Good Things!

I posted this on my Facebook wall this morning:

Tolerance doesn’t mean you don’t disagree with others and it doesn’t mean you don’t share your time or thoughts with others. The greatest intolerance I see on Facebook is when someone posts an opinion or idea and everyone who disagrees jumps to comment. Sometimes people post a thought simply to share the thought, not looking for an argument. INtolerance is the inability to resist starting an argument when someone doesn’t share your opinion. An open post encouraging hate is intolerant because it is lack of resistance to pick a fight. The best formula to use when posting an opinion, especially of the taboo religion and politics stuff: “we’re great” = tolerant, “you suck” = intolerant. If you replace the “we” or “you” with “The World” in that formula you’ll get the results of the ideology.

I’m proud of what I wrote and I believe it. I also acknowledge that it’s not easy to stay away from that “you suck” speech I address at the end. The cool thing is, in an ideal world, that when any one of us slips and utters a “you suck” phrase there are enough people working on the “we’re great” ideas to avoid a “you suck worse” argument that results in that “The World sucks.” I’d love it if we all worked on “The World is great.”

I don’t think it’s a secret to visitors at The Chronicles of Nani that I think this has been a happy week of Supreme Court decisions. I’m a big supporter of marriage equality and have been for….the first friend who came out to me was in 11h grade and I definitely had the “not on MY watch” opinion of anyone denying him ANYTHING a human being has a right to. If he’d met a guy and they wanted to get married it probably would have shocked and incensed 16-year-old me to hear that they couldn’t. So I think I can say I’ve supported marriage equality for 32 years; before it was even “a thing.”

That decision makes me happy even though the only actual effect it has on my life is that there are people who have been, are or will be in my world that can plan a special day that’s appropriate to celebrate their love just like David and I did. That makes me smile


The decision that does affect me, and a lot more of us than the marriage equality decision, is the ruling for the Affordable Care Act. Despite the act’s imperfections and my support of single payer healthcare long before my MS diagnosis, the requirement to carry health insurance goes with “pre-existing condition” not being a reason to turn anyone down for coverage. The Affordable Care Act means I’ll have healthcare in spite of a disease that can’t be cured yet. There has always been so much debate and so many awful things some groups have said about people like me that I’ve been late getting medical things until I had to wait in pain for them because I’ve bought in to the accusations that a disease I did nothing to cause to myself and couldn’t have prevented made me a “leech” and a “drain on everyone.” I’m not of that belief anymore because a wise friend brought me to realize that by taking advantage of the things available to me I can better be a contributing member of society; not at all a leach or drain. In all of its imperfections, the Affordable Care Act is a step in the direction of helping everyone and bringing us up to speed in healthcare with First World Countries.


The last thing I’ll share today is my immediate most important issue: quality sweets that are low in Weight Watchers point! David found these when he was East last week:

Charms Boutique Premium Lollipops are incredible! David chose two for me to try; Cinnamon Bun and Caramel Latte. Mmmm! Great flavor and a vanilla tootsie roll center on the two I tried. I have the last about a dozen Golden Delicious caramel apple pops I bought in the fall. Since the candy canes and peppermint Tootsie Pops from Christmas are gone I’ve been back into that bag of 60 I bought. When those are gone I just might buy a box of Boutiques! In addition to the two flavors David picked out for me, there are Birthday Cake, Orange Cream, Crème Brule, Raspberry Lemon Tart, Strawberry Cheesecake and Root Beer Float, a total of 8 flavors. I think I want to try Birthday Cake or Root Beer Float next. If you like the occasional, or one or two a day, lollipop and you see these, definitely try one!