Good Friday is observed on the Friday before Easter Sunday. On this day Christians commemorate the passion, or suffering, and death on the cross of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Many Christians spend this day in fasting, prayer, repentance, and meditation on the agony and suffering of Christ on the cross.

The biblical account of Jesus’ death on the cross, or crucifixion, his burial and his resurrection, or raising from the dead, can be found in the following passages of Scripture: Matthew 27:27-28:8; Mark 15:16-16:19; Luke 23:26-24:35; and John 19:16-20:30.

Roman crucifixion was an ancient method of execution in which the victim’s hands and feet were bound and nailed to a cross. It was one of the most painful and disgraceful methods of capitol punishment. Victims were usually beaten and tortured and then forced to carry their own cross to the crucifixion site. The Roman cross was formed of wood, typically with a vertical stake and a horizontal cross beam near the top. Different types and shapes of crosses existed for different forms of crucifixion.

The Roman form of crucifixion was not employed in the Old Testament by the Jewish people, as they saw crucifixion as one of the most horrible, cursed forms of death (Deuteronomy 21:23). In New Testament Bible times, the Romans used this tortuous method of execution as a means of exerting authority and control over the population.

Before nailing the victim to the cross, a mixture of vinegar, gall, and myrrh was usually offered to alleviate some of the victim’s suffering. Wooden planks were usually fastened to the vertical stake as a footrest or seat, allowing the victim to rest his weight and lift himself for a breath, thus prolonging suffering and delaying death for up to three days. Unsupported, the victim would hang entirely from nail-pierced wrists, severely restricting breathing and circulation. This excruciating ordeal would lead to exhaustion, suffocation, brain death and heart failure. At times, mercy was shown by breaking the victim’s legs, causing death to come quickly. As a deterrent to crime, crucifixions were carried out in highly public places with the criminal charges posted on the cross above the victim’s head.

Jersey Girl circa 1958

I am so tired of all this molly-coddling of kids these days that it makes me sick. I’m a Baby Boomer, one of the approximately 2,328,147 currently  (still) living in the state of New Jersey today. First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes. Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.  As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren’t overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing…that’s why!  We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. ~And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours riding our bicycles, roller skating, building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride each of these down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.  After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Play Stations, Nintendo and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found  them! We fell out of trees, got cut, skinned our knees, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from those accidents. We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse. We ate worms, and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and -although we were told it would happen- we did not put out very many eyes. We rode our bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best  risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors ever.

The past 65 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We’ve had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all! Such a shame that we have failed to pass these great and really fun lessons, values & morals along to our children as well as our parents did. My guess is that we’ll know how well we did as parents & teachers when the time eventually comes for ‘them’ to decide whether or not to ‘care for us in our old age’ or discard us in favor of an ‘assisted living facility’ as the current  politically correct climate prefers.  I guess, we’ll just have to wait & see if our children and their generation decide how best to deal with “us” the Baby Boomer elderly. Indeed, the newest American law, OBAMACARE  & its ultimate consequences may just solve all the problems associated with caring for we, the newest elderly by way of … “euthanasia for the us” (the NEW elderly). Because don’t forget ~ our parents are either dead or dying by now!  This will most likely be seen to be just as matter of fact to them, as “abortion for the unborn” was to our generation!  I, can only hope & pray that we (I) have passed on more of our (my) moral & religious values to our children than the cowardly & politically correct Bull Shit peddled by the Liberal Media & radical liberal have done!  ~dfh~  GOD BLESS AMERICA!

“She’s humble, but ambitious. She’s independent, but family-oriented. She likes pizza, beer and lots of mascara, but don’t think for a second that she’s not sophisticated. She’s the Jersey Girl, and she’s one of the Garden State’s most enduring icons- a readily identifiable personality, as much a part of America’s cultural landscape as that other great Jerseyan, Frank Sinatra. So who is a Jersey Girl? There’s a chance you’re one- but residency isn’t all it takes. The Girl has a specific character, both in pop culture and in the hearts and minds of Jerseyans.  First there are the surface qualities: A love of an unpretentious good time, and a certain sense of style. Jersey Girls are about attitude. They’re about eating pizza, drinking beer, having great hair- and enjoying it all.  She’s a girl who enjoys the mall, might wear more makeup than the Ivy League would approve of, and gives some thought to her hair. She’s got a mouth on her. She says what she means. And she’s got a nice, cheerful laugh. She’s spunky and witty, and she handles competition very well. She’s got that confidence- everyone from New Jersey has that confidence. A Jersey Girl is crunchy on the outside and soft in the center. A Jersey Girl has the tenacity and drive of a New Yorker, but with the beauty of warmth and humility that being from Jersey is all about. Don’t mistake her toughness as a lack of refinement. Don’t misjudge her sometimes “brash” manners as a lack of ‘classiness.’ At the center of the crunchy sweet exterior, she is tuned in and knows how and what she’s working. A Jersey Girl doesn’t have to have a high-powered career, but whatever work she does, she gives it her all- and she takes care of her family at the same time. The overall makeup, if you will, of a true Jersey Girl: hard-working, family-oriented, spirited, one of a kind. And if you’re lucky, she’s your wife. Bottom line, all of them are sexy as hell.”
– excerpted from The Star-Ledger

I love that article, however; I don’t believe that all Jersey Girls are exactly how the author describes. I think that most people around the country actually believe the stereotype that paints all Jersey girls as being big-haired, big-mouthed, beer drinkers who wear too much make-up, have extremely poor taste in clothes and outrageous home décor. Being born and raised in the Garden State, I ama Jersey Girl. On the other hand I am and never was anything like the stereotype so often depicted on television and in films. 

What I am is a combination and contradiction of many things. I am a Woman, a Baby Boomer, a Navy Veteran, a Real Estate Broker, a Gourmet Cook, a Wife, a Sister, an Aunt and a Mother to not only friends and family but to the over 25 dogs & cats I have loved and cared for over the years. To that end, I AM a Jersey Girl.  ~ dfh