Afternoon Edition - 5/23/05

Offended By On Blast? Here Are Some Tips
The recent addition of our On Blast segment has set some of our conservative readers on “ugh” mode. To reiterate, this blog was set-up for ALL to share and find a place to express any thought, question and position freely. As I’ve always mentioned, the only requirement to being one of the “crew” is to keep an open mind. News stories are taken from confirmed sources and when a story is not confirmed, I’ll tell you that. Family stories are slight exaggerations, but are intended to provide some humor throughout the day. However, the On Blast segment is completely driven by you, the reader. Rather than ask that folks tone-down their questions, I’ll ask that if you’re offended by the content of the On Blast segment, please feel free to ignore it. On Blast will only appear as the last segment in each Afternoon Edition, so clicking away from a topic that you may consider racier that you can handle is easy to do. Ultimately, I find the On Blast segment a great add-on that gives us an opportunity to explore issues we normally feel either embarrassed or afraid to ask about. The fact that any question can be asked anonymously and other readers can also address the questions, makes the segment even more interesting. I won’t ask anyone to grow up or get a grip – just keep an open mind and make the choice to click away when that sudden rush of moral superiority starts kicking your ass.

As Marc Anthony said, “Si te vas, si te vas” or The Last Supper
Tonight, the Cruz clan will sit down for their last supper before retired parents, Manuel and Millie, embark on their return trip to their Caribbean paradise, Puerto Rico, tomorrow afternoon. The Cruz patriarchs have been in NYC for the last two weeks. It’s funny how we spend our young lives attempting to be so different from our parents just to find out that we’re so much more similar than what we thought. I see so much of them in myself and their visit made that really okay. Turns out, it’s the best of me that is so obviously a direct reflection of them. Whether it’s the sense of drama I picked up from mom or the confidence that was, again, awakened by my dad, I’m grateful for their visit. As we sit to eat tonight, I’m sure they’ll be some last minute words of advice from them, some flared tempers and even some angered tears, but it will all end in a fluid dance of laughter, good cheer and memories to add to our heart prints.

On Blast
Today, we’re putting Freaking Rican On Blast...FR asks….”What is up with men? I went out dancing this weekend and the place was jammed pack and not one of this knuckleheads even ask us out to dance until they saw us dancing amongst each other. What is up with that? My question is why do men stand there looking stupid instead of just asking? For Christ sake it's just dancing!!!!!”
First, FR, you’re assuming they want to dance with you when you ask why they’re standing there looking stupid instead of asking you to dance. Truth is, we’re not all universally attractive to everyone. That said, men are as afraid of rejection as women are. Unfortunately, our society has a a weird sense of chivalry that says a man must ask you to dance first – rather than you walking up to the “knucklehead” and asking him to join you to do the cha-cha. As for why it’s easier for men to engage you on the dance floor, well, it’s quite simple – you’re already moving and would have to actually leave the dance floor (and probably your favorite song) to leave him standing there. Also, the threat of a very public humiliation, by having you say no in front of his friends, is diffused if you’re surrounded by other folks dancing. Long story short… take control of the situation, ask a wallflower to dance and be gracious if he says he rather not. Following the rules of approach – if he says no, he is not allowed to attempt to join you on the dance floor later, when you’re, more than likely, enjoy the company of someone else. Besides, in straight clubs/bars, women have the upper hand, since they can dance with men and they can dance with each other until a man with some real “cojones” steps up.

Keep passin’ the open windows…