Whatever Happened To...

...chivalry, that lost art where men performed tiny acts of kindness for a woman just because? Acts like opening a door, standing when she enters a room, removing his hat indoors, giving up his seat on the train, letting her on or off the elevator first? The only time I've experienced this is in the presence of old white men or my landlord, an older Middle Eastern man. Is that it? If I want to experience chivalry I should hang out with old Whitey or move to Baghdad?

*****

...getting your money's worth? A 50-cent bag of potato chips used to be 25-cents, and the new 25-cent bags contain FIVE chips. It costs $2.25 to hear the train conductor say "we're are experiencing train traffic ahead..." and make you late, and a dirty water dog is damn near $3 but skinner than an anorexic white girl. How does this make me want to spend what little I have?

*****

...quality, scripted programing on television? I know I can easily be trapped into a marathon of Celebrity Rehab and For The Love Of Some Washed Up Nobody, but where are the original shows that make us laugh, cry, think, feel? Why are we so concerned with the lives of others to the point that we follow them around with a camera and put real actors & writers out of work? Where are the shows like Barney Miller, M*A*S*H*, Cheers, The Cosby Show... what happened to them?

*****

...boleros like


and R&B songs like


that made you FEEL the lyrics and the melody deep down in your soul? The kind that made you look forward to the minute when your significant other would come into your line of sight so you could embrace them, breathe them in and fall in love all over again and never let them go? Instead of just telling you to take off your clothes because they invented sex?

*****

...real writers dominating the New York Times Bestseller List? I almost cried real tears when I heard Lauren Conrad (and if you ask "WHO?" I'm gonna kiss you right on the lips and profess my undying love to you forever and ever) had her SECOND book on the list. That is depressing. Am I to understand that, along with scripted programming, real books written by real writers have become obsolete?

*****

...you and me? Holding hands and butterflies whenever our eyes met? Stolen kisses and secret notes? Are those days really gone?

*smooches...feeling a bit nostalgic*
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unemployment affords you lots of time to sit and think. especially when you're avoiding housework.

and YES, I know the Jackson 5 did that song before Troop covered it, but it was Troop's version that moved me...