Jimmy, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse

This morning, it was downright cold.  It was nice this afternoon, in the sunshine.  We're expecting snow Thursday and Friday.  The Broncos beat the Chiefs last night.  There were terrible tornadoes in the Midwest yesterday.  And I'm still wondering about several things....
   Jimmy, the brother of Black Caviar, the $5 million  colt is now in "stable" condition at his equine hospital in Australia.  X-rays of his fore feet late last week showed a "concerning change" which indicated laminitis.  The pedal bone in a horse's hoof is kept in place by soft tissue.  Laminitis breaks down the soft tissue around the pedal bone, and the bone can move out of place or rotate.  If the displacement or rotation is extremely small, corrective shoeing, such as our Master Flash had, can make a horse rideable.  But I have the awful feeling that Jimmy will never race, even if he can survive the next few weeks without his condition worsening.
   I am still wondering about the two people who adopted the four kids and had the fifth handcuffed to the porch with a dead chicken around his neck.  According to news reports, when the investigators returned to the home in Union County, North Carolina, they found that the five children had been living and sleeping in one bedroom, sharing it with the house dogs.  The room was covered with dog feces.  The boy who had been hand-cuffed outside, was according to reports, routinely cuffed at night to a piece of rail road railing in the room with the four other kids and the dogs.  What was being done to these children, besides threats, that made them not talk to anyone about the conditions in their "home?" How could people not know what was happening to these five children?  Were they being "home-schooled" so that teachers and administrators couldn't see or tell that something was out of kilter with these five?  How can this happen in this day and age?  It's just sickening.
   Last Sunday, 8 days ago, my neighbors to the south of me had another fight.  They have fought ever since they moved in, and she often screams just to relieve her tension.  I'm not used to it yet.  On Sunday, the lady called the police herself.  As they arrived, the man left through the back door, scaring my cats as he went by our patio.  We had seven police units here, with all but two officers searching for the man.  They were searching the building and back yard with weapons drawn and ready, and we were told to "stay inside and keep all doors and windows locked" because they believed the man could be dangerous.  I hadn't heard a bit of noise from either person since then - until last night, when they were noisily banging in the shower.  (I was afraid they'd come through the plastic shower panels.)  While I was typing the first sentence of the previous paragraph, I heard the man next door yell, "God damn you!"  Then there were two heavy thuds, followed by a softer thud.  I dialed 911 and asked for the police to come again for another domestic disturbance in A-114.  He ended up being arrested, and is no longer legally allowed inside the building.  As the police had him in the hall beside my door, and I had gone out to direct the police in, I got to look at my new catalogs while sitting in the upstairs hallway, and the police were in discussion with both parties.  Then I had to write out my voluntary statement, and sign it in the presence of one of the officers.  It's nearly two hours since I first started typing this blog.  -  I'm going to prepare and eat my supper.