Diary of a Mad White Woman

I was told this evening in response to something I had posted on facebook to not be angry with bp gas stations over this oil spill. I have thought about that comment and a subsequent one about if I boycott bp stations it will only hurt us in the long run because where will they get the money for clean up and that the one i should be angry with is the governmet. Well, #1 I am irritated that they allow off shore drilling and that they want to do it all around the coast of Florida. While I don't always like life in Florida, I am proud of the fact that not only am I, were both of my parents as well as my Grandpa Stokes and my Granny Sizemore all native born Floridians, but that our family traces back to Florida pioneers. I love that on any given day I can go to the beach, go to the woods, go to a theme park or go to a swamp. What I don't like is the traffic and that as a native of my state I am a minority. So I am angry and have every right to be angry. I am angry at the fact that at this moment there are 11 families mourning the loss of their loved ones. I am angry that at this moment birds and sea life and other wildlife are fighting for their lives in this oil spill. I am angry that people are having to watch out for sludge and tar balls while trying to enjoy their days. I am angry that restaurants like Nichols Seafood in Milton are wondering how long they are going to have the very thing people come to them for. I am angry that men and women whose entire lives have been spent around fishing boats and whose income from those boats is now being irradicated or at the very least threatened. I am angry for the charter boat captains. I am angry that the pristine white beautiful Gulf coast beaches are being threatened. I am angry that at any moment a hurricane or tropical storm could come up and blow all that oil inland. I am angry that they say it may not be fixed until August and possibly by September the oil & it's damage will surround the coast of Florida and head into the Atlantic. I am a Gulf of Mexico girl. I love the gulf coast. Some of my earliest memories are in Bradenton going every weekend to Coquina Beach or Anna Maria Island. I saw my first sting ray on the pier at Anna Maria. We love the beach. Some of my greatest college memories are in Panama City Beach. My first outing with a youth group was to Panama City Beach. I have great memories of Pensacola Beach with Kim. The only time I've seen the Blue Angels show was on Pensacola Beach. I keep hearing everyone talk about how we need to pray about this situation and be prepared because it will send gas prices up and that angers me. I say we need to pray about this and we need to pray for the families that are going to be affected by this. The men and women who are going to find themselves unemployed or facing losing their homes because of this. So, don't tell me not to be angry...as a Floridian and an American I have every right to be angry at this entire situation do I have the right to act in anger NO! which brings me back to my comment about boycotting BP - -I don't even buy my gas at bp on a normal nothing happening day - 1) because they are usually nasty looking stations and 2) I am cheap and I can get a 3 cent per gallon discount at Winn Dixie.