Just say "yes"

When you think of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), what sort of thoughts come to mind? Crack house busts, organized crime, reruns of "Cops" on cable? Certainly not an effort to clean out your medicine cabinet or help the environment by preventing the abuse or improper disposal of medication?

But that's exactly the goal of a campaign by the DEA this Saturday across the country. In an effort to curb rampant misuse of prescription and expired over-the-counter meds, the DEA is offering 4,000 drop-off sites across the nation where anyone can anonymously get rid of such medications. The program originated as a way to combat crime and increasing deaths linked to prescription drug abuse, but for me, the environmental angle holds just as much sway.

Each year, millions of pills or liquid medicines are flushed down the toilet or washed down the drain, exposing our waterways to traceable levels of these meds. This affects, not only our environment but studies have shown that even tap water in certain municipalities now shows detectable levels of medicines like birth control and anti-depressants. Doesn't exactly make you want to gulp down those recommended eight glasses a day, huh?

So take a moment today or tomorrow to gather up all those old medicines and clear your bathrooms out of discards you won't use anyway and that could easily pose a danger to your kids. Get rid of it the right way. You'll be doing your family, your medicine cabinet and our earth a favor.

For more information on the drop off, go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39328587/ns/health-more_health_news/

To locate a drop off site near you, go to
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/NTBI/NTBI-PUB.pub;jsessionid=6176CC3BEEE0F599AE74679B3E6D1EEC?_flowExecutionKey=_cCF03CB76-1E64-1852-C6C3-7F609368AF03_k64982B34-0E99-25EB-7C37-7296A1B2A520

Ode to Tipper Gore

When I was about seven, growing up in a small, southern town, I signed up for Miss Ramona's dance class. The class was your typical elementary-age ballet/tap/jazz program taught out of an upstairs home studio. Each day, we'd spend about 10 minutes "warming up" to get us in the mood to begin our routine. For some reason, Miss Ramona's song of choice for this warm up was Captain & Tennille's "Do That to Me One More Time." (C'mon, it was the '70s people!)

As a pre-adolescent, I had absolutely no idea what this song was about. But that didn't stop me from singing it non-stop and begging my mother to let me buy the 45 LP (again, the '70s!). She adamantly refused and told me she thought the song was totally inappropriate for a class of seven-year-olds. I was completely perplexed. After all, the song didn't have any bad words that I could recognize. What was so wrong with it?

Now, it's official -- I have surpassed my mother (and Tipper Gore) in terms of my radio outrage as a parent of today's youth.

After hearing Katy Perry's "California Gurls" and getting into the pop vibe of the song, I saw it on sale for $8 at my local bookstore and decided to spring for it. I'd never heard any of her other songs, but I figured they'd all have a similar dance beat that might come in handy during a workout. It wasn't til I went to unwrap it that I noticed the "explicit lyrics" sticker placed on the corner of the CD (and the cotton candy smell emanating from the packaging -- I kid you not.)

Honestly, I really don't think I'm a prude, but I was shocked by some of the words of Miss Perry's music. Thankfully, my kids were not in the car when I first played it, so now I know exactly which songs to skip when they are around, lest I get peppered with questions I have no desire to answer right now.

For those of you who are not familiar with this album, here's a sample of some of the lyrics:

Let's go all the way tonight 
No regrets, just love 
We can dance, until we die 
You and I, will be young forever...


I'm gonna get your heart racing
In my skin tights jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
Let you put your hands on me
In my skin tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight 


And another sample from a different track:


There's a stranger in my bed,
There's a pounding in my head
Glitter all over the room
Pink flamingos in the pool
I smell like a minibar
DJ's passed out in the yard
Barbie's on the barbecue

There's a hickey or a bruise
Pictures of last night
Ended up online
I'm screwed
Oh well
It's a black top blur
But I'm pretty sure it ruled...


Last Friday night
We went streaking in the park
Skinny dipping in the dark
Then had a menage a trois
Last Friday night
Yeah I think we broke the law
Always say we're gonna stop
Whoa-oh-oah

This Friday night
Do it all again
This Friday night
Do it all again


And last but certainly not least:


I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock
Your peacock, cock
Your peacock, cock, cock
Your peacock
I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock
Your peacock, cock
Your peacock, cock, cock
Your peacock

Word on the street, you got somethin' to show me,
Magical, colorful, Mr. Mystery,
I'm intrigued, for a peek, heard it's fascinating
Come on baby let me see
What you're hiding underneath


Okay, so I'll stop with the sampling now, but I think you get the idea. 


I don't mean to get all Bill O'Reilly on you (God forbid!), but these lyrics make Madonna look a bit tame by comparison. Menage a trois? Peacock? Hard to believe these songs are performed by a girl who is 25 whose first recording was a gospel album! Am I alone over here blushing in my minivan, or is this a bit much coming from someone who didn't even have her driver's license ten years ago? 


Amazingly, Katy Perry was raised in a strict Christian household and not even allowed to listen to secular music growing up. Begging the question, does anything we do as parents to set boundaries for our kids really matter in the end? In the age of sexting, Twitter and Facebook where our privacy is basically non-existent, and the over sexualizing of young girls so pervasive, is this the inevitable result? 


Let it be known that I don't consider myself a conservative person, and I do genuinely like the dance beats of Katy Perry's performances. And as a journalist and proponent of free speech, I recognize that she has the right to belt out such lyrics, just as I have the right to choose not to listen to them if I so desire. 


But still, some of her sentiments are a bit salty for my (admittedly non-) virgin ears. Am I an old fuddy duddy? Somewhere in Florida, my mom is chuckling and thinking that maybe Captain & Tennille really wasn't so bad after all.

Driven to Distraction

When I first got my driver's license, I remember being warned by my mother not to do something silly, like put on makeup while I was behind the wheel. My how times have changed! Mascara is no longer the vehicular risk of choice these days. Everything from cell phone conversations, text messages, GPS devices, video players and screaming children conspires to drive us to distraction in the 21st century.

Here in Georgia, a law just went into effect prohibiting text messaging while operating a motor vehicle (even at stoplights!). First offenders receive a $150 fine and a point on their driver's licenses. Thirty states have such laws on the books and eight states ban the use of handheld cellphones while driving.

While I personally think these laws are good things, sadly, we continue to hear about people who are not deterred by a fine, or those who simply think it "won't happen to them." Just a few weeks ago, a well-regarded doctor in California plunged off a cliff to his death while texting. A deadly train crash in 2008 was blamed on texting and last year, a Northwest Airlines flight continue 150 miles beyond its destination, allegedly because the pilots were distracted working on their laptops. While laws can be passed that are designed to prevent this sort of irresponsible behavior, there is no way to truly enforce them other than to catch people in the act, when the damage may already have been done.

But as a parent, it never ceases to shock me when I read stories about moms and dads who were so distracted that they forgot they had a child in the car, often with deadly consequences. Personally, I cannot imagine what could possibly make me forget my kids were in the car (these parents must have awfully quiet kids!). If you are that distracted, you have no business being behind the wheel in the first place. Even if you don't have kids, if you are this distracted, you are lucky if you aren't the cause of an accident. And I don't care how late I am for work, or a meeting, or a big shoe sale at the mall, nothing, I repeat, NOTHING would make me forget one of my kids was traveling with me.

That said, this past month was the deadliest month ever for kids left in cars. Most of these children died of heatstroke as the temperature in a closed vehicle can quickly register much higher than the temperature outside. My heart aches for these children....and for their parents. As irresponsible as their behavior is, I'd say the worst punishment is having to live with the result of their own actions.

Obviously, the issue of how to prevent these distracted parents from even getting behind the wheel with their kids -- or someone else's kids -- in the first place, needs to be seriously addressed.  Car makers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are now exploring devices that may help remind forgetful parents that they have a child in the backseat. Some suggestions include chimes that would sound if seat belts are left fastened in a parked car, sensors that would detect extra weight in a car, or an alarm system that activates when a car exceeds a certain interior temperature.

I was surprised to read that 10 years ago, NASA engineers developed technology that can alert drivers if they've left a child in their car. To date, this technology has been reviewed by automakers, but none have chosen to use it. Sadly, it was developed in response to a NASA co-worker's experience when their child died after being left in the car.

So, it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or maybe in this case, it does?) to realize that if it can happen to an employee of NASA, it can happen to anyone. But all the bells and whistles in the world won't replace a parent who is more focused on anything other than the task of driving their children safely. As important as all this other stuff is to us (our jobs, our phone conversations, etc.), all of it pales in comparison to the most fundamental role we have as parents - keeping our kids safe.

Let's all try to remember that.