I love all creatures - all animals - and I definitely cry and grieve when a pet is lost. On the other side, I also enjoy eating meat, along with fruits, grains, and vegetables. I like red meat and white meat. Some animals are raised for eating, and others are not. I was brought up understanding this, and I always include whatever I'm eating in my mealtime prayer - thanking it for supplying me with food, to continue my life. I love my two cats as much as I would love a child; they are my intimate companions.
I have known a lot of people who have never connected, on a personal level, with anything other than another human, or with a machine (some men and their cars or trucks). I have been asked many times, why do you care so much about animals? They are just that - animals. My response is that someone needs to care somewhere at sometime. I don't relate well to people with no feelings or any empathy for other living things. Animals feel fear, hunger, want and need - even if they don't use those terms. We humans are animals, supposedly the most highly evolved species on our planet. If we can't care for other creatures, who are supposed to be less intelligent than we are, are we really "human?"
I was appalled to read about a 12-year-old horse in Alabama - she was found early one morning by her young owner, on the ground, covered in blood. She had been stabbed in the neck 8 times, and one of the cuts had nicked her jugular vein. Besides the stab wounds, the mare's wonderful, long chestnut mane had been hacked off. Ruby was lucky to survive the attack; she had lost a lot of blood, and ended up spending two weeks at the veterinarian's stable block. She lost a lot of weight, was dehydrated, and depressed. Once she was returned to her home pasture and barn, she began to heal and make much better physical progress. In the meantime, it has been decided that all horses at that barn will have very short, if not roached, manes, because the sheriff cannot guarantee that this is an isolated incident.
Here in Boulder, I was shocked to read that the police had been called to a house on University Hill, where they found blood splatters all over the front porch, the front door, and the front of the house. It was the blood of a raccoon. Neighbors reported the young man living there was "beating something that screamed" with a stick or bat. The young man admitted to killing the raccoon with a baseball bat, and gave the bat to the police as evidence. He told police that he had "wanted the hide", and that when the raccoon hadn't died with the first blow, he felt remorse - but he continued to bludgeon it to death. He took the police to a very raw and poorly cut raccoon skin that was covered under a layer of rock salt. How can a person - a grown man - with "human" feelings do such a thing?
I have killed a deer for food. I have killed rattlesnakes after they struck and poisoned horses, cats, and dogs. I have performed a few "mercy killings" - a young rabbit with a broken back that was keening terribly, a young chicken that a dog had attacked, and ripped off both legs and a wing. But I killed those two quickly, and to prevent further suffering while the animal awaited an unpleasant death. I killed the deer in season, with a hunting permit, for venison. I admit I killed the rattlers in revenge and anger, and to rid the property of a poisonous, deadly snake. - But to kill because I "wanted a hide?" To stab an innocent horse while removing it's protection from flies? Those actions are not right or moral.
As I get older, I wonder more and more about our younger generations - do they regard living organisms with any type of respect? Or, in this age of iPhones and iPods and iPads, does the younger generation see every living thing as something to be used (to their satisfaction) and then thrown away?
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Photos Saluting All Veterans
*** These photos are from the archives of the United States Armed Services ***
Berths for enlisted men in the Navy 1898
Mascots with the sewing group on the USS New York in 1900
Grand Army of the Republic, New York Post 160, Cazenovia, about 1900
US Army, Company E, 9th Cavalry in San Francisco before embarking to fight in the Philippines, 1900
The U S Merchant Marine - proudly serving in war and peace since 1775
US Marines in Peking, China during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900
Officers and crew on unknown US Coast Guard cutter, circa 1901
Midair refueling of an F Raptor by the US Air Force
The United States of America - Home of the Free Because of the Brave
Veteran's Day
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 1918 AD, an armistice, or temporary cease fire agreement, began between the countries at war - Germany and the Allied nations. At the time, World War I was regarded as "the great war" and "the war to end all wars." If only this were so. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 to be the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations. ...."
The original concept of the day was for a celebration of parades and public meetings, with a brief cessation of all business at 11 a.m. In 1926, the United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution that 11 November be celebrated by displaying the American flag prominently on all governmental buildings, and that people celebrate the day with friendly relations to all other peoples. In 1938 Armistice Day became a legal holiday in the US. It was a day we celebrated those who fought and died for our country in World War I.
Then came World War II and the Korean War. In 1954, Congress agreed to strike out the word Armistice in the resolution of 1926, and change the word to Veterans. We have had our military personnel serve all over the world during times of war and times of peace since then. We are still involved in armed conflict on this very day. Members of my family have served in the military as far back as I have been able to trace, and I am extremely proud of their service to this country. Many never returned home, and still lie in unmarked graves, or have had their bones scattered by scavengers as the ages, centuries, and years have past. I am still proud of them.
We live in a great nation, founded on great and high-sounding and proud beliefs. But these beliefs must be paid for by those who serve our country in our military - from nurse and doctor, cook and raw recruit, enlisted men and officers, computer programmers to entrenchment diggers - all of these people, from every walk of life, serving in every capacity, are willing and sworn to give their life's blood to protect me and this nation. That is a humbling realization.
I thank all of the people who are serving, have served, and have given their lives to protect my freedom and my own personal way of life. Blessings upon all of you.
The original concept of the day was for a celebration of parades and public meetings, with a brief cessation of all business at 11 a.m. In 1926, the United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution that 11 November be celebrated by displaying the American flag prominently on all governmental buildings, and that people celebrate the day with friendly relations to all other peoples. In 1938 Armistice Day became a legal holiday in the US. It was a day we celebrated those who fought and died for our country in World War I.
Then came World War II and the Korean War. In 1954, Congress agreed to strike out the word Armistice in the resolution of 1926, and change the word to Veterans. We have had our military personnel serve all over the world during times of war and times of peace since then. We are still involved in armed conflict on this very day. Members of my family have served in the military as far back as I have been able to trace, and I am extremely proud of their service to this country. Many never returned home, and still lie in unmarked graves, or have had their bones scattered by scavengers as the ages, centuries, and years have past. I am still proud of them.
We live in a great nation, founded on great and high-sounding and proud beliefs. But these beliefs must be paid for by those who serve our country in our military - from nurse and doctor, cook and raw recruit, enlisted men and officers, computer programmers to entrenchment diggers - all of these people, from every walk of life, serving in every capacity, are willing and sworn to give their life's blood to protect me and this nation. That is a humbling realization.
I thank all of the people who are serving, have served, and have given their lives to protect my freedom and my own personal way of life. Blessings upon all of you.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Salina, Colorado Clean-Up Photos
These photos were taken yesterday, 9 November, by Jeremy Papasso, a photo-journalist for The Boulder Daily Camera newspaper. They show the clean up efforts that volunteers and residents performed in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, almost two months after the historic 100 Year Flood in September. Just a reminder that we are still digging out and cleaning up out here...
Volunteer Oren Gordon helps clear out flood debris from the bed of Four Mile Creek near Gold Run Road in Salina.
Resident Eric Stevens (left, with chain saw) is assisted by volunteer Paul Rockwood, from the Mormon's Helping Hands LDS group, clearing the creek bed.
Volunteers gather tree debris and trash from a flood path area in Salina.
Two hours work resulted in this pile of debris along Gold Run Road in Salina.
Volunteer Vicki Reynolds drags a tree limb to a debris pile for pick-up, in Salina on Saturday.
Dolphins, Whales, & the Philippines
I've been watching the trail of dead bottle-nose dolphins, or porpoises, slowly move down the east coast. Current numbers say that at least 753 dolphins have died from a measles-like virus that is slowly spreading through the migrating pods. Dead dolphins are now being found along the coast of Florida, and after five whale carcasses have also tested positive for the virus, scientists fear that the virus might be spreading through our air breathing, but water living, friends. Recently, three humpback whale and two pygmy whale bodies have been found on east coast beaches that are positive for the measles-like dolphin killing virus. If you are on the water, or at the beach, and notice a dolphin or whale that is behaving in an unusual manner, please contact the NOAA Hotline at 1-877-WhaleHelp. Do not approach the animal, and do not allow your pets near it either - it might be contagious. We need to help these wonderful aquatic creatures.
The landing of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines brings back memories of Hurricane Camille for me. Camille hit the coast with winds of 190 mph; Yolanda hit the islands at 195 mph. Camille then had to fall apart over the mainland of the United States; Haiyan crossed the sea again and is approaching another landfall in Viet Nam. Ouch. Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones happen all over the world - and they are very destructive. If you live on, or near the coast, or worse - on an island - you are pretty much at the mercy of whatever Mother Nature throws at you.
Here in the US, we can easily look at video and photos of the devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. You can look at the effects of flooding here in Colorado less than two months ago, on 12 September, when we had our 100 Year Flood. (We just had another all-day volunteer work party to clean up one of the mountain towns, Salina, yesterday.) Compared to the average citizen of the Philippine islands, we are rich, even if our income is below "poverty level" by US standards. I'm afraid that these poor citizens - of all of the Philippine islands - will stay in the incredible limbo that the people of Haiti are still in, after their devastating earthquake.
Please, if you can afford to donate anything, please give to the American Red Cross. You can say that your donation is for the survivors of Haiyan in the Philippines, or for those left homeless in Viet Nam. I have just enough to get by this month, as I took a 5-day trip to Oklahoma City last month; but, any excess money that I earn this month will be donated to the Red Cross, as soon as I get it. Why? Because they do good work for every person on this earth!
The landing of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines brings back memories of Hurricane Camille for me. Camille hit the coast with winds of 190 mph; Yolanda hit the islands at 195 mph. Camille then had to fall apart over the mainland of the United States; Haiyan crossed the sea again and is approaching another landfall in Viet Nam. Ouch. Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones happen all over the world - and they are very destructive. If you live on, or near the coast, or worse - on an island - you are pretty much at the mercy of whatever Mother Nature throws at you.
Here in the US, we can easily look at video and photos of the devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. You can look at the effects of flooding here in Colorado less than two months ago, on 12 September, when we had our 100 Year Flood. (We just had another all-day volunteer work party to clean up one of the mountain towns, Salina, yesterday.) Compared to the average citizen of the Philippine islands, we are rich, even if our income is below "poverty level" by US standards. I'm afraid that these poor citizens - of all of the Philippine islands - will stay in the incredible limbo that the people of Haiti are still in, after their devastating earthquake.
Please, if you can afford to donate anything, please give to the American Red Cross. You can say that your donation is for the survivors of Haiyan in the Philippines, or for those left homeless in Viet Nam. I have just enough to get by this month, as I took a 5-day trip to Oklahoma City last month; but, any excess money that I earn this month will be donated to the Red Cross, as soon as I get it. Why? Because they do good work for every person on this earth!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Giggles, Groupie Doll, & Veteran's Day
I was awakened this morning at 5:50 by a very loud burst of giggling by females. I am still unsure of their location at that time - next to me? Next to me and up a floor? I just snuggled back down under the covers, but the couple above me got up and banged on their walls and floor, which also kept me awake. The giggling went on, in fits and starts, until 6:20, when I got up. After caring for my kits, I walked to the bakery and got a fresh bagel - and I heard the laughter as I left the building, and when I returned. I'm glad someone was up and feeling all giggly this morning - I could make out five distinct voices, so I guess a group of friends over-nighted partying, and just returned home. Things became very quiet again after 7:15 today.
My kits are running in and out this morning - Lovey used to be the one who stayed close to home in the morning, while Nedi rambled. Nedi is sticking near the apartment now, while Lovey disappears for long periods. It's always interesting with the kits around. Saw my shrink yesterday and got my meds renewed - have to take the prescriptions to the pharmacy later today to get them on file. I'm not looking forward to Wednesday morning, when I'll be 12 hours fasting for my blood work, and then have to face Dr Guthrie. It would be nice if I could have a "Principle Care Physician" that I liked.... She always makes me feel as if I'm a very disgusting specimen on an overgrown Petri dish....
There's nice news about Groupie Doll, the mare who won the Breeders Cup Fillies and Mares Sprint. She was sold at Fasig-Tipton for $3.1 million to Mandy Pope earlier this week. Mandy had Dr Larry Bramlage do a thorough check of the mare, and, as she is totally sound and in perfect health, has decided to return Groupie Doll to the race track. She returned to her previous trainer, who was also a previous part-owner, on Friday. Ms Pope had purchased the mare with the intent of breeding her only, but after speaking with the first owners, and Dr Bramlage, she decided to have the mare continue to run, as long as she is healthy and interested in racing.
If I were on Chincoteague today, I'd be joining the folks from the American Legion who are placing American flags on the graves of those people who served our country. I read this morning that the Eastern Shore of Maryland is paying special attention to those who served in the War of 1812... Of course, Chincoteague is in Virginia, but I know of two War of 1812 veterans who are buried in Redmens Cemetery on Taylor Street - both are my great-great-grandfathers.
My kits are running in and out this morning - Lovey used to be the one who stayed close to home in the morning, while Nedi rambled. Nedi is sticking near the apartment now, while Lovey disappears for long periods. It's always interesting with the kits around. Saw my shrink yesterday and got my meds renewed - have to take the prescriptions to the pharmacy later today to get them on file. I'm not looking forward to Wednesday morning, when I'll be 12 hours fasting for my blood work, and then have to face Dr Guthrie. It would be nice if I could have a "Principle Care Physician" that I liked.... She always makes me feel as if I'm a very disgusting specimen on an overgrown Petri dish....
There's nice news about Groupie Doll, the mare who won the Breeders Cup Fillies and Mares Sprint. She was sold at Fasig-Tipton for $3.1 million to Mandy Pope earlier this week. Mandy had Dr Larry Bramlage do a thorough check of the mare, and, as she is totally sound and in perfect health, has decided to return Groupie Doll to the race track. She returned to her previous trainer, who was also a previous part-owner, on Friday. Ms Pope had purchased the mare with the intent of breeding her only, but after speaking with the first owners, and Dr Bramlage, she decided to have the mare continue to run, as long as she is healthy and interested in racing.
If I were on Chincoteague today, I'd be joining the folks from the American Legion who are placing American flags on the graves of those people who served our country. I read this morning that the Eastern Shore of Maryland is paying special attention to those who served in the War of 1812... Of course, Chincoteague is in Virginia, but I know of two War of 1812 veterans who are buried in Redmens Cemetery on Taylor Street - both are my great-great-grandfathers.
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