Open foot insert mouth...wait..that's not right

Wonders never cease at this new endeavour of mine. How people can be so oblivious to their impact on others, or even worse, don't care what they do to others. I try to make a positive impact on peoples lives, even if they want nothing to do with me. I have yet to try the experiment, the one where I walk around school with my head down all day not talking to anyone. It's sounds depressing to me, but I will try it, at least to have something to write about.

Okay, here we go with another very surprising incident.

I was sitting in my usual spot( if sitting in the same place twice now can be a usual spot) saying "hi" to everyone walking in the door when Ike got up and went over to a girl sitting near us. Since that was my opening to get SOMEONE to talk to me, I snatched it up like a person waiting in line for an IPHONE( one month later they lower the price). I started the conversation about Ike and how he was my service dog and where I had gotten him from. Turns out this girl lives near the place where Ike and I went to training. I asked her how she likes living there, normal questions that everyone asks. We were having a nice conversation when in walks..wait for it...wait for it.... BARBIE!

Now I know you are saying that Barbie is a toy and doesn't exist in real life, well come on over sister and join my class. Barbie is about 90 lbs, long eyelashes, beautiful blond hair, perfect clothes and the self confidence that goes with selling millions of yourself worldwide.

Barbie enters the room and all eyes go to her, all conversations stop and people just stare at her, I guess I was too.

Here is where Barbie shows her real colors, the side of Barbie people rarely see...but as Ike as my witness this is a true story.

Barbie decides to join in the conversation I was having with this nice girl. We will call her Rosa. Rosa was explaining to me that although she lives in this one town, she is really excited to move into a new apartment across town. She has been saving up all her money ( her boyfriend as well) and had put a deposit down on a new apartment. They are going over to this new place this afternoon to talk about paint colors and new carpet, but the person who is doing the work has not returned their calls a few days in a row. Rosa tells me that this new apartment is going to be a great new start for them. It's bigger and a lot nicer than when they live now. The excitement in Rosa was reminiscent of my first 15 moves. The new places, the new faces, yeah, I remember that. I felt happy remembering those times and Rosa was in a world of her own thoughts when...SLAM, back down to Earth we were brought by a plastic toy with perfect boobs!.

I can't make this stuff up, I really can't. You all may be out there saying that there is no way things like this happen, but yes folks, they do.

Barbie drops a bomb.... "I own those apartments, the one you are moving to, I own those". What... this eighteen year old owns the apartments of my Rosa's dreams. No way!. " I own those apartments, and my dad, well he is the one you have been calling all week to get the painting done". " He got your Messages, but he is waaayyy to busy with other things". " You might just want to buy paint and do it yourself because he has other more important things going on".

Barbie owns apartments?? I just thought she lived in her " Dream House" minding her own business, not a real business.!

Barbie then says to Rosa who asked Barbie if she lives nearby the apartments, or at the apartments. Barbie's response was nothing but an example of how one human being can impact another so greatly. " LIVE at THOSE apartments??? Are you kidding me??? They are so scary and Getto, I NEVER would even go close to that neighborhood". Here Rosa is, scraping and saving to get into the apartments that she is so excited over and Barbie has the gall to say all that?. Even if Barbie thinks all those things about the neighborhood and apartments, she didn't have to say anything negative. Why do people feel the need to kill the dreams of others, put them down for their dreams?. Ike and I just sat there, mouth wide open, not believing that someone is either so clueless or down right mean to say something negative about something that is so obviously important to someone else.

I don't think Rosa knew how to respond to what was said. She just sat there for a minute not saying anything... And then she said again, in case Barbie misunderstood her, " I am so excited about moving there, it will be the best place I have ever lived". Rosa had just set herself up for being hurt again as Barbie explained again, in case Rosa misunderstood her, " That place is sooo Getto and scary, even my dad doesn't like going there". " We only own the apartments because my step-grandmother left them to us in her will". " I would NEVER live there or anyplace near it".

I think Rosa finally understood that no matter what she said about the area, really wanting to live there, that she was going to open Barbie's eyes to the error in her judgment about the apartments that she "owns". I would like to OPEN Barbie's eyes to how incredibly selfish and self-centered she was that she would put down so harshly someone Else's dreams and aspirations. That she could be so clueless that she could not see the look of deflation in Rosa's eyes as she continued to put Rosa's choices down over and over.

Ike and I wanted to say something to Rosa , like good luck on the move, or have fun choosing paint colors, something to make Rosa not second guess her choices. I realized though. that the harm was done. Nothing that I. nor anyone, could erase what Barbie had now put in her head. It was there, festering, and Rosa might even decide not to spend her money on moving to a place that is not any better, maybe worse, than she lives now.

This is how people's dreams die even before they have a chance to become a reality....

Until next time..

Jennifer and Ike