Thursday Was Definitely Not Pasta Day

Well, Guido Barilla most got his fifteen minutes of fame, and his anti-gay comments went globally viral.  No one is shocked that people still have anti-gay sentiments, but I think we are all a little amazed when people, corporate owners with a LOT at stake, announce them to the world!  I'll quote him here directly so I don't leave anything out... and also because he managed to put down the role of women, and take a swipe at same-sex couples' adoption...

"I would never do [a commercial] with a homosexual couple, not for lack of respect but because we don't agree with them," said Guido Barilla, according to a Reuters translation. "Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role. … If [gays] don't like it, they can go eat another brand."

Just to drive his point home, Barilla added, "I have no respect for adoption by gay families because this concerns a person who is not able to choose," according to a translation from the U.K. Independent."Everyone has a the right to do what they want without disturbing those around them."

 http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/09/26/barilla-gays-eat-someone-elses-pasta

Wow.  Bad enough he still thinks that way.  Please, don't try to explain to me that Italy is a "macho country" and they need a few more years to catch up, or that one person doesn't represent the entire company.  He does when his name happens to be Barilla.

 Here's what I posted on the company Facebook page... 

Good news. A "traditional" family now can have two dads or two moms, or a single parent, or be a multi-generational household, or a blended family or an adopted family... We all make new traditions in every generation and I think for many of us, Barilla products will not be part of our vast, colorful, diverse celebration of the human experience. You really blew it, Guido

I didn't really expect an answer.  But a little while later, this apology appears on the Barilla Facebook Page.  

At Barilla, we consider it our mission to treat our consumers and partners as our neighbors – with love and respect – and to deliver the very best products possible. We take this responsibility seriously and consider it a core part of who we are as a family-owned company. While we can’t undo recent remarks, we can apologize. To all of our friends, family, employees, and partners that we have hurt or offended, we are deeply sorry.*

 https://www.facebook.com/BarillaUS

Hey, my post (well, okay, and the thousands of others on Facebook in several languages, and on Twitter as well, hashtags: #boycottbarilla or #boicottbarilla) really got to him.
Or them. 
That looks like a nice apology.
And words are important, but so are actions.  I'm absolutely sure they ARE deeply sorry.  So let's see if they are sorry because one man spoke about how he felt and didn't represent the company, or they are sorry they are going to lose a lot of money and respect worldwide.  

In Judaism, we understand that true repentance, teshuvah, is making a different choice, when faced with the same set of circumstances the next time.  So I guess we will wait for the next ad campaign.

When their Facebook page looks like this

And doesn't make us think of this

Then we can stop boycotting this brand, and show that we appreciate a company who admits their mistakes, as egregious as they may be, and knows how to grow up. 

Peace, love and equality for ALL!

Juliet



*To which I responded: 
Words are good, and important. Your actions in the next few days will be even more important. The damage done by Guido Barilla was devastating and the ripples go far beyond the LGBT community. The world is watching. Do the right thing.

By the way, I did have some Barilla Pasta in my pantry.  I'm not a food waster, so I collected the few boxes and donated it to a food drive. I won't buy any more, but I will also not throw food in the garbage.

September Reflections 2013

On the occasion of turning triple chai ... If I did the math right (which I may not have), the heaviness of the anniversary of September 11, and the awesomeness of the Days of Awe, (the days between Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur)...  I felt the need to share once again with a blog.  And a list.  

54 things I love, and you might too.  Here we go.

In no particular order.  If I can't come up with 54, I'll welcome your additions.  Even if I can.

1. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.  
2. FAMILY, in my case... My kids, my parents,  my in-laws, and brother, brothers-in law and their families.
3. GOOD FRIENDS
(yes, these are pretty classic, but you'd think I had my priorities wrong if I started with Patron Tequila.  Come on, you know that's true..)
4. MUSIC! (I have  feeling this will show up a few times.) In this case, let's go with FAVORITE MUSIC.
5. PETS (Though lately my house has been a vomitorium... but okay, that's not really what I want to focus on here.)
6. DANCE! Here's my suggestion: Go out and hear your favorite music, or crank it up loud in the kitchen.  At a certain point you realize that no one really cares how you look when you are dancing, unless you specifically draw attention to yourself, or you are as awkward as Elaine Benes.
7. GARDENING: I love growing something you can eat!  The tomatoes, cucumbers and basil I grew this summer were delicious.

Don't they look great?

8. PHOTOS.  I love looking at old pictures. Try this for yourself.  I have been having fun finding old photos and scanning them and putting them on Facebook and waiting for the comments to come pouring in.  Better than the comments are the memories.  I've also found it makes me slow down a little and and take time to just look at pictures which in this digital age, I realize I do not do.  I do a mental scan now.  I zip through, find the best one, pop it up online, delete the rest and move on.

Twinkle Toes... Me at age 7. 

9. JUDAISM, And working in this field of Jewish Education, my calling, which has brought me great joy and pride.
10. BIRKENSTOCK OR NAOT SANDALS (or shoes... they're so comfortable)

10a. Any cool shoes.  
11. DISCOVERING A NEW APP FOR YOUR IPHONE OR IPAD THAT YOU REALLY DO NEED!
12. FINDING OUT YOU HAVE A DAY OFF YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD
13. WRITE A LETTER TO SOMEONE INSTEAD OF AN EMAIL.
14. THE SOUND OF A BABY'S LAUGHTER WHEN YOU DON'T EXPECT IT.
15. CAMPARI TOMATOES
16. PATRON TEQUILA, or Milagro, also great and less expensive.
17. BOB DYLAN'S "BLOOD ON THE TRACKS" pretty much any time, anywhere.  Especially if you have a touch of the blues. But really anytime.
18.  I'm tired of typing in all caps.  Find a way to GIVE BACK. Clothing , books, time! The days when I start my day by dropping off bags of clothing in the basement of the church nearby where they give them to people in need are good days. Lots of schools require community service of our kids. Why not require it of yourself?
19. A Good Book.  I have not been taking the time to read.  All summer I tried to read one book because I felt I should.  Dang it. I missed out on reading a great book and losing myself in it.  Which leads me to...
20. Go to the library.  My grandmother taught me this one, and I forgot it for a long time.  But you can really lose yourself in the library.  Hey, it's just like Barnes and Noble, but you don't have to pay!
21. All the Harry Potter books! I'm jealous if you never read them!  But even if you have... you can re-read them, or give yourself a gift and listen to Jim Dale read them to you (on tape, cd, or digitally).  The movies are great too.
22. Go do something out of your comfort zone. 
23. Embrace Color.  I'm not sure why little kids, Noah, and the Gays suddenly have the sole rights to the rainbow, but it's really for all of us. Wear colors! Shoes, socks, hair... It's all good and it looks great on you.
24. Sushi
25. French Fries
26. An artichoke with lemon butter sauce
27. Anything with lemon butter sauce (and capers)  I'd eat a shoe if it had lemon-butter sauce, but then again, I love shoes.

American Beauty

28. Lobster
29. "Freaks and Geeks"
30. An unexpected phone call.  Even if you're the one who makes it.
31. A delicious ice cold beer on a hot day.  Better if it's been sitting a bucket of ice.  Best if it's not a light beer.
32. "Silverado"
33. "American Beauty"
34. Pretty much any new Western or baseball movie.
35. "Quah"
36. Finding out someone is pregnant,  about to adopt a baby, or engaged. I think my mush tolerance got all messed up when I became a mom, but I somehow my eyes get all watery when I hear this kind of news. 
37. Suet.   Not for me, of course, but for the birds.  You can buy a square of bird seed in brick of suet and hang it outside by your window, and it will attract birds all year long. (Though you should really only feed them in the winter.)  This is a pleasure of mine, just watching the brightly colored birds landing on the little block of fat and seeds and pecking away.  Woodpeckers, cardinals and blue jays are my favorites.  I have a bird identifying app on my iPhone and a bird book by the window in case an exotic new one comes along.  I realize that this may make me seem like I'm about 100 years old, but it brings me joy, it's safe, legal and completely non-fattening... provided that I do not eat the suet.
38. One Hit Wonder: Every once in a while, put the oldies station on.  And you'll thank me.  You'll hear that one song you haven't heard since high school or middle school that reminds you of your crush. Or your first broken heart.  Or the day you got your driver's license.  If you're like me,  you might even take out the iPhone and buy it on the spot.  Or if you're like normal people, you'll enjoy the moment and get back to work.
39. The Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
40. Smart Wool Socks
41. Beads!  Buying them, creating with them, wearing them, and presenting them to others.

Terrapin necklace, given to a bff

42. "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs"
43.  Going out for a really great meal.
44. "Paul McCartney Unplugged"
45. Sharing a laugh, a real laugh, with someone. That someone tends to be someone in my family.
Look at that, how easy it was to come up with 45 things I love... just 9 more...

46. Road Trips! 
47. Live Music, Concerts, and my new thing... Festivals!
48. Photography...taking a great photo is very satisfying
49. Teaching.  I know I mentioned it above, but I love what I do, and teaching is a part of it.
50. Social Media: no denying... I'm very happy with the various types of ways to connect... Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest.  Sometimes time-wasters... sometimes valuable tools.  I'm getting better at figuring out the fine line between the two.
51. Cooking a really delicious meal at home and not having to clean up.
52. Grateful Dead, Furthur, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia (z"l)... Well, there can't be a list without a thank you to these guys who, for most of my life (since age 17) have brought me joy. Before them my list was
53. Beach Boys, Billy Joel, David Bowie and THE BEATLES. My musical foundation.  Not too bad.
54. Every beautiful day makes me feel grateful. I love being outdoors and I know I'll look back on these perfect days when the bad weather comes.

and ... one to grow on...
55. I'm grateful to be healthy and alive.  You don't need to be a cancer survivor to feel this way.  It doesn't need to be September 11 or almost Yom Kippur for me to say how thankful I am to have reach this day, this time, this season surrounded by beauty and love.

May this year be a year of love, peace, family, laughter, music, good friends, good health for us all, while we still work together for a better tomorrow for our children and our children's children.

Me, on 9/8/13 

Have any to add?  Please do, by posting in the comment section. It may take a while but your comments will appear after I retrieve them from the spam folder. 

Also, as I wrote this on September 11, if you would like to take a moment to hear or read first hand accounts of that tragic day, this is a great website and organization, especially for educators. September 11 Tribute Center

Editor's Note September 12... feedback from the blog... Okay, for number 5, I should mention that I love my dogs, the two who are living, Bear and Scout, and beloved Jerry who passed away...(and lets not forget my childhood pooches, Shadow and Tzatzkeleh).  I love them to pieces, and they may have gotten short shrift in this blog due to the fact that they've been sick and costing us a fortune at the vet and making a general pooping vomitty mess lately. I also love Jinx the cat and Jack Straw the Turtle, but let's face it, I adore the dogs and they love me back.  In fact, Scout is sleeping on my feet right now.

Scout as a puppy, the cutest.

Handsome Bear

Addenda: Rusted Root (excellent Band), Dark Star Orchestra (phenomenal band!), Spring, Summer and Fall, and my new and absolutely gorgeous cowboy boots! Life is full of favorite things! I can't believe I forgot these in the first draft! 

JB