Do You Really Wanta Hear About My Breakfast?

Well, here it is anyway.

I am eating a bowl of:
1/4 c. Bob's Red Mill Oatbran and Oatmeal Hot Cereal cooked in
1 c distilled water
With a pinch of pink dinosaur toenail prehistoric salt,
And adorned with a spray of grapeseed oil,
1 T. of maple syrup,
And 6 raisins. YAZZYBEL
That  was written this morning in response to a number of emails regarding people's breakfasts of oatmeal, brown sugar and butter.  The only real sin in my oatmeal is the pinch of salt, prehistoric or not.  But those few grains add a world of flavor to complement the rich blandness of the oats.  And the maple syrup is pure luxury. I love it that it's healthier than brown sugar. I would buy maple sugar, but it is way expensive.

I read in a favorite news blog today that it costs, per year,  $37,000 to send a young person to Princeton U.(a private university)  and $43,000 to keep a person in NJ state prison. Now, there are many things to lament in that bit of news, but to me the biggest one is the fact that some people are proud of getting the government out of housing and feeding the prisoners.  When caring for/housing/feeding criminals became a business, with a profit line, things got way out of hand.  I'm agin it.

Should we go the way of Sheriff Arpayo of AZ, and deck the crooks out in pink underwear and make them live in tents? Why not? Doesn't hurt them and might make them think.  I have always thought it unjust to have these people who defy the system of laws be choosing from three salad dressings at every meal. Feed them well, but no catering to whims.

And that brings us to another pet peeve of mine. I get more news on this topic from my sister no. 2, who is on the front lines of free food. (She doesn't get any.) She is on a severe budget, and recalls the day she decided she could not afford steaks and cherries at the supermarket, and saw before her in the line a woman with her cart piled with cherries and steaks, paying with a free food card from the State of Texas.  This is not a time in history when those of the stiff upper lip will get what they deserve out of the bounties of this life.  Those who don't mind weaseling and getting the food card are the ones who get the goodies.  This past week, in the same store, in the same Texas town, my sister saw the (same?) woman in front of her in line. This woman had a cart full of good stuff, plus a number of big cans of dog food.  "Oh, I'm sorry. You can't pay for dog food on the (State food card)..." So the lady put the dog food aside, held up the line while she marched to the meat counter, and came back with packages of ground beef.  Done and done. Sold and paid for(by the taxpayer).   I wonder what the doggies had for dinner that night? Grrr. YAZZYBEL, disgruntled but happy in the tummy with health food breakfast.