Opinions Are Like Armpits

"Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has them and some of them stink."

Everyone has armpits and everyone has opinions. Sometimes they smell really good and sometimes......they really stink. 

Recently, I posted on Facebook about how I was disgusted by how athletes have decided to not stand for the national anthem to make a statement about racism or that the flag no longer stands for the liberties it used to. Well, that is there opinion and definitely their constitutional right. However, it is my right and opinion to disagree with them. Not disagree with their belief, mind you, but disagree with their actions.

In this post, which I ended up deleting and wish I hadn't, I never made mention that I disagreed with their beliefs or that they were wrong....just their actions. I agree that their beliefs have some merit, but not the actions. I feel the actions are completely ineffective. Again.....that is my opinion.

Why did I delete this post you ask? Well, the comments became pretty heated and I don't like to be an instigator of confrontation. However, I am quickly learning that is how the world works when you post your opinion on social media. And there was quite a bit of backlash among commentators. 

However, what I can't stand about social media and in other settings are the malicious comments such as: "your opinion is wrong" "your opinion is invalid" "you are stupid if you believe this or that" "how can you be so blind" "how can you be so ignorant" "you're out of touch and close minded" I see ALOT of this especially when an opinion is expressed that is against the popular norm.

People......opinions are just that.....OPINIONS. They are neither wrong nor right. It is something that someone thinks which may not necessarily align with someone else. NEWSFLASH.....that is ok!!! There is nothing wrong with having a different opinion or disagreeing with someone else's idealism. We all have different things that we believe in and fight for and there is nothing wrong with that.

So why is it that if I happen to disagree with an athlete not standing for the national anthem and find it disrespectful, that I am the one who is close minded? That is my OPINION! There is nothing wrong with how I feel and I shouldn't have to apologize for that. There are other ways to make a statement without being disrespectful. to our nation.

And the other thing I want to point out is this.......if I had already made a statement on something I feel passionate about, do you really think being rude and ugly is going to change my opinion? I don't mind if you say "well that's you opinion. However, I feel...." That's fine with me. It shows you respect me as a person as well as my mind. But....through life experiences, I have learned to think for myself and make my own opinions based on what I see and read. It is going to take a lot to persuade me to think differently on something I am passionate about. But it isn't going to happen with rude comments.

If I were to go to John Doe down the street and tell him how ugly and how much I hated the flowers he planted and was rude about it, do you think he's going to take them all out and replant because of my opinion? Probably not. He has already made the decision. 

Now let me get a little deeper on this topic. And if you decide to stop reading at this point, no offense taken and God bless.

I have many reasons why I am so passionate about the American flag, our national anthem, and patriotism.

• I have sung that national anthem on several occasions at sporting events as well as at church. The history behind it is humbling.
• I have attended 3 funerals for WWII veterans where Taps has been played, a 3 gun salute, and a flag has been draped over the veteran's coffin. I have watched how tenderly the soldiers at these funerals have folded that flag, handed it to the surviving family members, and humbly thanked them for their loved one's service. It gives me chills just to think about it.
• I have friends and family members who have spent months away from their families so they can do their duty to fight for and protect our freedoms.
• I have ancestors who have fought in the Revolutionary War and Civil War to protect our rights and freedoms that we have today. 

Now let's dig back a little further in history, shall we?

This country was founded by men and women who wanted more freedoms in their lives than what they were able to have in other countries. Freedom of speech, of religion, the right to bare arms, etc. 

Our fore fathers worked and fought tirelessly through blood, sweat, and tears to create a country that would give us all the freedoms we have at this point and take very much for granted. Was our nation perfect then? Of course not! Are we a perfect nation now? No way! Are things going to change over night? Not a chance! But they can change.

Now the main reason patriotism is so important and close to my heart is because of two things........God and Faith.

Our fore fathers were religious men who wanted freedom of religion and could not obtain that while still living under a monarchy. These men put their faith in God that He would protect them and help them create a nation that would allow themselves and their posterity the freedom to practice and believe any religion they wanted. These men had the faith that they were doing the right thing. These men put their faith in God that He would protect their freedoms during time of war. 

Because of these men, the gospel of Jesus Christ would not have been restored. That's right.....I threw some Mormonism in there. If you are offended, feel free to leave any time,

Because of the faith that these men had, the church that I believe in and follow was able to be restored. Because of these men and the thousands upon thousands of men who succeeded them, I now am blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. Because of the countless men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our country, I have the freedom of religion and to believe in whatever God I want to. This freedom above all others is precious to me.

Now we are at a point where we are taking God out of the Pledge of Allegiance, prayers are not allowed in schools, the Ten Commandments can not be displayed outside of court houses, its offensive to say Merry Christmas so we are asked to say Happy Holidays, it's offensive to have In God We Trust on our money, it's a distraction to fly the flag in some neighborhoods, and the list goes on and on. We are coming to a point of becoming a godless country which is so sad and unfortunate since that is what our very country was founded on.

So, if you want to be upset because I stated my opinion about my feelings of athletes or anyone in general not standing for the national anthem and flag, that is fine. I won't be offended. But my opinion is not wrong nor right. It's how I feel and think.

So I will say it again.......I find it very disrespectful to not stand for the national anthem or the flag. I don't care who you are! And the reason I find it so disrespectful is because not only are disrespecting those who have fought for your rights and freedoms, but you are disrespecting my freedoms.

Like I said, "Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has them and some of them stink." And I am going to continue to voice my opinions regardless of how stinky they are.

"If we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything." - Irene Dunne

Thoughts About My Mom

I have been really missing my mom a lot lately. But I have been trying to think of good and happy memories. And the more I thought about these, I wish I had remembered them at her funeral to kind of lighten the mood because she sure loved to make us laugh. Probably not on purpose, but she did a good job at it. So I thought I would share some of my memories on my blog........that I haven't updated in almost a year.

The summer after my senior year of high school, I worked at Jo-Ann's Fabrics in Crafts. And let me tell ya....this wasn't located in the best area when there was a Girls, Girls, Girls dance club near by. Anyway. Mom loved to craft and loved even more that I worked at a craft store so she could use my discount. She was on pretty good terms with most of the managers so she could shopping without me even being there. There was one time that she called me early in the morning, while I was still asleep, so she could get my SSN to use my discount. Now that's an addict right there!

One time, when we are all still in school, my dad took all of us on a business trip to Orlando. While he was in meetings, mom took us kids to Sea World. When we went to see Shamu, I convinced my mom that we needed to sit up front so we could see better. (Believe me.....I knew that this was the splash zone.) But she didn't. (Insert evil laugh.) Needless to say, we were all pretty soaked.

After an incident where my Grandma and I made my mom laugh so hard that she passed out, she told everyone that we couldn't make her laugh hard or she would pass out.

When mom had a cold, she couldn't use just a box of Kleenex. Oh no! She needed a whole roll of toilet paper.

When she would floss her teeth, she would need at LEAST a mile of dental floss.

Now Jon....was the only one who could really get my mom laughing. Laughing so hard that she would have an accident. On a road trip from Homestead to Key West, Brenda really had to use the restroom and my mom just kept driving and saying "We'll stop at the next key," until Brenda finally had to yell at her to stop. When mom went in to use the restroom, Jon ran up to the door, banged on it really loud, ran back to the car and told us to all act natural. Of course Brenda and I were cracking up. Mom came out and told us she didn't even have the chance to get her pants down. I'm pretty sure you can guess what happened!

Mom would call Ramen Noodles, Roman Noodles and Renee Zellweger, Renee (Reni) Zigler.

In Homestead, there is a power plant called Turkey Point. In Utah, we have a park/shopping area called Thanksgiving Point. She always called Thanksgiving Point, Turkey Point.

In New Jersey, the freeway is the called the Turnpike. She always called the freeway in Florida the New Jersey Turnpike.

When Blackberrys first came out, we went to the AT&T store to check out the price and thought about getting one for my dad. She walked in and asked "Can I see your Blueberries?" The sales person was so confused and told her she would have to go to Publix (local grocery store in Florida) to get blueberries. I explained that she meant a Blackberry.

Mom did not do amusement park rides. If we went to Disney World or Lagoon, she would just sit and wait for us while we did the rides. Although she would do the water rides. This one time at Lagoon, we convinced her to go on the Wild Mouse. I'm pretty sure the kids behind us learned a few new words to add to their vocabulary that day.

Mom had what we called platinum blonde hair. It was the Fenstermaker curse to get premature greys. Whenever she would go to the movies or the fair, she was always asked if she wanted the senior discount. She didn't think this was funny, but the rest of us got a good chuckle out of it. I told her she should just roll with it.

During a visit to California, I decided she was becoming her mother when she started watching Matlock at 1 in the afternoon. All I could think is "And so it starts."

After her first surgery, Dad and I were sitting with her in recovery and she was so loopy that I really wish I would have filmed it. My dad told her she was acting like a space cadet to which she replied that she didn't like space. She kept asking us if we were laughing at her and we told her we were laughing with her. She kept asking my dad if he loved her and he said he didn't know. So she asked him "When will you know?" She was pretty out of it and sarcastically told me that she was glad that she gave us so much entertainment.

Even at the end, she kept her sense of humor. I jokingly told Jon that women on the Fenstermaker line go out swearing. 

She mothered us up until the very end. But I am so glad that I still have some of these memories of her that make me laugh and smile.