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Every time I am denied service somewhere, I save money. Or at least that’s my new mantra as I try to make myself feel better. 

The most heartening thing that’s happened to me in weeks was at the parking garage last night. My dad and I were talking about the Obama advertisement for the increased need for Food Banks and the parking attendant overheard our conversation. When I left the parking garage, the parking attendant let me out without paying and thumped his chest in a hearty motion. That’s the power of the people and his action left us both smiling. 

I’ve seen too much of the opposite of the power of the people lately. It makes me sick to my stomach sometimes and I don’t know what to tell people. Did the woman overcharging me at H & R Block by $500 have the right to do so because she couldn’t live on social security? Did the guy embarrassed by his job at the Jersey Sub Shop have the right to add on a tip that I would have paid for anyway?

But it got worse than this. 

I started to notice more pettiness, spite, and sheer malice around me for nothing. Nada. Fake Facebooks for people to make others feel bad. A news report from Australia about a nurse who committed suicide because of a prank call. More reports of attempts to intimidate people with mental disorders. Bitchy snide comments of a personal nature. 

The power of Facebook is making people feel worse about themselves. 

The worse the economy gets, the worse people seem to get to each other. We seem to have all become Scrooges, only without the big company to guide us. Instead, we are ruled by fear of the economy worsening and jealousy of those who are more fortunate than ourselves. 

I stupidly got robbed by a pickpocket at a grocery store. She kept her job and my wallet because that is the way the system is going now. Even the suburbs aren’t safe. 

It’s not like a Robin Hood story or an equal distribution of wealth. It’s a lack of resources and a lack of knowledge about how to get people to the right resources. I’m not saying that we have to use the “Pay it Forward” strategy because that didn’t end so well. I’m saying that common Respect and Dignity are sadly lacking from many of the people who “have good faces.”

Again, the most heartening, inspiring thing I witnessed in recent days was the thumping heartbeat from the parking lot attendant. 

Beer is one man-made item that sits on the shelf beside such inventions as iron, the printing press and electricity when it comes to the significance it has had on shaping the lives of people over the course of history.  Though it may not have led to any scientific revelations (or may have?), it’s been present in cultures all over the world for thousands of years.  Much is known about how beer has made its way from the medieval days to the place it holds in the present day, but as far as ancient beer brewing goes, there’s still much to be learned.

One new discovery has archaeologists digging up a 3500-year-old microbrewery in Cyprus.  Dating from the Bronze Age, the site contains a kiln used for malting, pottery for storage, tools of various sorts and several other items that suggest that people back then were just as much the craft beer snobs that we are today.  They found evidence of organics that would have been used in the flavoring of beers, meaning that “beer-flavored beer” wasn’t the only thing that people enjoyed after a long day’s labor.

Back in the day, beer was considered to be the healthier alternative to other foods.  People often drank beer instead of water, due to the lack of precautions involved in the maintenance of clean water and a distinctively underwhelming sewer system.  It wasn’t just an excuse to get drunk, this belief, but an actual fact of the times.  Laws regarding its use or warnings to people about the damage it could cause weren’t a high priority.  And so these microbreweries popped up wherever people created a demand.

Who knows?  Maybe such finds will lead brewers in the modern age to rediscover some of the lost arts of creating unique and tasty brews.  If only for that, digging up the past is worth it.  Now, if only they could get the beer companies to sponsor such digs, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone.

This week’s report of the ignorance involves a teacher in Michigan who decided to let one of her students play a song in class that just happened to promote gay rights.  It was a rap song by artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis entitled “Same Love.”  

The lyrics support same-sex marriage and talk about the life of a gay man and all the trials he has to undergo during the course of his life.  One student didn’t like what the song had to say and complained to the principal, who then put the teacher on suspension indefinitely without pay.

When asked about the controversial issue, the teacher expressed her desire to promote tolerance of diversity within her classroom.  Gay rights aside, even just the view into an alternate lifestyle such as the song spoke of is something that could be considered valuable to children learning about the world. 

Suspending a teacher because they offend one person who doesn’t like gay rights being talked about is akin to suspending them for playing a video about a foreign culture because someone doesn’t like the fact that the culture isn’t following “American” or “Christian” values.  It makes little sense for an educational institution to be so censored.

The main problem, at least according to the principal, was not that the song was talking about gay rights.  He said that the teacher failed to go through the proper channels and have the song approved, as all things to be played in the classroom must be.  In the end, that’s probably the best policy in that it protects the teacher from crazy parents.  On the other hand, it also gives school authorities the opportunity to censor their educators.

Eventually, the suspension was lowered to three days and only one without pay.  The administration has been rather supportive in this case, especially considering the potential fallout from ultra-conservative parents.  Even just ten years ago the story would have read very differently and likely the teacher would have been fired for playing a song like this. 

Is it a sign of the times and of our progress?  Or just a sign that we still have a ways to go before teachers can feel free to talk about this very important historical change in our country and in our world?

Hamauri Beach Day is a tradition in Japan (though most prevalent in Okinawa) in which women, for one day of the year during the month of March, take the day off and go to the beach.  The original intent behind this is rooted in the past, when women would seek to purify themselves each year by bathing in the sea.  Those who celebrate Hamauri Beach Day still take some time out to take a dip, but now it’s more about just relaxing and enjoying time with friends and family than anything else.

The legend behind the ritual involves a young woman who was seduced by a gentleman stranger.  The parents, upon discovering that she was pregnant, decided to find out more about the man.  They followed him into a cave where they discovered that he was a snake in disguise.  In order to prevent herself from giving birth to the snake’s children, the woman had to enter the sea.  Most of that meaning has been lost over time, but many still believe that the ritual is useful for casting out bad spirits and promoting good health in young women.

Hamauri Beach Day today is a beach party of sorts. There is plenty of food, stage performances featuring almost exclusively female musicians, people singing and dancing and markets selling crafts and the like.  Young women and their families gather together to enjoy the day while the men (usually) stay at home, doing the chores for the day.

This relaxed event is a good chance for female visitors to Japan to meet with the locals in an environment that caters to them.  It is a unique celebration that can be enjoyable to anyone, regardless of where they come from and whether they believe in the tradition or not.