74 Shadows of the Day

Not so many years ago, "polite society" meant - men wore suits unless they were working in the garden or had a "blue collar" job, women wore skirts unless they were 18 year old rebellious girls hanging with the wrong crowd, kids were polite and went to bed by 9pm and people actually were social and for the most part, pleasant in public. What went on at home when no one was around may have been vastly different. Hubby had a few too many martinis and smack the wifey around? The kids? Momma hittin' the gin bottle when no one was around? I'm here to tell you- I think I'd take those days over what we have now.

Facebook friend Peggy brought up the 7 deadly sins-..gluttony,wrath,greed,sloth, envy,pride and last but not least, my favorite- lust.....

Every human being from the dawn of the first monkey that figured out how to walk upright and reason, has broken one or all of these so-called "sins". I know I have. I'm slothing right now. I'm envious of this guy's car on the movie "Sex Drive" and I'm about to take my wrath out on this damned puppy that wont quit peeing in the floor 5 minutes after I let her out. I know you've done it too, although you may not admit it.

Mrs. Loughry brought up the question- "I wonder if other people have the same evil, spiteful thoughts that I do and just don't admit it ?" I say "YES". I have been amazed at the Sunday/Wednesday Christians that practice the 3 "F's" the rest of the week--Feedin' Fightin' and Fornicatin'. It has never ceased to amaze me that people can break so many of their own rules and not have the guts to admit it. I'm not saying you have to advertise your indiscretions, just dont be so afraid to admit you've had fun. I know, that entails your sin breaking being limited to non-law breaking events. I'm still betting on your friendly neighborhood Old-Dude that always smiles and waves, keeps his grass country-club and is always nice to the kiddies, sitting in his arm-chair at night, wondering if he could shove his wife of 47 years in the wood chipper and get away with it. She's in the kitchen wondering if she could poison that bitch next door's dog and hide the carcass in their mailbox for the kids to find.

We all have evil thoughts, we all covet things we see, we take pride in ourselves and those we love and we are all gluttonous about something. We lust after others, jobs, things....money, every mother's son of you lusts after SOMETHING. How you approach these "sins" is the thing. You might not like something about a close friend, you may bitch about it to someone else. You might congratulate "Sally" on her new position at work, but you are secretly jealous and wish it was you. When no one's around you might pig out on cookies or nachos or skittles. Or you might not. You may have the thoughts in your head but you dont act on it. I think whichever way you go, be honest with yourself and, to the point of politeness, be honest with others.

I have done naughty things I'm kind of proud of and some than I'm not. I've broken every "commandment" in one way or the other and I really have no qualms about what I've done. I have atoned, in different ways, for what I've done. At least the stuff I felt bad about. A lot of the things I did, I still chuckle about. Granny always said "What comes around goes around." and she's right. How many times have you seen some two-faced jerk screw over everybody around him and get ahead? I'll bet much of his personality, whether it's over-bearing, creepy, whatever, is derived from a lack of something. He probably doesnt like himself or he is so in need of a friend or love, he acts out in that way to compensate. That kind of person usually hates their self and has spent so many years developing blocks, shortcuts and "smash and grab" mentalities they dont know how to change and probably never will.

We know the "slothy" people, too, right? 375 lb welfare chick, wont work, dresses like she just rolled out of a dumpster. This one always gets me. It's a definite moral flaw. Yes, my lazy rear has caused me to put on some pounds, but I still go to work every day, I do what needs done around the house. You do too. We just dont wallow in horrid self-pity, waiting for everyone else to take care of us. A few pounds around the middle or the hips is not the same as being so lazy you have to use a stick with a rag tied to it to wash your nasty ass in between trips to the mailbox to get your monthly allotment.

What about wrath? We've all had weak moments when we were angry or over-stressed and we took our wrath out on something or someone. Kick the cat when no one's looking? Smack your kid a little too hard for something minor? Screw over an employee because you "just dont like "em"? How many times have you made your spouse "pay" because you were pissed about something else?

Lust is my favorite. NO. REALLY? Lust may be the most honest of the 7. If we didnt lust after things, what fun would we have? We lust after nice things to surround ourselves with. We lust after having fun. We lust after someone(whether we wind up with them or not is another story). We lust after money above most other things. After all, money buys the rest of the stuff we lust after. (sometimes that includes women;) ) Without lust we wouldnt be motivated to achieve, to endure, to persevere. Yep, we need a little lust. Well, at least the good kind(and a little of the bad).

So, Mrs. Loughry, to answer your question, Yes, other people think the same, evil thoughts you sometimes think. The next time you wonder this, look at the garbage men. They're thinking " If that rip puts out ONE more bag, I'll....." The smart-ass kid at Hardees that didnt get your order right? Yep--"If she says 'Isaid NO mayo', one more time, I'll....." Look at me. Every time I see Angelina Jolie, I think-"Man, if I had her alone for 1 hour, I'd...." ....play a game of scrabble, Roz. I know what YOU were thinking. Besides, she'd go back and throw rocks at Brad, and you ladies wouldnt want his pretty physique messed up, right?