Random Thoughts

With 95% of the yard still under several inches of snow, I'm still putting out bird seed, nuts and baguette rounds for the birds and squirrels.  Most of the time my kits accept that they must stay inside, but Lovey was extremely vocal last night, for a two hour period...  I felt bad, but having called the police, yet again, about the couple next door, I didn't feel it was safe to allow either kit outside.
  I spoke to Britta, the next door neighbor, on Thursday.  She said she had a new, female room mate, who had brought her cat over to keep Baby, Britta's cat, company.  (I really wondered about that, since it's a 500 square foot studio apartment, like mine.)  Last night, she had her "boyfriend" back over and they started fighting - both were yelling, and I was determined to ignore the noise until I heard her yell, "You're hurting me!  Let me go!"  So I once more called 911.  About three minutes before the Boulder police arrived, he left via the back door and climbed over the fence.  Britta refused to answer the door. BPD told me to continue calling them, but that since Britta allows him back, their hands are tied - she has refused counseling and no longer wants their assistance.  So I get to be the documentation person....
  Brother-in-law Kent spent Thursday in the ReHab section of the hospital, following his brain tumor biopsy. He is having difficulty using his left side, but the MDs seem impressed with his drive to recuperate.  He was allowed to get up and walk a bit, wear his own clothes (instead of a hospital gown), and go to the restroom by himself.  But he had three seizures during the night and was moved back into Intensive Care early yesterday morning.  Not knowing what type of tumor this is, and not knowing of a possible treatment, is very wearing on the family.  The MDs did another MRI of Kent's brain yesterday and had to report that the tumor was larger....  Hoping to get some good news from the Mayo Clinic regarding Kent's tumor....
  Rosie and Lucy and Boo have been brightening my mornings - they are all so happy to see me and go for a walk and a romp in the snow.  Kathy and Jim are not going to Santa Fe for Christmas, so I'll be splitting my time between my kits, and Charlie and Tinkerbelle.  Then I'll be moving in with Rosie for New Year's.
  While still worrying about Kent, I've been mourning the death of Nelson Mandela.  And then we had another high school shooting incident here in Colorado.  The young man who apparently "went over the edge" yesterday was a very good student, an athlete, and a member of the debate team.  His friends say he had very strong political opinions, and that he was angered by his debating coach's views.  He was heard asking for his debating coach, while armed on the campus.  The teacher/coach was informed and he left the school in hopes of drawing the shooter away.  It didn't happen.  A 17-year-old female student is still in critical condition from the shotgun blast; the student then shot himself, leaving two explosive devices inside the school.  No one else was harmed.  But the Denver area is reeling - and it's all one sees on the local news casts ....  
Have we always had this level of violence in our society, and were just not aware of it until today's technology made "news" almost instantaneous?  Were previous killings just hushed up and swept under the rug?  Or have we, society as a whole, become more violent?  What happened to debates - or even wrestling matches?  Why must people today use guns and/or bombs and create a bloody mess?