Esta Es Mi Vida

Happy New Year!……Jeez, 50days into 2010 (please stop saying twenty ten. if you have $2010 do you say “Oh yeah, i have twenty ten dollars? NO! So stop it. Please) and I’m JUST now posting.  I swear, what turned out to be a side hobby somehow over the past year morphed into an obligation responsibility that I’ve thrown on the back burner.

Perhaps it’s the HGTV network and their crack programming, near total absorption of my very soul from my former employer (queue cheesy grin) or the fact that I have to take time and actually WRITE something when time is something that until recently I’ve been in VERY short supply of.

Two paragraphs in and I haven’t even touched on my title, which is probably what drove half of you here, right? Okay, so my neighbor’s dog, which is a somewhat cute beagle. Has this problem, the problem is his consistent barking when his master isn’t there. When I say consistent, I mean NEVERENDING consistent. We live in townhomes, so

This had been a minor issue last year, but over the past six months hadn’t been a problem. Now when I say minor issue, I mean that I had to take appropriate but measureable action to contact call our local police department and make a formal complaint (Note: they were FULLY aware that this dog was barking when they weren’t in the house). So they came out, heard the dog, and made note of it. (after three times they [the dog owners] can be charged, and have to deal with the removal of the beast by the Common Wealth).

Apparently they didn’t get the message from last year. Being that I’ve already attempted to do this the “right” way, it’s time for me to do it the way I wanted to from the jump. Hence the title of my post. Now don’t get me wrong, I love dogs, I grew up raising and breeding Rottweiler’s. Which is why at first I didn’t blame the dog and just controlled burn burn down their house.

I’m not sure yet how i’m going to do it, but that dog will be silenced. Why? Because the yelling or “call and response sessions” he and I engage in have been ineffective, and i’m at the end of my rope with him and my inconsiderate neighbors. As I formulate my plan I still remain open to any suggestions should you all have some with similar situations.

Wow….it feels good to be back.

Given my perpetual absence, and subsequent increase in visibility with my last post (and mostly due to twitter) I thought it was time to re-introduce myself to everyone, or at least to those that haven’t seen my “About Me” page.  I borrowed this from a few other bloggers who’d done the same and i’ve kind of enjoyed it.

I…

I am…a Christian, brother, son & apparently an Engineer (courtesy of my place of employment).

I have…entirely too much stress for my age, a deep love for the DC Metro area, sincere friends, a comfortable home, a mild obsession for technology.

I know…I am loved, I am stronger than I realize, I will succeed (at my new ventures).

I think…realistically–most ALL of the time.

I don’t think…I’d be the person I am today without the people who have been there for me along the way.

I want…to become career dependent on no one but myself.

I have…yet to visit a country outside of my own.

I like…being able to crush most everyone in Wii Tennis

I dislike…BlackBerry’s.

I hate…being looked as black first, and not just a human being.

I dream…about not having to work for anyone but myself, putting in hours building my own company/organization.

I fear…God, and perhaps the IRS.

I am annoyed…when I someone asks me for my opinion on a topic in which i have expertise on, chooses another option, then comes back and complains. Get out of my face already.

I crave…an Intel® Core™ i7 975 Processor (Extreme Edition) with 4x 3.33GHz/8MB L3 Cache.

I usually…succeed when I decide I’m going to something.

I search…for peace, security, and serenity.

I hide…my capabilities far too often.

I wonder…how life would have been if i’d made different choices prior to my 21st birthday

I just can’t help…but argue my point sometimes, literally into the ground I will argue.

I regret…not listening to the wise council of those that bestowed it upon me in my earlier youth.

I love…to cook, Christmas music, the feeling I have when i’m traveling someplace new.

I can’t live without…Grace and favor from my Lord, a comfortable pair of jeans, support of my family .

I try to…be patient with everyone because I know that it took a LOT for my family to have been patient with me.

I enjoy…cold winter nights during the holiday season, cuddled up on the couch with a blanket watching Christmas shows with someone special.

I don’t care…for black people that act like Uncle Tom’s.

I always…try to think of others when I make and execute a decision.

I never want to…end up on the news, for any reason, period.

I rely on…loved ones and people in my inner circle .

I believe…that this Christmas might be one of the best I’ve had since my childhood.

I dance…apparently like a muppet.

I sing…whenever my jam(s) is on. where i am at the time is immaterial.

I argue…very effectively.

I write…close to a thousand text messages per month (thanks Sprint for keeping track).

I win…at avoiding trouble with LEO’s in MD for some 25+yrs, come to VA and get harassed on a quarterly basis.

I lose…when I doubt myself and lose faith in my beliefs and what I know to be true.

I wish…that the new establishment actually cared about what’s left of the people in my office from my former company.

I listen…to the sound of my engine when I’m on my gas and it hits 2300rpm, right when that air intake valve opens up and she starts snarling while sucking in gobs of air.

I don’t understand…why people crave power and authority so much that they would tear each other down to the very fabric on their being in order to obtain it (Note: See any political election over the past 40yrs).

I’m scared of…disappointing my parents.

I forget…sometimes to stop and enjoy the moment, enjoy this time in my life.

I am happy…because I have been given much in my life and every year i’m able to sow back into the lives of those that gave so much to me and into the lives of people God places in my life, even if it’s just for a short season.

*exhale*

B.Price

I’ve always said that if I ever got a gun and a badge became law enforcement officer employed by a from a local, State or Federal law enforcement agency i’d probably throw this statement around at a select few folks [I'm your worst nightmare, a n****er with a badge]. It’s from the movie 48hrs when Eddie Murphy was in the bar and was talking some white people at a bar trying to ascertain some information about a suspect. Not because i’d be corrupt, arrogant (okay, maybe a little) or self serving but for the very reason he pretty much eluded to. “It” invokes a different reaction in non-minorities in most situations…..like the one that took place last night.

Ok, so I had what i’d like to call my yearly “reality check” last night. That check being my little reminder to not get too comfortable with going un-harassed or profiled based on my skin color. No matter how covert it might appears to be, discrimination has never been abolished from America’s way of thinking/acting/reacting to other people.

This is about my experience tonight with a white cop as i’m leaving the GROCERY store. The very nice, relatively new store that I visit often.  So,  after loading in my groceries, I enter into and turn on my car, pull out and cut on my headlights because it’s around 8:15ish. (Mind you, this place is across the street from my house). So I pull out, and I almost immediately see a local LEO (law enforcement officer)….we lock eyes for a brief moment as my passengers side window is rolling down while i’m in the process of cutting a left turn.

He follows. Here we go. Instead of going home, I head to another grocery store looking for a specific item, and of course he follows. I pull around in front of the next store, cut a right, turn into the parking lot and pull into a space. But instead of pulling into the first, I continue to pull forward into the space that’s “in front” of the one i’m in. I guess he didn’t appreciate that because he immediately pulls in the space next to me and throws on all his lights.

A smile comes across my face. Composure set, attitude locked in, I exit my car with him behind still, lighting my car up like Christmas in the parking lot of the rather busy grocery store pushing quarter till 9pm.

He yells “Hey”

I fully exit the car, door in right hand, keys in the other.

He yells louder “Hey you”

My back is completely turned to him, shut the door and lock it. There are people looking.

He exits his car, yells louder “Hey, stop what you are doing”

I stop, and turn around with a stone, irritated look on my face. And his whole expression changes.

He says (verbatim) “Oh, uh, sorry about that sir. We had a situation earlier with a car that had MD tags and that was black like yours…”

I cut him off. Point to a black Prius with MD tags. “Oh you mean like that black car over there?”

“Well, yes. No. The report was for a sports-like car, and yours matches that. This is a really nice car though, did you do a lot of work to it?”

Ok, so why did the cop do a 180? Could it have been that maybe he had a sporadic change of heart? Realized his obvious and rather blunt profiling? Was there a glitch in the Matrix? Nope! It was the 5.11 Tactical Polo I had on from my 9hr work day with the federal agency logo of one of the contracts I’m on at my place of employment. Much like this one. Tie in the two phones on my hip and my work badge’s still dangling from my neck and it sums it up.

So I say: “Back up Officer [Last name], when you address someone by who’s name you don’t know you should treat that person with a measurable amount of respect. And say something along the lines of excuse me Sir, or Sir can I get your attention…you know, like you did AFTER you saw this badge and ID. ”

“Secondly, this is a four door sedan. Not even a “sports” one as you put it. So we both know your statement is bogus.”

The rest of the convo is summed up by me grilling the cop about the department, and barracks he’s assigned to. Who his lieutenant is, his badge number, his current status with I/A and what his arrest record looks like. He was stuttering and apologizing by the end of the conversation, asking me if I needed him for anything. I concluded with telling him that he’d be hearing something from my department soon. He (with a defeated, scared look) said ok, and muttered f*&k under his breath as he went back to his car.

As I got up to the door of the grocery store (we were already in the front of the parking lot), most of the people their clapped and even black people a few gave me dap. It was a bittersweet moment, that probably would’ve gone completely different if i didn’t have that polo on. Although i’ve had a many of experiences like this one, I’ve never had one where an external medium had such an impact and where the situation was so public.

Moral of this story? Uhhh….none? This is what it is for most black men in nice neighborhoods driving a nice car. Are we constantly harassed? No, not constantly. Are we given a second look or targeted more then other races? 100%. And that’s just reality that isn’t going to change, even with the most powerful man on earth being black and the racial barrier being “torn down”, this sort of behavior and mindset wont be changing anytime soon in black/white relations.

I will however be going to get a few more of those shirts from the client next week, believe that.

B.Price

Wow…I didn’t even realize it had been quite that long since i’ve had an actual post. Last I left off it was what, April? Doesn’t quite seem like that long, while at the same time we are galloping into August so perhaps i’m just trying to slow the year down.

There’s been much to blog about, however just as with many other blogs (and as i’ve stated before) the time really hasn’t been there for me to really sit down and write like I wanted to. I’ve missed blogging, i’ve missed getting on here and throwing down my thoughts, ideas, concepts, opinions, and verses of my life for people to read. But alas, i’ve fell victim to the 140 character God social network called Twitter. I fell victim to the vacuum that is my job, and the drain that puts on you after you’ve clocked those 10hrs….the 1hr+ drive home.

Tack in time to throw something in the microwave cook dinner and it’s pushin’ a solid 2000hrs. No way i’m doing anything else that night after being up since 5am. No sir.

Anyway, here’s the break down of the past three months.

The Bad

My car has cost me a solid $2000 in repairs, and maintenance (everything from brakes, to tires with holes in the inner tread wall). I know I should probably get rid of it, but she was the first car I ever purchased and besides most of the cost incurred was maintenance and not things that “went wrong” or “broke down”. And considering that if I didn’t know the people I do, or the cost to fix it wasn’t so low, I would be seeing that number to double. Although, getting some of the things fixed in the car has cost me nearly three precious days of sick unscheduled leave……shame…. I only have oh, 120+hrs left of. Whatever shall I do.

My family came to visit me for the first time…..ever (really) in my new place. And suffice to say they loved it, especially my mom. So much in fact that they stayed an extra few days past the weekend, and so I come home like usual expecting dinner because they are there and all, right? No, reality check, I come home to my A/C on full blast set to 72, EVERY SINGLE LIGHT in the house on, and my sister proudly informed me that she’d been running my washer and dryer ALL day long.

The company I work for made it’s final transition into the company that purchased us last year, so that I am now officially one out of ten’s of thousands  (a number basically) of employee’s for one of one of the largest defense contractors in the world. Note: Don’t get me wrong, i’m not complaining about having employment, what i’m not happy with is the abolishment of divisions, and the “letting go” of scores of people just because those above them haven’t produced and needed to save their own tails or, so they could “cut costs” when they could’ve fired one or two VP’s and saved the same as they did by cutting 5-10 people.

I spent my hard earned $10.50 seeing Terminator Salvation. Not a bad movie once you suspend all sense of reality and logic, and when I say all I mean all!

IHOP @ 2am. Worst decision ever. Here’s the short version — I get out of a seeing a movie pretty late with [a loved one] not far from my house, and we are hungry. Not having the desire to cook, and finding out that the local Silver Diner is closed (WTF), we mosey on over to IHOP. It starts as soon as we walk in. I open the door of course and allow my date to go in before me, somehow I lagged a little behind and she had already begun to talk to the host who was very enthused to see an attractive woman walk in by herself, and eagerly asked with the million $ grin “table for one?”….I pop up, his expression dropped & he said “oh…. table for two.” Everything from that moment went down hill.

1. Our waitress was high as a kite & was outright disappointed to see us finish the meal “oh you guys ate it all?” Had you planned to eat what was left or something?
2. The brotha’s in the booth next to us trying to act all hard were about to jump eachother’s bones, it was pretty sad A little discretion or self control in the future fella’s, not everyone wants to see that or pick up on those vibes
3. We spotted at LEAST two confirmed hookers in the spot, mostly because of their attire and the wigs
4. A group of misfits all rolled in half way into our meal looking like they were going to knock over the joint after they finished raising the decible level up about 20pts and eating the entire menu
5. My date was being visual molested by the convicted fellow fresh out of the pen guy sitting across/behind me, suffice to say that stopped once confirmation was made that it wouldn’t be tolerated by yours truly.
6. Lastly, the gay Hispanic cowboys/strippers/village people hanging out in the parking lot as we were leaving Next time i’m just going to mow someone down acting like they can’t see me pulling out of a space, full throttle out the parking lot

The Good

I moved out of my old place & into a townhouse about 20min south of where I was living before. Why? Because it’s bigger, has a garage, feels more like home then living in a condo on the 15th of a 18 story building. The move itself was rough because I didn’t have a lot of help waited till the last minute to pack, and was unsure of where exactly I wanted to move to. I’m enjoying the new spot though, even though i’m nearly too busy to take a second and soak it in.

Successfully co-hosted and organized the single largest Maxus event since it’s inception some 11yrs ago. It was a lot of work, and a lot of time spent on trying to get this thing off the ground, and then trying to keep it from plummeting back down to earth.  It was so successful that I’m helping to host/organize next years event in NYC.

I bought a couch. For the first time, ever. Which is a little sad when you think about the fact that i’ve been on my own for several years and it’s one of the last things i’m buying for my residence.

I’ve 150% perfected my rib recipe! Last year i developed my own unique sauce/method of cooking ribs, tried it out on a few people and scored some giant hits and great feedback. So I kept working on it, and now i’ve got it exactly where I want it. The sauce is brown sugar based, not to be used as a dipping sauce, while the ribs are preps over the course of three days….and that’s all i’m going to say about it until I can get a patent for this or something. Yes, it’s that serious.

I have the awesomeness that is called FIOS. That is all.

I went to more weddings in the past three months then what i’ve been to in two years. Some were really cool where there were rainbows arching over mountain tops, and others were the very essence of ghetto and tacky in which basics like water and napkins weren’t available but coolaid, was.

_____________________________________________________________

Ah! Crazyness, right? Most of this is pretty condensed but I think you get the jist of what i’ve outlined.

Now i feel as though you all are pretty much caught up on everything, I enjoyed this so much that I really am truly going to stay on top of blogging and post more then on a near quarterly basis

B.Price

Yeah…….so after making my last post about returning to blogging I dive deeper into Twitter, and move further away from here. I really  Needed some time to get things level which for the most part are pretty level now, and to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel…. so…..i’ll resume (blogging).

That’s all, more to come.

-B.Price

Off the break, I’ve all but smashed out my commitment to myself and my audience to blog more this year. I’ve actually blogged far less over the past six months then what I have since I really got into this thing last year.

I’m not sure if the love affair is gone, honeymoon is over or perhaps i’m just too tired and haven’t made the time after or even at work to put my thoughts…and life down on (proverbial) paper. And maybe…just maybe i’m not alone in this drawback from the scene of personal blogging. “The blogosphere” which was once apon-a-time an freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought on the most of interesting and intriguing topics. Ranging from the very personal and subjective, to everyday social issues that impact people and inact responses at the most sincere and passionate levels.

But now….now you have cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns who’ve all but drowned out the authentic voices of my cohorts. The Huffington Post, Engadget, Lifehacker, Boing Boing,  and TreeHugger just to name a few. A stand-alone commentator can’t keep up with a team of pro writers cranking out up to 30 posts a day, and for the sites that have large followings (like sbm and vsb) it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the comments let alone the demands of new topics every 24-48hrs, and even they have small teams of “contributers” themselves much in part to do just that….keep up.

Then there’s the social media sites – YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook have all but made an outlet to catalog all but long-form writing, which some can arge is irrelevant now that a picture or video that can tell a story better than nearly as good as a half dozen paragraphs on a site with your name (or name that represents you/yoursite) on it. And then there’s twitter….maybe the bane and future of blogging as we’ve known it over the past ten years. I myself am guilty of this new fad, this new wave of commuincation because just like most of our society I want something quick, easy, and with instant results. Twitter offers just that.

But alas, I pay for this site. I don’t care if Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, & Flickr make blogging look like 2003, I will continue to do it. Why? Because deep down a truely love blogging, putting my thoughts down….what i’m interested it, what I can’t always verbalize, what I enjoy or hate, crave or find absolutely hilarious.

This time you have my guarentee of new posts – hell or highwater.

Up next, my six month iPhone Review

-B.Price

Long Long Long year this has been, & much has taken place as it does with any other year….but I think more so with this year then then the 26.4yrs prior to I’ve grown and experienced more then ever. Not all was shared on here because as much as I enjoy being transparent, there’s a wall that must exist between my personal life offline, and what I share with the rest of the world….although I hope to be more open in 2009.

Learned

• Your attitude changes your reality – Seriously, It does. When you for instance use a positive attitude instead of a negative one you start to see things and viewpoints that weren’t apparent to you before. Not to be mistaken with living in a bubble void of reality, or the realities of the world around you (this can be extremely dangerous and a henderance for personal growth), but being generally positive and always keeping things in the correct perspective. You know the “Night is always Darkest before the Dawn” & “When God closes a door, he opens a window”
• You don’t pay taxes, the government takes taxes – The gospel via Chris Rock
• That I need to try and do this more
• That society is rather quickly losing it’s moral base and that morality is based on accepted norms, and accepted norms are based on morality. Example.
• Black people are the fastest on earth (this of course isn’t new to black folk), even if White’s remain the fastest in the water. Better yet, a black man will be the benchmark by which scientist will evaluate how fast a human being can move
• 80 percent of the value you will receive will come from 20 percent of your activities to take part in
• That I don’t have the reflexes of a jungle cat

Highlights of ‘08

• The restoration of American pride, and sheer domination at what we do best in the olympics
• Google makes a move in the cell phone realm with the Android software, it’s yet to be seen if this will actually be competition for the iPhone given the fact that it’s just the OS and not a “phone” per se
• Bush’s man turned on him…..should pick your people more carefully next time Mr. President Bush. He then publically supports his boy John McCain but months later up and turns on him at the last minute and votes for Obama. Classic.
• God bringing my sister back from the brink of death
• The man beat some of the best in the sport with a broken leg, greatest without question
• The comedic genius of SNL cast members past, thank you Tina Fey
• Comic book movies…..period
• Moving into my very own SPOT!
• Apple iPhone 3G and iPhone App Store – Apple continually releases “cool” technology. They’ve released a new version of their iPhone with enterprise technology built-in including Exchange 2007 (something that the only phone with Android/Google software does not have) ActiveSync support. They also made strong improvements in their iPhone App Store. Apple is going to turn tuning over the phone industry like they did the portable music one. Look for my personal review on the iphone to come shortly
• NY’s Governor smashing out a high-end hooker? No….
• David Cook won American Idol, perhaps there is hope that it’s not just a popularity contest
• Myley Cyrus’ Vanity Fair Photos/Dating an adult – Better yet, the fact that both of these scandals didn’t do squat to derail her career speaks volumes
• The most powerful man on earth is; down-to-earth, trustworthy (so far), committed, intelligent, grounded, young, in better shape then i’ll ever be, and what do you know….black

Crazyness

• You can now get raped over the phone apparently…..who knew
• The 2008 Election. Which for the record started back in 2007
• American and Japanese Car companies are suffering, while the Germans (with the exception of MB) are raking it in
• Russia doing whatever it wants, with whomever it wants. And oh, guess what? We didn’t have the political/diplomatic clout to stop them.
• Earthquake whipes out scores of people in China
• The Air Force doing some really stupid stuff
• Gas prices rose to an all time high, which sparked mass panic and a abandonment of purchasing SUV’s…. 90days later they were at an 5yr low
• The NFL is fixed, just like most other sports
• $700 Billion – enuff said
• Getting bought out by two companies in the past two years
• C.A.F.E - The Government’s answer to the a “problem” that can be easily solved
• SARAH PALIN
• They finally got him, interesting ain’t it?
• Collapse of the global economy [no link needed]

Personal

• Continue to experience racism, but this time on a more personal level. Perhaps it’s because I expect people to act like the have some common since seeing how “minorities” are quickly becoming the “majority.”
• Lost a few meaningful relationships with people that were predominant in my life. People that helped me grow, helped me develop into the man that I am today……Good and Bad. However one relationship in particular that I lost with a friend of mine who was more like a little brother/son then anything else. The bond was beyond that of friendship, and what broke the bond was very marrow of his own success. Life had become such a constant panegyric cycle that he unknowingly had built up this gross narcissistic view in which elevated himself above everyone else…..their opinions, feelings, guidence, input, EVERYTHING — that is unless he deemed it important enough that he would give it a measure of thought or it fell into his realm of importance. I loved him like I would my flesh and blood, and even though i knew his capacity to do this for a long time now (due in part that he’d rarely made a wrong move in the past 10yrs, let alone his entire life) I didn’t want to believe though, believe that he was so callow as to throw away 20+yrs over…..well nothing but his desire to be magniloquent. It showed me (and the others he cast aside) without a shadow of a doubt what that relationship meant to him, even though it’s been a year now it still feels like it was yesterday.

So, that’s my year in a what might be my longest post i’ve made in a while, expect more from me as I will be on this much more then I have the last five months. As always, i look forward to feedback. God bless in 09.

B.Price

Just wanted to throw out a big MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! to everyone, and that I hope you’ve had a blessed and safe holiday where the concentration was not on what you received, but what you gave. He’s the reason for the season and I hope that all of my readers, and those that would stumble across this site would prosper and have a great Holiday season!!!

First, I’m sorry i’ve been away for so many weeks. Work is heavy, and last week was the holiday so I really didn’t want to touch, or look at my computer. Sleeping in everyday till at least 10 (sometimes as late as 12:30) was glorious and I could use another solid week like that where I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn for some reason or another.

Second, Happy belated Thanksgiving!

I don’t think wishing someone happy thanksgiving can be belated, that is unless thanksgiving is all about the food, the day off of work or the shopping which for me it’s not. It’s spending time with my family, being thankful for what i’ve been blessed with and taking a moment to reflect on the year and just be thankful for the little things…..my family, my health, my employment status just to name a few.

Third, Alert!!!
America…..We have a problem.

And THIS is it

And

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27955316/

NEW YORK – Police were reviewing video from surveillance cameras in an attempt to identify who trampled to death a Wal-Mart worker after a crowd of post-Thanksgiving shoppers burst through the doors at a suburban store and knocked him down.

Criminal charges were possible, but identifying individual shoppers in Friday’s video may prove difficult, said Detective Lt. Michael Fleming, a Nassau County police spokesman.

Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers stepped over him and became irate when officials said the store was closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.

At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries. The store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the Wal-Mart doors before its 5 a.m. opening at a mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the employee, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour, to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

“This crowd was out of control,” Fleming said. He described the scene as “utter chaos,” and said the store didn’t have enough security.

Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help Damour were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said. Shoppers stepped over the man on the ground and streamed into the store.

Damour, 34, of Queens, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined.

And

Shoppers returned to Toys R Us in Palm Desert on Saturday, a day after two men shot each other dead in front of terrified Black Friday customers.

An armed security guard stood watch outside the store and another was inside. A police car patrolled the parking lot. Many employees came from other Southland stores because some regular clerks were too scared to return, said an employee who asked not to be identified by name.

The dead men were identified by Riverside County sheriff’s officials as Alejandro Moreno, 39, of Desert Hot Springs and Juan Meza, 28, of Cathedral City. Two handguns were recovered at the scene.

The shooting occurred about 11:30 a.m. Friday after two women got into a fight. After the women began arguing, witnesses said, Meza pulled out a gun. Moreno also pulled out a gun and started chasing and shooting at Meza, witnesses said. Frantic shoppers either dropped to the floor or stormed out of the store.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said no one was arrested, but he would not identify the women. Their dispute was not part of the investigation, Gutierrez said.

Many shoppers Saturday were slightly skittish.

Valerie Criscuolo, 26, of Twentynine Palms went to the store with Marcus Noil and their two sons. It was their elder child’s birthday, and the family planned to go to Chuck E. Cheese and Toys R Us.

After hearing about the shooting, the family almost canceled its plans, but the security guards reassured them, Criscuolo said.

Ryan Tidd, 13, of Sky Valley went to the store with his parents but seemed nervous. As his mother, Michelle, perused video board games, he asked her if the gunmen could return.

“They can’t come back,” she said, although that didn’t seem to reassure the boy.

Tidd said the situation was surreal.

“You gotta be kidding me,” she said. “A shooting at a Toys R Us?”

These two events are sickening reminders that humanity has happily replaced caring and respect with greed and selfishness. This shouldn’t be a holiday/weekend/time for a “deal” but a time for family, out pouring of reflection, joy, compassion, & kindness to your fellow man. Nope. Its about saving a few hundred bucks on a TV.

The Walmart tragedy boils down to scarcity, IMO. Scarcity cuts two ways: scarcity of goods and scarcity of dollars in the pocket. Walmart being the largest and arugably deepest discounter profits BIG TIME from both of these and could probably care less about what happens in thier “parking lot” or “front door”…….now if people had starting running out of the store carrying TV’s and blu ray’s I can promise that the Walmart story would’ve been about people getting shot and arrested for theft by store security….believe it.

Not even going to touch the Toys-R-Us story being that all of the details aren’t known and it we don’t know exactly why it started. Other then it being shameful, and sad.

B.Price

While watching my non-cable-enabled TV this weekend, I ran across the commercial below and it literally made me explode with laughter. Now according to a little research this commercial has been out for the better portion of a year…..yet somehow i’m just now seeing it, but that’s beside the point. It was cute, and even though the organization the produced it is run by the devil, it made me laugh like I hadn’t in a while.

Kid Wisdom