Random Day 2: The Bitchin' One

This morning, we went into Patti with Zio Tino, and he took us to a gelato shop his sister-in-law owns. We had frangola granita (strawberry ice) with cream and sweet bread, and it was AMAZING! All so fresh and authentic! Amazing! Then we visited Cousin Rosa's sister at her job at a clothing boutique, then her brother at his seaside bar/cafe. Then we spent about half an hour on the beach. It was beautiful and the water was clear blue and warm. Gorgeous. The only thing we did not like was that the beach is not sand, but little rocks. They don't get into everything like sand does, but it's uncomfortable to sit on and hurts to walk. Then we returned home for lunch.

I look drunk and fat, but I'm not. :-P

Zio Tio said that when his son (Maurizio) visits, he goes down to the gelateria every morning for breakfast, haha! We got a tour of the kitchen, too! Naturally, I took pictures.

After lunch, I visited the kittens. All 4 were there! Momma helped me clean the pus out of the eyes of the 2 non-skittish ones--though one that hid can barely open her eyes because of the goop. So sad. The runt is still alive! Barely, but alive. She's stronger than she was yesterday, but not as strong as she was 2 days ago. She almost topples over when she sits still, she's so weak. Her eyes were nearly pussed shut, but Momma squeezed it out and cleaned them. Though the pus filling her nose wouldn't come off. She so skinny. It hurts your heart. The other friendly kitten, however, is an absolute joy! She is so cuddly yet all at once playful! She'll fall asleep in your arms, then get up and chase a string relentlessly until you make to leave and she tries to follow! All of us love her. I wish I could take her home. :3

Ok, rant time.

While walking out to the cows (which we fed fennel from our hands!), I made a comment about my sister's shoulders being red from the sun and wondering aloud how red they'll be after her youth group's missions trip to Alabama next week. (I promise, this is not a religion-based rant [this time], though there are tons of things I could say about youth groups and Jesus camps, mostly from first-hand experience.). My sister assured me that her shoulders would be fine, because they are not allowed to wear tank tops on the trip. My first question was (though I could have asked "boys too?") was "What about swimsuits?" My mother reassuradely replied "Oh, they have to be one-piece." I said "They're still showing their shoulders" and left it there, so as not to make the rest of this vacation bad for me. To account for this, I am going to write my thoughts here. I am not even going into the "girls can't but boys can" portion of it because the process of social development, thus acceptability, is lost on a group of people who believe that some kook who found 12 poor and desperate men to help create the image that he was the son of God is the only thing worth of religious devotion (Yeah! Fuck Nature! She was on crack anyway!) and that it is impossible for the human body to be looked on and appreciated as something beautiful but instead is only capable of enducing lust (thanks again, fundamentalist teachings. That was your fault. See: The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti). My thoughts focused on Who Cares if it's only for one day! You're allowing uncovered bathing suits for the day at the water park. One image is all someone really needs, just one look before the "guys" as we're taught, have formed an image in their imagination. And it's not just the shoulders or a riské view of the nape of a girl's neck *gasp* but her crotch, too! Her VAGINA! -- every curve! Clearly, bare shoulders lead to sex, and unwed sex leads to loss of virginity, and loss of virginity means loss of morality and/or loss of love for God, which all comes to mean one thing - YOU WILL GET PREGNANT! Because condoms don't work and EC (emergency contraception) is actually Pennyroyal Tea in pill form! Clearly, it is assumed that their teachings cause both girls AND boys to hate vaginas, but I'm here to tell them that it only works on girls; the sexually-repressed boys can still think of nothing but the tiny piece of bathing suit fabric separating them from that forbidden vagina.

I don't understand why they are forbidding girls form wearing tank tops on this trip, but not in their tri-weekly youth group meetings. Are they worried about the people in Alabama who might look at them for a couple of days then have to rely on their memories or photographs for their masturbating pleasure? Or are they really wanting to solidify that these youth group girs really belong to the youth group boys, who may gaze on their shoulders (and occasionally vaginas) whenever they want? A service I once attended about purity once told me that boys will imagine what they can't see and low necklines and legs just point them towards what they shouldn't be imagining. OH PLEASE! People are going to do that no matter HOW much fabric is covering your C cups! Better to let them see more so they are exposed to the imperfections than let them keep on imagining their future wife as a Playboy Bunny and being vastly disappointed later on--because we all know people have a tendency to take their frustration out on that which has disappointed them.

For Fuck's Sake! There's a difference between trying to beat the heat and trying to get some cunt to stick his cock in your cooch!

Nevertheless, incongruency is stupid and if there is no solid reason for the rules, then the rules are not justified.