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where have all those hands been?

When clicking onto aol I sometimes read the gentle news, and the comments that come with it, because they’re often witty, informative, sensitive, on target, and have a lot of common sense attached to them – HA! -of course not all comments. On the whole, however, there seems to be some very wise people “out there” who ought to be heard.

On Friday, Aug. 7, there was a short news item about a group of people, including a 6-month old baby, entering a Burger King, and soon finding themselves unwelcomed because the baby wasn’t wearing shoes.

The following from Heidi might make you want to gag, but it’s still worth reading:

“. . . Sending away 20 customers as a result doesn’t really fit into the equation of following the rules. BTW, I’d rather deal with the “dirt” from baby feet than the e-coli & other bacteria in the ice they put in your soft drinks. Did you know that a high school student somewhere did a project in a fast food restaurant that proved there was more bacteria in the self-service ice dispenser than there was in the toilet? NO ICE PLEASE — I’LL TAKE THE BABY FEET!!”

Actually, the reason the baby was unwelcomed was due to liability concerns. However, along with this news we’re reminded that cleanliness in many fast food places leaves much to be desired. Unwashed hands do touch the condiments, unwrapped plastic utensils, levers on drink dispensers, napkins, and, yes, the ice. However, we can’t control the world. Much of our time is spent in public places regularly eating out, picnicking in parks in the summer, clasping hands at concerts, in introductions, at meetings, etc., better to wash our own hands, be aware and choose wisely where we eat, and not obsess about things we can’t control. The fact is that there’s a very long list of things we can’t control in public places, and, come to think of it, sometimes even in shared and more personal spaces.

Keep on keeping us laughing and informed, all you wise and witty ones “out there.”

Enjoy the day; it’s a beautiful one.

www.parentdish.com was listed next to Heidi’s name.

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whole foods

The news is that those at the helm at Whole Foods have decided to follow its original plan and sell more whole foods and a lot less junk foods. Aug 5, 2009 www.dailyfinance.com/bloggers/sarah-gilbert

In Philadelphia the supermarkets are on the outskirts of the city, and the two Whole Foods in Phila have cornered the market. Many people shopping at a Whole Foods for the first time, and expecting the offerings to be healthy, are getting mixed signals because, after passing the organic and conventional fruit and vegetable section, the junk foods are waiting for them. It begins with the onslaught (I say onslaught because it’s always a mental wrestle when passing all this stuff) of potato chips, tortilla chips, packaged cookies and crackers, and chocolates. Soon after that is the special-looking, sugar-ladened cakes, cookies, cupcakes, croissants, coffee cakes, and quick breads. As we meander along that aisle, surprise, there’s the long counter of sometimes overcooked, sometimes overly-salted prepared foods, including fried chicken and farm-raised salmon. And the sushi? Well, what’s with the long list of ingredients on the label, even with the simplest of sushi combinations?

It’s not that Whole Foods is doing anything other markets aren’t, but that their original claim was about health, as in whole foods, and then the scales began tipping with junk foods now vying for top billing.

On the other hand, the cosmetic department is very good. Whoever is doing the buying seems in the know, and is bringing in products seemingly devoid of toxic substances, i.e., for the most part. That said, there’s the matter of the bars of soap. . . . Jeepers creepers that game could be called: how expensive can we get before customers say no.

Well, so be it, mental note: when shopping at Whole Foods by-pass the junk food aisles (almost impossible), or rev up the discipline.