Bits And Pieces

The two mallard ducklings at the Wildlife Rehab Center have been put down - they were both blind and had serious head injuries that could not be healed.   The man who reported the two boys throwing rocks has now said that he also observed two adult Canada geese pecking at the ducklings.  Police have suspended their investigation, as the geese may have caused the ducklings' injuries.
  A 50-year-old man has been given a deferred sentence, here in Boulder, after a plea deal.  He says that he had a brain "glitch" the day he attacked two raccoons trapped in a dumpster and beat them to death with a nail-studded board.  He stated that "many years ago" he saw his cat killed by a raccoon, and that last November, when he saw the raccoons seeking food in a trash dumpster, he felt the need to avenge his cat.  The man was reported to police by several people who reported that the raccoons were "screaming and moaning" as the man killed them.  He has to get "anger management" counseling, and if he doesn't attract police notice for the next two years, his felony animal cruelty charges will be dropped from his record. (I want to be a giant with huge nail-studded boards and be turned loose with this man in a dumpster.)  No wonder the youth of our society has no regard for life of any kind....
  A 59-year-old homeless woman was found dead in a city park 3 blocks from my apartment.  The police are saying it was not a suspicious death.
  I must admit I laughed when I read a local newspaper headline that asked, "Is Boulder a Homeless Magnet?"  My answer would be an unequivocal Yes.  Having been a user of public transit for the past eight years, and frequently riding on bus routes that stop at the Boulder Homeless Shelter, as well as many Homeless assistance programs, I have heard so many conversations about the easy hand-outs available in Boulder, that I am almost sick of it.  Believe it or not, I do feel deeply for the people who have lost their jobs and their homes due to the economy and other issues beyond their control.  But more than half of the homeless in Boulder have chosen to be homeless.  Sitting quietly on the bus, in my dowdy work clothes, I hear men and women talking about how they move from town to town, coast to coast, and which cities have the most lenient programs for give-aways of food, lodging, learning, clothing and medical assistance.  Some of these folks winter in Florida or Arizona, spend the Spring or Fall in Oregon or Washington state, and come spend the summer in Boulder.  It's astounding, if one opens their ears and listens.
  Finally, this Friday, at Pimlico, there will be a Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge series - seven of eight active Hall of Fame jockeys will compete in four races on 16 May for a prize of  $50,000.  (And I have the feeling that the prize money will be donated back into the Injured Jockeys Fund.)  The four races are the second, fourth, sixth and eighth races on the daily card, and the jockeys will accrue points for finishing in first through fourth place.  The jockeys who will participate are: Edgar Prado, Kent Desormeaux, Russell Baze, Mike Smith, Alexis Solis, Calvin Borel and John Velazquez....  With the Pimlico Special and the Black-Eyed Susan on the same day, I certainly wish I could be there!