Told off an Al Gore detractor at Barnes & Noble today!

I had a great day today.

I got up early, went to Tae Kwon Do, and found out that class had been canceled because the woman & children's center where we practice had the gym set up for one of their fund-raisers (they did forget to tell us about it until Friday night and I didn't get the message). OK, between five and six hours to kill (I help teach as well as take the two-hour class to get ready for my black belt test in December).

I went home, did some work around the house and decided to treat myself to a movie. I saw The Departed at the new theater about ten miles away from my house. Digital projection - great picture and a very good movie.

This is where things get fun. I went into the Barnes & Noble that was at the "Promenade at Saucon Valley" - the new "lifestyle center" near me. I grabbed the book that I went in for and then went browsing. I was looking at magazines when I hear somebody say "Al Gore, trying to save the world." The same person continued to rant about Gore, and then mentioned Hillary Clinton in a not-so-nice way. I simply turned to him and said something along the lines of "at least Al Gore is doing something positive for the world, rather than trying to destroy it one country at a time". I then picked up a copy of "An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It" which is what started his rant, thanked him for the book recommendation and walked over to the check-out counter with a huge smile on my face.

I already own the book and have seen the movie, it will expand your horizons about our home planet. Good luck to you TommyO.

The guy's comments, and the pleasure of thanking him for the recommendation were absolutely priceless!

:thumbsup:

:applause:

I tend not to be confrontational, and get very nervous when I do (that adrenaline stuff kicks in big-time), but it just had to be said. You can't let people think they can get away with trashing those who truly are doing positive things for the planet. I'm sure he thought no one would hear what he was saying to his (and I'm assuming) wife.

But that no one would call him on it. Good for you - I get so annoyed when people treat Gore like he's grandstanding or something. First of all, the issue is real and urgent and second of all, he's put a lot of time and effort and hard work into it. That should elicit some admiration, rather than scorn.

Though he wasn't shouting either.

I started many years ago and got up to my green belt before letting my depression and personal circumstances get the better of me. I saw my instructor at K-Mart a few years ago and promised her that I would be back, and kept my word! I'm now a red-stripe, and will be testing for my red belt in March, one more stripe in June (four of us are pushing hard to test in December) and then the black belt test in December.

Belt progression in our school for adults is:

White
Yellow
Green Stripe
Green
Blue Stripe
Blue
Red Stripe <--- where I am today
Red
White Stripe (can't do black until the actual test)
Black

Children get an orange stripe and orange belt between Yellow and Green Stripe and a Purple Stripe and Purple Belt between Blue and Red Strip. This is to ensure that they don't test Black Belt before their 17th Birthday (give or take a few months).

Geez, adults in my dojo go white, green, brown, black. Kids are white, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown and black. Minimum of three years as a brown belt.

Our school is located at a non-profit women and children's shelter (it was formerly a YWCA location) and we don't buy our belts like some of the for-profit schools allow people to do. Our instructor *WILL NOT* allow somebody to test who hasn't shown the ability to perform at the next belt level (based on their own abilities and limitations). At 42, starting TKD later in life, there's no way I'm going to throw a roundhouse kick as high, or as smooth, as some of our teenagers.

Of course, the black belt test changes everything, since we're affiliated with a Grand Master's school, and our instructor hasn't attained Master level yet, our tests will be at his school and will be priced accordingly. I've been at several of his tests and you can tell which people are "buying" their belts and which people have truly worked for theirs.

edited to add: There are four of us who are working towards our black belts in December, we will be testing along with our instructor as she tests for her 4th Dan, making her a Master and able to hold her own Black Belt tests. It's going to be incredible with all five of us testing together.

:applause:

:headbang:

I think everyone would like to hear it.

:thumbsup: