Judge Not, Lest Ye Get Thine Ass Whooped

Mahalo, Wise Readers! Today I come to you from fair Oahu, nestled someplace in the islands of Hawaii. Not sure where, don’t much care.

Today is the first day in the last three with any decent amount of sun. We arrived late Saturday after a five hour delay in Minnesota…it sucked, but at least Delta bought everyone pizza 🙄.

One of the benefits of such a long layover allows one to examine the people around them in vivid detail.

On the other hand, one is also exposed to the people around them in vivid detail.

Apparently, no one disciplines their kids anymore and there seems to be a dearth of folks who will offer a “bless you” to a stranger who sneezes. Luckily I happened upon more than one able-bodied individual (both male and female) who offered their seats to elderly travelers while we waited at the gate. I’ll add (with no small amount of pride) that my son was one of those considerate folks.

Eventually we boarded the plane and made our way to Oahu, only to arrive well after our original intended time of 3:30 in the afternoon. No biggie- we arrived safe and sound and that’s what counts in the big scheme of things.

Yesterday we drove to the North Shore since the rain kept us from lounging beachside. The drive proved to be interesting since we ventured quite a distance from our resort. The scenery changed so abruptly that we almost thought we must have imagined our pristine beach and crystal clear pools. Lots of poverty. Plenty of ragged tents on the beaches and public parks…things the brochures DON’T advertise.

Which brings me to the crux of this post: What about truth in advertising? The truth about Hawaii is that the traffic is HORRENDOUS and the ocean is trying to kill you.

But what about what we advertise, whether intentionally or inadvertently? And what do you really see when you look at someone? How much of the REAL them do you see on the surface?

God forbid that anyone should see the real me under all this vitriol and blubber 😂.

But seriously…When you judge a book by its cover, can you be surprised when it turn out to be something OTHER than what you expected?

Between you, me and the jellyfish, this resort is pricey- almost ridiculously so. Logically speaking, it’s fair to extrapolate that most of the folks here are financially well-to-do. You can’t tell, though. It would be hard to discern the millionaires from your run-of-the-mill WASPs. Although I tend to believe that WASPs wouldn’t deign to frequent a place that allows (gasp!) minorities and same-sex couples.

And there I go, judging people again.

I should have y’all spank me everytime I do that.

I’m not always quick to jump to the negative, despite what you may think. For example, I just decided that the guy to my right with a fully tattooed body is SMOKIN’ HOT.

See? I can be nice.

I don’t tend to judge indiscriminately, or with malevolent intent. I don’t care if you’re fat or thin, if your swimsuit is too tight or if you legs are pasty enough to warrant tartar sauce and a lemon wedge. Your physical attributes don’t concern me (unless you are, like the man to my right, SMOKIN’ HOT).

Rather, I’m more concerned with what you’re DOING. Are you a 50 year old man staring at teenage girls? Are you a matronly woman who refuses to sit in the sun, ostensibly because you’ll shrivel up like a raisin? Perhaps you’re a moderately attractive 40-something woman who is giving me the stink-eye because I’m staring at your husband…The possibilities are endless.

My point is that sometimes I forget that while I’m sizing up the fray, THEY are retrning the favor and I wonder what they see. Do I look happy? Sexually fulfilled? Angry? Hungry? Stupid?

It’s too bad that we can’t walk up to someone and say, “What are you looking at?” without sounding belligerent and possibly downright threatening…Much like this woman who caught me staring at her husband.

Maybe I’ll just slap her with my flip-flop. That oughta teach her to make assumptions. 😂