anxious, so if I can get control of my anxiety I am sure it will help me not be anxious.

One thing I have done is to read scripture about anxiety or worry.  That hasn't been a huge help, although it does give me something to think about when I get anxious and it slowly can turn my mind away from whatever is causing me worry at the moment.

Another trick is to go to my "happy place".  Sometimes that is a nice outdoor scene with a stream or a waterfall.

I am also following a therapist online that gives me emails with some suggestions.  This week it was to list out everything that I feel anxious about and then change my thought by asking a questions.  For instance, if I am worried about being late to church I could ask myself, "How will I get to church on time?"  Then it makes my mind focus on positive solutions and away from the worry.  Something like that.

So here is my list.

I will get hit by a car while crossing the road
No one will stand up for me
I will get yelled at
Steve will make someone mad with his driving and they will hit him
I will get hit by a car from behind while walking
Someone will snatch my bag
I will get pick-pocketed
I won't get a ride for a long time (rickshaw)
I will be late
Micah will get hurt
People won't remember my name
I will sweat a lot
Steve will want me to have a dinner plan

Not much of a list really, but it seems to trigger something in me.  Not sure how my "How" questions help, but yesterday I tried it out with one.  My worry was getting hit by a car while walking.  The "how" questions is something like, "How can I avoid getting hit while walking?"  So I tell myself, if I face the traffic I will be better off.  But then I start thinking about all the times when I was facing traffic and a car or motorcycle came from behind me on the wrong side of the road and almost hit me.  So what else can I do?  I can make sure I walk as far from the cars as possible.  But that is where people are standing to pee on the wall or else there is some other obstacle in the way.  Then I ask myself, "What is the worse that would happen in reality?"  The answer is that I would break my arm or get knocked down and cause a scene.  That isn't the end of the world, so there is nothing to worry about.  Ta da!  I got to the point of realizing that there is no need to worry.  And I made it home.