Reyes Gibbs Blog

Personal Space

The other day, I was in a college bookstore for Kevin (I know, enabling again!)  I hadn't been in one for some time.   As soon as one enters, you stand in line to order your books.  The line was long.  In front of me, two people ahead was a young lady who noticed a young man three people back of me.   She begins her conversation  with the young man.  I learned where she lived,what they did during January intersession,  how much she missed the man, the neighborhood the young man lived an, when the last time they saw each other, their plans for college at East Bay State College, their majors but the most shocking to me was her sharing her grades in her last two classes, Astrology she got a "C" and a "B" in Psychology. I would never share this much information in public space but...I guess personal space has now gotten larger with cell phones and wi-fi.     You'll never hear me shouting across people my personal information about family or grades, times are a changing or maybe its just this one young lady who figures that the five people who she talked over, don't matter!  or maybe I should not have been listening!!

Tourists!!!

The other night, Joel and I were looking for a parking space in downtown San Francisco.  We ended up driving in the Tenderloin, not an inviting part of town with colorful and happy people caused by drugs and alcohol, the smell of urine and sidewalk decorations of bottles, trash, and "poop" and generally not a place one goes unprepared to meet a more diffent type of lifestyle. 

Back to looking for a parking spot,  we turned the corner in our car, we were in the lane next to the sidewalk and there was this couple who chose not to walk on the sidewalk probably because of the decorations and colorful, happy people.  So they walked right in front of us in the middle of the lane.   The Christian thing to do was to point out to them they were lost and direct them to the "safe" part of downtown San Francisco but....they ignored us as we drove right up to them and acted as if we and the cars behind us didn't exist.  When we got to the intersection, they went into the croswalk, stood in the middle of it, looked left and right then started walking back where they came from.  All I could do was pray!!!  Pray that we wouldn't hit them and pray that they had the good sense to ask someone for directions!!!!

Oh, how did I know they were tourists?  They had shorts on and no jackets!!!

Made in China

It seems that I hear more and more about the quality or safety of goods imported from China.  The recent toy recall was made possible because Mattel screened their products.   My son, Kevin, suggested that China sending us tainted dog food, tooth paste, beef and now leaded toys was a terrorist plot to get the U.S., Of course that's silly but sometimes I wonder....

When my first granddaughter was born, her parents didn't want her to wear anything made in China becase probably the item was made through child labor.  So I went out to buy her a pair of shoes and had to buy shoes made in Germany. They were a lot more expensive but  the folks that made them had workplace safeguards, health care and weren't children.

If you look at all you own, you will probably find that almost everyting is made in China by American manufacturers.    Which makes me ask, do you suppose American manufactuers went to another country to avoid our strict safeguards?  Or was it just to stop paying worker's comp benefits, decent wages, and health care    It couldn't be taxes because many corporations get tax credits.   I wonder..... If we are not willing to pay for the hidden costs (inspections, anti-child labor laws, health care for workers, decent workplaces and wages)  behind good products, then the saying "you get what you pay for" is true.   

When I check labels, I check for grams of fat, sugar, carbs now I look to see if its "made in China."  I am not saying that all products made in China are bad but "buyer beware" is a good thought.