HAVING A HISSY FIT

Mother of twins, Cho Hyun-ah, had her prison sentence suspended last week after earlier causing a scene at JFK airport. The daughter of the South Korean Airline’s chairman apparently had “a hissy fit” after being served macadamia nuts in a bag instead of a bowl. She reputedly assaulted a crew-member and demanded the chief flight attendant return the plane to the terminal.

 

Cho escaped a “hijacking” charge but has been ridiculed in the press and nation and has received worldwide notoriety she will find hard to live down. Punishment enough, methinks!

 

When was the last time you had “a hissy fit”? When did you stamp your foot, throw your toys out of the pram, threaten to take your ball home and generally show yourself up with a temper tantrum? It isn’t just confined to toddlers and teenagers, is it?

 

Most of us are fortunate enough to escape the kind of embarrassing publicity attaching to this unfortunate lady; clearly a person of privilege and influence suddenly brought low. But losing it in public and showing up our family and friends can have all kinds of long-lasting and unpleasant ramifications. Better by far to avoid the meltdown altogether.

 

If you are someone prone to losing your temper and being unreasonable, take some steps to help yourself and others. My friend Shane (and others like him) can offer simple and helpful tips on anger management. Being positive in your outlook and generous in your giving will also help.

 

Realise your responsibilities by far outweigh your rights and the world really doesn’t owe you a hearing, never mind a living. And if YOUR macadamia nuts should turn up in a bag instead of a bowl, take a deep breath, count slowly to ten and thank the good Lord for every single blessing He has given you.

 

Have a nice day!

WHERE CAN I FIND FRIENDS?

 

One of my parishioners stopped me outside the Polling Station last week to ask if the church (building) was open. He confessed he wasn’t particularly religious but wanted somewhere quiet to go and perhaps light a candle and remember his wife who had passed on some years before. He said how much comfort had had received from attending a local group where he could make new friends and just chat. Thank God for groups like that!

 

No one likes to be the object of pity or on the receiving end of “charity”. None of us wants to be considered “a needy case”. We just want somewhere we can turn up and have a chat and maybe a home-cooked meal, share a beer or glass of wine and perhaps play cards or a board game. We’re not especially lonely (not really); we’re just looking for friends.

 

We’ve got a few groups like this around the community; some are attached to the church, some aren’t. None of them try to get you to follow any particular creed or regulation; that’s not why they’re there. These groups exist to promote friendship and meeting together – something most of us like to do. You probably know of some near you. By all means, let me know about them and I’ll happily give them a plug in this column!

 

I’ll just mention two groups that I think are really great. ReFresh meets in the SLH Methodist Hall on the High Street most Tuesday mornings at 10.00am. On the 3rd Tuesday they follow up with a delicious meal for just £3. There’s a great team of local people running it and everyone has a wonderful time.

 

MannaFest meets at 6.30pm in Victoria Road Chapel (just up from the roundabout) this Friday (15th) and fortnightly thereafter. There’s a delicious three course home-cooked meal for the cost of a voluntary donation, music and plenty of good company. A similar team of local people run it and it lasts about two hours.

 

Looking for friendship and good company? Why not try a local group? After all, they say a stranger is just a friend we haven’t met yet. God bless you!