Where Am I?

I spoke for quite a while with my long-time friend Carolyn (in Florida) last night. This morning, it's already 83 degrees at 8:30 in the morning. Where am am? Florida or Colorado? Actually, the humidity (at only 53%) answers the question easily; but I've grown accustomed to cooler temperatures so far this summer. - Yep, I'm whining. - The kits are lying in the shade outside , and definitely not soaking up sunshine on the concrete. I hope they acclimate to this weeks heat quickly. Me? I'm drinking lots of water, a glass of Gatorade a day, and eating lots of Jell0 and fresh fruits and veggies. As I don't have air conditioning, I'm using the stove as little as possible. ... Let's see, I'll say "Happy Birthday" today to Patrick Stewart, Harrison Ford, and Cheech Marin. And I guess I'll say a quiet "farewell" to George Steinbrenner - I met him at the Ocala Breeders Sales almost 30 years ago (my friend, Bobby Anderson DVM, introduced us), and Bobby informed us that we both liked the same horses that were for sale. We three had a snack and chatted about horses - and Mr. Steinbrenner was absolutely charming, once it was established that I would not be bidding on any of the yearlings I liked.
Yesterday, while walking the Rs past an abandoned and overgrown home lot, we heard a loud thump and then what sounded like a young fox crying and yipping piteously. We were three houses down from Kathy and Jim's and I could hear still the critter crying when I asked Jim to come help me find it and figure out what was wrong. He agreed, but had to finish a phone call first. By the time we got back to the property there was no sound, and even though we looked around, covering about 90% of the property, we didn't see anything out of the ordinary (other than the skeleton remains of several cats and raccoons). I felt like a fool, but I know that I did not imagine the sounds of pain and fear - Remy and Rosie really wanted to go investigate it, themselves. Oh, well.... I tried.
I realize that if I ignore the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it will not go away. But if I concentrate on it, I want to explode with both anger and frustration. While channel-hopping on the TV, I cannot help seeing video showing gobs of thick, viscous oil in the water, on beaches, covering marine creatures and birds, in marshlands, and pouring out of that blasted oil well - and it makes me very angry. For the past 400 years, my family has been tied to the earth by being a combination of farmers and watermen - farmers in England, Denmark, Maine, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Virginia; watermen in England, Denmark, Sweden, Maine, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Currently, we seem to be looking at how this massive oil spill hits the individual and businesses in the US. This oil spill is affecting the entire world - not just the Gulf coast, even though they are bearing the brunt of this first wave of pollution. I wish that more people would see the whole picture, and that we will soon be able to shut down this monster that our own greed has created.

Angry, Upset, and .... ARGH!

It's a gorgeous day out, and the weather folks say it will continue that way for the next four days. Lovey is doing well; Rosie and Remy are OK, but missing their walks; and Steve and Indi seem to be doing very well. I'm OK. But events that I have no control over have me angry and upset. Which events? (1) The continuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and BP's extremely lame excuses and inability to close their well-head. (And then I had to laugh when Rand Paul stated that President Obama's criticism of BP was un-American. - Doesn't Paul understand that BP stands for British Petroleum?) I am just totally disgusted with the whole thing - and very worried about all of the fragile habitats, and all of the flora and fauna, along any bit of coastline that has to deal with the effects of billions of barrels of crude oil. I am angry and afraid for people who may lose their way of life on the water, and for all of the creatures that will suffer (and are already suffering) from this horrific accident. (2) I am angry about the state of Arizona's immigration stand. I am not saying that we should open America's borders wholesale; but I feel that the way Arizona's law was written is very much like the Jim Crow laws of the Old South (I grew up in Florida and Virginia). Any Arizonan officer of the law can legally stop someone for their appearance, and check their identity and background, just because they look Hispanic. That just goes entirely against the grain of America being "the home of the free." I do realize that the US is "currently in a war against terrorism" - but, please tell me, how many of the terrorist suspects being held by the US are of Hispanic descent? And most of the southwestern United States have 300 to 400 years of historical ties to Mexico and Spain.... so where is the cut-off line? How would one decide who looks Hispanic and who doesn't? - I just don't get it.... (3) The Sunday before Easter, a twelve-year-old girl, who lived in the town of Greeley, Colorado, decided to walk (with her parents permission) to her friend's birthday party, being held about a mile away, at the friend's home. The young lady never arrived. It was hoped that she might be a run-away, but there had been no hint of a reason for it. Her body was found two days ago, in a drainage ditch, not very far from her own home. Police have confirmed it is definitely a murder investigation. I am angry and upset about this, too. I do realize that "times have changed" since I was a child... But I am still shocked that a young person in a small town can be so mercilessly done away with, on her way to a birthday party. It is stupefying. It is terribly frightening. For me, it seems completely un-real.
If there is something that you want at Barnes & Noble, but have been putting off purchasing it, B&N has a 30%-off sale for on-line orders through Sunday, May 23rd. This is coupon for use on only one item that is at regular price. If you wish to do this, the coupon code to enter for your order is Y3V4U3X ... It has been announced that both Setsuko and Dublin will not be running in the Belmont Stakes on June 5. ... And, I wrote in my blog about the falls of Kent Desormeaux and Julian Leparoux during the running of the Black-Eyed Susans Stakes, the day prior to the Preakness. Julian L has continued to have some back pain since his fall, and finally had an MRI done. He's been riding since the accident with a compression fracture of his T-8, in the middle of his spine. He will be off horses for the next 2 to 3 weeks. And Calvin Borel will be off his scheduled mounts, due to an eye infection, until Saturday or Sunday.
I hope you have a great weekend!