Walking the dog

Today when LB, the dog and I went for a walk we had an experience that was unpleasant. We had just crossed the street and we were paused for what I commonly call a "walk and poop". My dog is unable to "go" unless he continues to walk. Anyway, a car full of teenage boys drove by and yelled "Hey, your dog is taking a shit." I was actually aware of that fact, but teenage boys must like to state the obvious. I did my duty and picked up the product. The car full of boys had turned around meanwhile and they yelled something else as they drove by the other way. The only word that I caught was "f**k". Sometimes not having perfect hearing is a blessing. While I admit I have some curiousity about what was said, somehow I think that I am better of not knowing. As we continued our walk I wondered about teenage boys and what makes them think that others are interested in their input? Will my boys be those boys in the car some day?

My DH suggested that I should have got the license plate or taken a picture. They might have enjoyed explaining their behaviour to the cops and their parents.

It reminded me of another day walking down the street when I was a University student. It was a hot summer day and I was going to meet a friend. I was wearing a skirt and a top, nothing flashy really. Another car full of teenagers passed me and one of them leaned out the window and yelled "I'd like to F**k you up the a$$". I went apeshit. Without a moments hesitation or even thinking about my safety, I started yelling things like "How dare you?" and "You have no right to talk to me like that!" The car stopped at a red light about 200 yards in front of me. The boy almost fell out of the car window yelling back at me. People on the street noticed and were staring. The other guys in the car were trying their best to pull the other guy back into the car. The light turned green and took off in a hurry. I had forgotten all about it.

Food colouring.

I heard about an interesting study where they looked at food colouring and preservatives and there affect on kids. It seems that even kids without ADHD and ADD became hyper on a diet that included the mixing of sodium benzoate and food colouring.

I have printed this off for myself so that I can read the labels on foods. Scarey!

Among the additives studied were:

* E211, sodium benzoate, a preservative used to extend shelf-life of food and drinks. (Which is in a hell of a lot of foods)
* E102, tartrazine, a yellow food dye used in ice cream, soft drinks and fish sticks.
* E104, quinoline yellow, a yellow dye used in soft drinks, cosmetics and medications.
* E110, sunset yellow, a dye used in yogurts and sweets.
* E122, carmoisine, a coal tar derivative used in sweets and yogurts.
* E129, allura red, a dye used in pop drinks and bubble gum.

Here is a link to an article on the study. http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/09/06/additives-lancet.html?ref=rss