DO YOU STAND UP OR IGNORE?

This past weekend I went to Seattle with my mom and sister. The weekend was great until I witnessed something that shocked and stunned me. In the middle of the food court, right in front of me, a woman PUNCHED her son. Yes, punched. Closed fist...right in the face. Her son was not more than 6-7 years old.
NOT COOL.
The upsetting this was that NO ONE did anything. There must have been 10 people standing around and no one said or did anything.
That is not acceptable.
We live in a society where child abuse is rampid and people seem to turn a blind eye to it. Who stands up for the child?


So....I moved right up beside her. My thought was that if she was going to punch her son again, I was going to stop it.
She obviously noticed that I was right next to her and she stared at me...which I returned.

Then she said, "I can see you hovering next to me, you got a problem with me?"
I said, "Nope, just looking at the sushi."
She said, "It seems like you have a problem with me...do we need to figure that out or what?"

By this time she is IN my face.

I had two options:
1. get into a fight in the food court (which it was escalating to)
2. walk away

I walked.

I said to her, "If you have to ask me if I have a problem makes me think you know what my problem is...you can figure it out."
And I walked away.

She then yelled, "BITCH"
I kept walking.

I was so angry that out of 10 people NO ONE stood up for that little boy. Do you ignore a problem or say something? On one hand, she has every right to hit her child. Her family, her choices...not mine.....On the other hand, she hit him in a public place, therefore, I am involved.
I made a choice not to be someone who "looks away". To me, that is not acceptable. Luckily, the fight ended there. But for that poor little boy, the fight will continue.
No one deserves that.

It has taken me a while to write down my thoughts. It has taken a while for the reality to set in. It has taken a while for me to cry, but on Saturday I finally cried. A dear friend of mine is going through something I would not wish upon anyone. They are dealing with leukemia.
This is the point that my chest gets tight and my breath shallows. They are dealing with needles, hospitals, vomit, tears - and all of this is happening to their little boy.
But above all of this, what makes me cry is their strength, their class, and their courage.
Each time I have been with my girlfriend, I have seen the tears...but I have also seem the strength. Their selflessness leaves me speechless.

If you need to "check" your life...do so now. That is what I am learning and seeing. Why live a half life? Why live a life you are not proud of?
Cancer does not discriminate. Sickness does not discriminate. Hurt, pain and sadness do not either. So many people I know are "cheating" life. They are with people they don't really love, are in jobs they don't really like, walking through life ignoring it's beauty.

I felt helpless on Saturday. I was angry at the situation, angry at the cancer, frustrated with the lack of cures, saddened by the stories. I am questioning my own personal strength, my own life and the IMPORTANCE on living a full life.

My girlfriend and her husband are warriors.

They have taught me more in these last 2 weeks than they will ever know.

MAUI BABY. What a way to spend the end of 2006 and bring in 2007. Todd and I had an amazing time. How could you not??? Early morning surf sessions, warm sun, sea turtles, snorkeling adventures, kiteboarding, tequila shots, good friends....enough said.
We travelled to Maui with Jeremy and Lynn. I can't say enough great things about this couple. The four of us laughed non-stop and travelled extremely well together.
We stayed in a place called Haiku on the North side of Maui, at my dear friends Ben & Jill's comfy house. They live in Maui and were nice enough to open their home to us. They just got engaged and are such a great couple.
We give Maui two thumbs WAY up. And we give it a "hang loose" (or Shaka - as the locals call it). Another Todd & Ali adventure comes to a close....we loved every minute of it.

Just so everyone knows...we are ALL going somewhere HOT next New Years. Start saving your pennies. WHO IS WITH ME????