I buried the lead.

It is most certainly one of those FABULOUS days.

Ahhh..

Let's do a recap.. shall we?

Woke up early - no worries, popped my BP meds (which make me sleepy the first 2 hours) and headed back to bed.

I awoke at 9:30am, and made a little coffee, blueberry pancakes (with sugar free Aunt Jemima). Watched the news (made me sad..) Took a quick shower and headed to the pool.

Believe it or not, I am actually quite shy among strangers. For example, at the pool- I typically do not chat with people. I mind my own business.

However, today was different. I chatted with a young man heading into the pool, and lo and behold - he sat two chairs away and decided to have lazy conversation off and on. Then another girl comes up, and decides to chat with me about my book. Now - this may be normal to you, but in my world - I tend to have this - "back off vibe" (when not at work.) See - I get paid to talk to people, so when I am "off the clock", I basically put up walls to strangers.

Instead, I guess I gave off this happy vibe and people responded. It is so interesting to see that. Lately I have been trying to "open myself up" to  new people. This is soooo difficult for me.

Again - if you are in my inner circle, I am yours! If you are not - I tend to come off as .. well.. stand offish. I promise you, I am a nice person - I just am not fond of the idle chit chat.

Today, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and opened myself up personally. The pay off, was nice.

Which leads me to believe, if I were famous (hahahaha) I would be one of those stars wanting people to leave me alone. ;-)

On to something more serious I need to share, and perhaps I will write about more in depth later. Yes my friends.. I buried the lead...

I am feeling a bit of a tug from friends across the big blue pond and here. See, as you all know - my husband's family (and many of our friends) live in Egypt. Israel is their next door neighbor. Palestine is their friend. You guys know what is going on over there.

Then there is the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I live in Alabama. This effects my state substantially.

I am getting all types of crap from my middle eastern friends about posting videos on FB about the oil spill, and not about the issue with Israel.

When I did put something up about the conflict in Gaza - I basically got attacked by the Christian fundamentalists and some random Jewish friends.

I have to admit a few things.. and here it is:

1. I think Israel is wrong for what they are doing to the ships trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.

2. I think the embargo on Gaza is wrong.

3. People are complaining about random small weapons that may or may not have been on the ships. Hello? America supplies Israel with major weapons. What is the difference?

4. Though I believe what is happening to the Palestinian people is horrible - it can be reversed. People need to act sensibly. What is happening in the Gulf is irreversible.

5. The idea that creatures at the bottom of the food chain will become extinct is disturbing. Let's not forget the song by Elton John - the circle of life.

6. Restaurants, Fishermen, Hotels, Amusement Parks, Estuaries, Wetlands, beaches - all will be either effected financially or environmentally. Something that cannot be recovered.

7. Thousands of people will end up losing money (ways to pay for their home, food, etc.)

8. An entire culture of the bayou will be reversed.

9. Fish and Wildlife are just as important to me as human life. What the people are doing to each other in the middle east can be reversed and they are behaving uncivilized. What is being done to our waters is unforgivable. Species will cease to exist.

10. Finally - Alabama is my home for now. If we are to protect our land and fight for a good way of life (the way the Palestinians need to) - then, right now - it is my RIGHT and RESPONSIBILITY to shout out from the roof tops that something need to happen.

And that's about it...