Some days, I question our superpower status. I don't know how we've managed to make it this far. And I wonder where we're headed.
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With a cart full of groceries, I looked for the shortest checkout line. A light above cash register three signaled that that lane was open for business, but there was no one in line.
The checker was bent over — elbows resting on the scanner, chin cupped in her hands — reading a book. Since no one else was getting in her lane, I asked, "Are you open?"
Her answer was nonverbal. She straightened up, set her book aside and began punching numbers on the cash register. She showed no emotion.
I began unloading the contents of my cart. As the groceries moved along the conveyer belt, the checker scanned them and placed them in my canvas "Friends of Jeff Davis County Library" bag. I could not help myself. I had to ask, "What are you reading?"
She said it was science fiction and that she had read it before and had liked it. I nodded my head in affirmation, and let it go at that.
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The tag on the fresh cut flowers warned, "Check water level daily and refill vase as needed."
"A plastic bag is not a toy. Keep it away from babies and children. Discard it. Do not reuse it. This bag may cause suffocation."
"Watch your head." "Watch your step." "Employees must wash their hands before returning to work." "Young children could choke on or be suffocated by an uninflated balloon. Discard broken balloons immediately."
And my favorite — "Pull towel down gently with both hands; Wipe hands and face; Warning: Do not attempt to hang from towel or insert your head into the towel loop. Failure to follow these simple instructions can be harmful or injurious."
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Since 1978, the Food and Drug Administration has been promising to regulate sunscreens.
Unable to wait any longer, the Environmental Working Group tested 1,606 sunscreens and found that three out of five offered inadequate protection from the sun or contained toxic ingredients.
For a list of the best easy-to-find sunscreens and best lip balms with SPF visit www.ewg.org. While there, check out EWGs "Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce." A list of the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean 15" can be downloaded as an iPhone App or a PDF.
Someone should tell the FDA.
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"The Big Bend Sentinel" recently listed the dress code for Marfa's elementary and junior and senior high school students. The dress code was established to "teach grooming and hygiene, prevent disruption and minimize safety hazards."
Restrictions include clothing that displays "sex, violence, drugs, tobacco, alcohol, gang symbols (and) colors ... pants worn below the hips ... camouflage attire ... underwear worn as outer wear ... pajamas ... see-through shirts or blouses that reveal cleavage ..."
It continues with "skirts that rise more than the length of an index card above the knee cap ... house shoes, bare feet ... chains or look-alike chains on clothing or wallets or as necklaces ... body piercing jewelry."
Hair color should not be "green, blue, purple, orange, etc." Jewelry should not include "swastikas, pentagrams, spoons, drug-related items." Tattoos are to be "covered during school and school-related events."
The restrictions go on and on. Children in a remote ranching community dressing like thugs and toughs show what happens when a nation caters to its lowest common denominator.
Judy Morgan's e-mail address is jmorgan@dailysentinel.com.
