Miss Leah's Corner

As of today, December 1st, 2009, it is illegal in Virginia for anyone to smoke anywhere that food is sold.

This includes bars, skating rinks, and restaurants. The only way you may smoke is if the facility provides a completely closed off separate room with good ventilation. Immune to this law is any privately owned business such as a club. I happen to be of the opinion that this is a wonderful decision on behalf of the Virginia State Legislature. My mother smoked until I was 6 and although she never smoked around me, I still suffered the effects of secondhand smoke. Research shows that second-hand smoke is just as harmful, if not more, than smoking itself. Finally I will be able to go out to dinner or to a bar and not have to worry about catching cancer from the asshole in the booth next to me sucking the years out of his or her life with a cigarette. The air will be clean and quite breathable. *sigh of relief*

But I digress. On to the next point I wanted to mention. Thanksgiving.

Ahh, the only holiday where eating almost 8,000 calories in one day is considered normal and entirely accepted.

Americans are such fat asses.

But hey, I'm one of them.

I admit I stuff food into my face all day long, watch football, and catch up with family members. Then comes BLACK FRIDAY *dun dun dun* where us Americans burn off all those 8,000 calories in about 10 minutes.

People fight, run about and just generally lose their freaking minds on this blessed day of chaos.

Almost every year someone will be trampled or somehow otherwise killed, all over "the best deals of the year." Last year I opened on Black Friday for Target and what I witnessed at 5 in the morning can only be compared to a herd of buffalo running toward safety from a predator. You would have thought that the world itself was about to end. See, I think stores bring the violence on themselves. They only order a few of the items they're selling for next to nothing so that they won't lose as much money. The unfortunate result is that the customers who want to buy said item have to get to it as quickly as possible and are usually willing to do anything to get it for themselves.

And then there's the aspect of how much money is spent by the public and made by the stores each year on that most wonderful day.

If our economy is so down the drain, why are we spending so much?? Oh that's right, we're a spoiled nation who thinks that we'll get what we want now and worry about paying for it later...gotcha.