Banter Bites

Is Feeling Safe Too Much To Ask For?

It's a beautiful day for a walk. But, if you're a woman, you have to think about more than just the weather …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: The truly tragic and awful story about Sarah Everard, the young woman who was kidnapped and murdered while walking home in London, has not only alarmed women everywhere, but highlights how women ALWAYS have to be concerned about their safety, even when seemingly doing all the right things.

When Red first heard the news, she was saddened and dismayed. Not only because her eldest daughter lives in England, but because it's a sign of the times. When she lived there, granted it was decades ago, she was surprised that many people didn't even lock their doors yet alone worry about walking alone at night.

We grew up just outside New York City with what we'd call a "New York" mentality. It wasn't that we were paranoid; it was just that personal safety was a natural part of our upbringing as when we'd go into "the city" we paid particular attention to our surroundings and always tried to avoid any potentially dangerous situations. And it became second nature.

So, when Red became a mom, she passed down this way of thinking, and because she had daughters also made sure they had things like pepper spray and a rape whistle. And while it's always been part of a mom's "job description" to worry about her children, now it's more than that …

I hate that I have to remind the girls that they need to be extremely careful and aware of their surroundings at all times and prepared for the worst. I know they've "inherited" my New York mentality, but that's not always enough given how the world is these days. In fact, I'm not sure there's any truly safe place, especially for a woman.

Black agreed and then started to delve deeper into the many other safety issues that face women – things like date rape, workplace harassment, and domestic violence – and Red quickly asked her to stop. It wasn't that she was being an ostrich; it was just more than she wanted to hear right then. So, Black decided to lighten it up in her own way …

The things we do for safety! In fact, that is why I sold my Ferrari. I was afraid as a woman alone, especially in a convertible, that I was asking for trouble. I feel so much safer in my G-wagen, which is like a tank. One of the ploys with women driving alone at night is to lightly run into the back end of their car, getting them to stop, and get out of their car. Do that to me, and I'll just put it in reverse and destroy the front of your car.

This is one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites in large part because of Black’s “corny” puns, but also because fresh corn is a summer staple – whether cooked on the grill or in the microwave, whether eaten on its own or as a primary ingredient in refreshing summer salads


This may be one of the corniest things you’ll ever read.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s just a vegetable, so how can it possibly elicit such a strong reaction from Red, while, for Black, it’s more a source of amusement and even, it turns out, admiration?

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Think you can avoid artificial intelligence? Think again …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red already fights technology at every turn, preferring to keep her ostrich head in the sand, plus, she finds Artificial Intelligence (AI) scary; whereas Black knows ignoring reality merely postpones the inevitable, so she’s started playing with AI to understand it better …

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A man better known for his death than his life, although Red, the straight-A student and history lover, immediately thinks of the costly and controversial movie of his life. (Well, technically, it was the life of Cleopatra.) Black, of course, focuses on business – leadership lessons, including the power of words, although she surprises Red with some food trivia. But the fact July’s named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …

Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.

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