I know it was a matter of public safety, and I can’t say I have an answer to how officials could have or should have handled the situation, but the shooting death of 49 wild animals brings me to tears.

I’m speaking of the situation in Ohio yesterday, where the owner of a 73-acre exotic animal farm opened all of the animal enclosures as well as the front gates, setting his collection of animals free, before shooting himself in the head. So what happened to these confused animals who suddenly wound up in places they were not permitted? They became the enemy. The wild beasts officials felt forced to slaughter.

It’s said the animals had remained close together, near the open gates of the farm. They were not on the attack.

But in fairness, who could know this for sure?

Even Jack Hanna – an animal lover I greatly admire – said officials had no choice. Night had fallen and the public safety concerns of the day had grown deeper.

I’m struggling with this. To see the bodies of these magnificent animals strewn upon the ground… it’s simply heartbreaking.

Why this man was allowed to own these animals is what baffles me. He had a criminal record. He’d been convicted of animal abuse for neglecting cattle on a hill he could not climb. He did not call for anyone to help and so they starved to death. Just this summer, he served time for weapons violations – 100 guns were found on his property. Add to that, the Ohio legislature’s failure to renew a law stating that people convicted of animal abuse or neglect could not own animals, and you have the makings for an avoidable disaster.

And that’s exactly what yesterday’s massacre was. An avoidable disaster.

Here is a more accurate take on that issue from MSN news -

An executive order issued by former Gov. Ted Strickland just days before he left office in January prohibited people convicted of animal cruelty from owning exotic animals. The administration of current Gov. John Kasich allowed the order to expire in April, noting concerns about its enforceability and its impact on small businesses.

There is nothing we can do about the heartbreaking events of yesterday. Those animals had no idea what was going on and died because some lowlife who ‘owned’ them set them “free”, knowing perfectly well what their fate would be.

However, there may be something we can do about other exotic animals. We can take a stand, as the Humane Society of the United States is urging, and see to it that laws about exotic animal ownership are changed and enforced – for the benefit of the public as well as the animals. You can do that by contacting the governor of Ohio or by sending your thoughts to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources via the link below. I’ve sent my thoughts. I can only hope you will send yours as well.

Contact the Department of Natural Resources

Ask the Ohio DNR to immediately issue emergency regulations restricting the sale and possession of dangerous wild animals.

Whatever we do, we cannot allow something like this happen again.

=================

EDITED – SATURDAY – OCTOBER 22, 2011

The Humane Society has just released a statement regarding Ohio Governor John Kasich’s lackluster response to the Exotic Animal Horror that occurred in his state because his administration failed to renew a law protecting the public and animals alike. The Humane Society’s statement, explanation and plea for help is here – Ohio’s Response Lacks Teeth.

=================

==
My thanks to Mrs. Dunne and the children of P.S. 31 for their rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Coalition forces have lost over 7,000 troops in Afghanistan and Iraq since the wars there started. And just this week alone, the US lost 30 troops in Afghanistan. It’s heartbreaking, devastating. Some – most – of those who perished were only 21 years of age. Young men and women sacrificing themselves in the name of hope, of peace, of freedom.

CNN has an interactive map showing the hometowns of fallen US soldiers. They’ve provided their names, their photographs, age, unit and more. There’s an option for family members and friends to add comments, to share memories of their beloved heroes. You should take a look at this map. It’s one thing to hear the number of casualties. It’s another to see the number of pinpoints that represent each of these men and women dotting the US map. Hover over a pinpoint and you will see the soldier we lost there. You will have a chance to get to know him or her in a small way. To acknowledge them. To see who they were, to put a face to each of the numbers.

The casualty maps are here – Casualties: Afghanistan and Iraq

Though we can never thank these soldiers or their families enough for the sacrifice they’ve made, we can honor their memory and we can celebrate the return of others who have watched their comrades die, who have seen horrors we cannot imagine and who have returned to the loving arms of their families.

As much as we grieve for those we’ve lost, we need to cheer for those who’ve come home. And we need to thank them all for the selfless, tireless, brave and determined strength they’ve displayed.

==
Flags photo copyright: Dan

Twenty-six years ago, this month, Bob Geldof organized, galvanized and revolutionized the music industry in a way that barreled news of famine in Africa into the hearts – and living rooms – of more than a billion people around the globe. LIVE AID was a phenomenal feat of tenacity, ego, determination and compassion. It helped.

But it didn’t solve the problem. In fact, the problem repeats itself.

I woke this morning unsure what I felt like having for breakfast. I checked the pantry. Checked the fridge. Chose an apple, put it back. Chose oatmeal. Changed my mind. Poured a second cup of coffee instead. I showered, put special conditioner in my hair – after all, it should be used weekly for bounce and shine. I picked up my iTouch and checked my email, played a couple rounds of Angry Birds.  Then I turned on my laptop to see what was going on locally and around the world, to check new status updates and tweets, to see what the weather will be since we’re supposed to hold a  yard sale today – selling our overflow to others willing to part with spare change.

And then I saw this image from The London Evening Post:

Famine has once again claimed the the weakest among us. Children. Babies. Animals. The elderly. Parents cannot provide for their families because they themselves have nothing to give. Severe drought has killed crops and livestock, leaving these people with nothing. And then, to compound the horror, militants prevent aid from reaching them.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released this statement about the situation:

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

July 20, 2011

---

The United States is deeply concerned by the humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa and today’s announcement by the United Nations that a famine is underway in parts of Somalia. The United States is the largest bilateral donor of emergency assistance to the eastern Horn of Africa. We have already responded with over $431 million in food and non-food emergency assistance this year alone.

But it is not enough — the need is only expected to increase and more must be done by the United States and the international community. That is why today the United States government is providing an additional $28 million in aid for people in Somalia and for Somali refugees in Kenya.

The eastern Horn of Africa is prone to chronic food insecurity which has been exacerbated by a two-year drought. Crops have dried up, livestock have died, and food prices have been skyrocketing. In Somalia, twenty years without a central government and the relentless terrorism by al-Shabaab against its own people has turned an already severe situation into a dire one that is only expected to get worse. Even so, we remain cautiously optimistic that al-Shabaab will permit unimpeded international assistance in famine struck areas.

The United States — in close coordination with the international community — is working to assist more than 11 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, who are in dire need of assistance. To anticipate growing needs, the United States government has worked with our partners over the last year to pre-position food in the region, increase funding for early warning systems, and strengthen non-food assistance in the feeding, health, water and sanitation sectors. In addition to emergency assistance, this administration’s Feed the Future program is working to break the cycle of hunger once and for all by addressing the root causes of hunger and food insecurity through innovative agricultural advances.

But the United States cannot solve the crisis in the Horn alone. All donors in the international community must commit to taking additional steps to tackle both immediate assistance needs and strengthen capacity in the region to respond to future crises.

PRN: 2011/1213

==

I don’t know how we can help these people and my heart aches because of it. But I know we can be more appreciative – and respectful – for what we have. We have options. Choices. Farmers markets, supermarkets, organic, non-organic. Gluten-free, low sodium, no trans-fats. Food – meat, vegetables, fruit, snacks – by the pound. It’s all much more expensive than it was not too long ago. But it’s there, convenient, safe and plentiful. The least we can do is take only what we need and give to those we know who don’t have.

I’m not trying to preach to anyone. I’m just trying to feel less guilty for having as much as I do while complaining it’s not enough.

The events in Norway are horrific, heartbreaking and incomprehensible. How a person can hold that much hate, contempt, disregard… I don’t even know what to call it… is unimaginable. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families as we try to understand how one person can feel justified in claiming the lives of so many.

Of course, it calls to mind the attacks of 9/11, 3/11 and others here in the States and around the world. It also reminds me of the Virginia Tech Massacre and how that assailant vied for attention – and got it – long after he’d been killed.

I can’t help wonder why news outlets feel the need to air the ramblings and rantings of attackers like these. The same happened/happens with Islamic terrorist videos. A new one comes out and it’s translated into every language, aired on TV and radio, uploaded to the internet and printed in newspapers, giving voice to these criminals. And now, the Norway attacker – whose name along with the other’s will not be mentioned here – wants to use his time in court as a platform to explain his actions.

Part of me wants to know why he did this while part of me doesn’t want to grant him the opportunity to tell us.

Of course, the public has the right to know what goes on inside the minds of people like this. We need to understand what causes a person to act this way so we can recognize the pattern should it appear in our lives. We also need to know what, if anything, we can do to prevent things from going this far.

But… I also feel the voices of these people should be silenced. That we should not give them the attention they so deeply crave. To deny them of that attention is, perhaps, the worst punishment of all. And that, I should add, is what the Norwegian courts are doing as of now by having a closed-door hearing for this man.

As you can see, I’m torn. So I wonder… how do you feel about this? Should murders – regardless of the size of their attacks – be permitted to share their story, their  rationale, with the world or should they be given only a small ‘audience’ of judge and jury?

Little Caylee Anthony caught our attention in July of 2008 when she was reported missing. We all watched the  news, hoping to hear something good – that this toddler had been found, unharmed, and returned to her loving family. Instead, we heard lies from her mother. Lies about a baby sitter, lies about a job. So many lies we couldn’t help but believe this mother was involved in the child’s disappearance.

We remained connected to the story. And then the news broke. A skull was located in a swampy area less than a mile from the Anthony home.

We all ‘knew’ Casey killed her little girl. We all knew Casey was a habitual liar and a party girl. A twenty-something saddled with a child who threw off her groove.

And now, as long into Casey’s trial as Caylee had been missing, we’re hearing closing arguments. I’ve watched some of the trial each day. I’ve nearly gagged on some of the absurd notions the defense has asked us to digest. The entire defense sounds like one Casey Anthony lie after another. And what lies they were. She made up people. She gave them jobs, illnesses, families, homes. She thought on the fly sometimes. Had other lies planned. She wove a tail a best-selling author would envy.

But there was one difference.

In fiction, we hope our readers will suspend disbelief as our stories sweep them into another world for three or four hundred pages. Casey’s fiction, with all its twists and turns, is meant to convince without question. In her fiction, fiction and truth overlap, meld, become a cohesive tale so intricately woven, one cannot help wonder how and why she lies so easily.

From my seat on the sofa, watching this trial, I have no doubt she’s guilty. The defense threw out a scenario of this child’s death but failed to follow up with details of what happened to her little body. If she drowned in the family pool as they said, and 911 was not called… what happened next? Where did they put her body? Instead of telling us this vital detail, they’ve blamed Casey’s father, her brother, her mother. Everyone else is a suspect.

But a suspect in what?

They said the child accidentally drowned in the pool. There’s nothing more to it than that except that they panicked and did not call for help and then disposed of Caylee’s body improperly. What is improper and how does it relate to how little Caylee was found?

It’s easy to question the defense – and the prosecution, I suppose – from my living room. But, if I were on the jury, hearing only what the jury is permitted to hear, would I feel the same way?

I don’t think so.

Just the closing arguments yesterday were enough to put doubt in my mind. This is a capital case, with the death penalty as punishment. You only vote guilty if the prosecution proves its case “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

I ‘know’ Casey Anthony committed a horrendous crime against her innocent little girl.  The prosecution, IMO, has presented a solid case proving that. But if I were a juror in this trial – unable to discuss the case with people I know, unable to listen as pundits hash out the details on TV – I’d have to raise my hand for “not guilty”.

What say you?

In walks a beautiful woman with poise, talent, a sense of humor and a quick wit. She’s tapped for a role in an American television show, packs her bags, gives goodbye kisses and heads to the big time. American fame. International fame.

Hold on!

What did she say? What? No, no, it’s not that she said something dreadful. It’s that she pronounced it dreadfully. Or so it is said.

So it goes for the beautiful Cheryl Cole – a star and sweetheart in her native England – who was chosen as a Judge on Simon Cowell’s The X Factor. She was a judge on the British version and so, I assume, it was logical to invite her to the states. But her presence was nixed before the show started, supposedly, because her accent is too high-country for us Americans to understand or appreciate.

“I don’t care how you treat me. I don’t mind your swearing at me.I shouldn’t mind a black eye; I’ve had one before this. But I won’t be passed over!” ~Eliza Doolittle

Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I love listening to accents from all over the world – and even from within my own country. Besides, who am I to talk about someone else’s accent when I speak Brooklyn? Fuggetaboudit.

Don’t you love the Geico gecko? Didn’t we all watch – and listen hard – to the Harry Potter movies? Weren’t some of the accents a tad thick? Didn’t you have to replay the DVD here and there for clarity? Did you mind? Seriously?

Now, I confess, I wanted to hear the Newcastle accent that cost this young woman a job. I admit, I really have to listen at times but no more so than I had to listen hard to my grandfather’s Sicilian accent. It is what it is. And, in my opinion, it’s not only interesting, it makes the world a little smaller. And I kinda like that.

What about you? Listen to these clips, tell me if you think her accent is too thick for an American audience or if you think there may be another reason this young lady was denied the job.

“The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.” ~ Eliza Doolittle

=======

Those who know me know I shy away from political controversies. <cough, cough> But when I heard this speech, from Michael Moore to the people of Wisconsin I realized it was too passionate, too important, too accurate to ignore. We either stand up and do something or we sit by and allow ourselves to be victims. The choice is ours and the choices we make at the voting booths will determine how free we truly are.

America Is NOT Broke

By Michael Moore

America is not broke.

Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you’ll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had, America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It’s just that it’s not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich.

Today just 400 Americans have the same wealth as half of all Americans combined.

Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer “bailout” of 2008, now have as much loot, stock and property as the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can’t bring yourself to call that a financial coup d’état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true.

And I can see why. For us to admit that we have let a small group of men abscond with and hoard the bulk of the wealth that runs our economy, would mean that we’d have to accept the humiliating acknowledgment that we have indeed surrendered our precious Democracy to the moneyed elite. Wall Street, the banks and the Fortune 500 now run this Republic — and, until this past month, the rest of us have felt completely helpless, unable to find a way to do anything about it.

I have nothing more than a high school degree. But back when I was in school, every student had to take one semester of economics in order to graduate. And here’s what I learned: Money doesn’t grow on trees. It grows when we make things. It grows when we have good jobs with good wages that we use to buy the things we need and thus create more jobs. It grows when we provide an outstanding educational system that then grows a new generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and thinkers who come up with the next great idea for the planet. And that new idea creates new jobs and that creates revenue for the state. But if those who have the most money don’t pay their fair share of taxes, the state can’t function. The schools can’t produce the best and the brightest who will go on to create those jobs. If the wealthy get to keep most of their money, we have seen what they will do with it: recklessly gamble it on crazy Wall Street schemes and crash our economy. The crash they created cost us millions of jobs.  That too caused a reduction in tax revenue. Everyone ended up suffering because of what the rich did.

The nation is not broke, my friends. Wisconsin is not broke. Saying that the country is broke is repeating a Big Lie. It’s one of the three biggest lies of the decade: 1) America is broke, 2) Iraq has WMD, and 3) The Packers can’t win the Super Bowl without Brett Favre.

The truth is, there’s lots of money to go around. LOTS. It’s just that those in charge have diverted that wealth into a deep well that sits on their well-guarded estates. They know they have committed crimes to make this happen and they know that someday you may want to see some of that money that used to be yours. So they have bought and paid for hundreds of politicians across the country to do their bidding for them. But just in case that doesn’t work, they’ve got their gated communities, and the luxury jet is always fully fueled, the engines running, waiting for that day they hope never comes. To help prevent that day when the people demand their country back, the wealthy have done two very smart things:

1. They control the message. By owning most of the media they have expertly convinced many Americans of few means to buy their version of the American Dream and to vote for their politicians. Their version of the Dream says that you, too, might be rich some day — this is America, where anything can happen if you just apply yourself! They have conveniently provided you with believable examples to show you how a poor boy can become a rich man, how the child of a single mother in Hawaii can become president, how a guy with a high school education can become a successful filmmaker. They will play these stories for you over and over again all day long so that the last thing you will want to do is upset the apple cart — because you — yes, you, too! — might be rich/president/an Oscar-winner some day! The message is clear: keep you head down, your nose to the grindstone, don’t rock the boat and be sure to vote for the party that protects the rich man that you might be some day.

2. They have created a poison pill that they know you will never want to take. It is their version of mutually assured destruction. And when they threatened to release this weapon of mass economic annihilation in September of 2008, we blinked. As the economy and the stock market went into a tailspin, and the banks were caught conducting a worldwide Ponzi scheme, Wall Street issued this threat: Either hand over trillions of dollars from the American taxpayers or we will crash this economy straight into the ground. Fork it over or it’s Goodbye savings accounts. Goodbye pensions. Goodbye United States Treasury. Goodbye jobs and homes and future. It was friggin’ awesome and it scared the shit out of everyone. “Here! Take our money! We don’t care. We’ll even print more for you! Just take it! But, please, leave our lives alone, PLEASE!”

The executives in the board rooms and hedge funds could not contain their laughter, their glee, and within three months they were writing each other huge bonus checks and marveling at how perfectly they had played a nation full of suckers. Millions lost their jobs anyway, and millions lost their homes. But there was no revolt (see #1).

Until now. On Wisconsin! Never has a Michigander been more happy to share a big, great lake with you! You have aroused the sleeping giant known as the working people of the United States of America. Right now the earth is shaking and the ground is shifting under the feet of those who are in charge. Your message has inspired people in all 50 states and that message is: WE HAVE HAD IT! We reject anyone who tells us America is broke and broken. It’s just the opposite! We are rich with talent and ideas and hard work and, yes, love. Love and compassion toward those who have, through no fault of their own, ended up as the least among us. But they still crave what we all crave: Our country back! Our democracy back! Our good name back! The United States of America. NOT the Corporate States of America. The United States of America!

So how do we make this happen? Well, we do it with a little bit of Egypt here, a little bit of Madison there. And let us pause for a moment and remember that it was a poor man with a fruit stand in Tunisia who gave his life so that the world might focus its attention on how a government run by billionaires for billionaires is an affront to freedom and morality and humanity.

Thank you, Wisconsin. You have made people realize this was our last best chance to grab the final thread of what was left of who we are as Americans. For three weeks you have stood in the cold, slept on the floor, skipped out of town to Illinois — whatever it took, you have done it, and one thing is for certain: Madison is only the beginning. The smug rich have overplayed their hand. They couldn’t have just been content with the money they raided from the treasury. They couldn’t be satiated by simply removing millions of jobs and shipping them overseas to exploit the poor elsewhere. No, they had to have more — something more than all the riches in the world. They had to have our soul. They had to strip us of our dignity. They had to shut us up and shut us down so that we could not even sit at a table with them and bargain about simple things like classroom size or bulletproof vests for everyone on the police force or letting a pilot just get a few extra hours sleep so he or she can do their job — their $19,000 a year job. That’s how much some rookie pilots on commuter airlines make, maybe even the rookie pilot who flew me here to Madison today. He told me he’s stopped hoping for a pay increase. All he’s asking for now is enough down time so that he doesn’t have to sleep in his car between shifts at O’Hare airport. That’s how despicably low we have sunk! The wealthy couldn’t be content with just paying this man $19,000 a year. They had to take away his sleep. They had to demean him and dehumanize him and rub his face in it. After all, he’s just another slob, isn’t he?

And that, my friends, is Corporate America’s fatal mistake. But trying to destroy us they have given birth to a movement — a movement that is becoming a massive, nonviolent revolt across the country. We all knew there had to be a breaking point some day, and that point is upon us. Many people in the media don’t understand this. They say they were caught off guard about Egypt, never saw it coming. Now they act surprised and flummoxed about why so many hundreds of thousands have come to Madison over the last three weeks during brutal winter weather. “Why are they all standing out there in the cold?” I mean, there was that election in November and that was supposed to be that!

“There’s something happening here, and you don’t know what it is, do you …?”

America ain’t broke! The only thing that’s broke is the moral compass of the rulers. And we aim to fix that compass and steer the ship ourselves from now on. Never forget, as long as that Constitution of ours still stands, it’s one person, one vote, and it’s the thing the rich hate most about America — because even though they seem to hold all the money and all the cards, they begrudgingly know this one unshakeable basic fact: There are more of us than there are of them!

Madison, do not retreat.  We are with you. We will win together.

===================

I love the look of my original blog. All of my favorite items were there – pictures of my precious pets, my favorite entertainer and my sweet shelter babies. But, I also love the look of this new blog. Warm and homey, it reminds me of a good book, the kind you take with you as you snuggle in for an evening.

I hope my new blog, with its new look, makes you feel welcomed and at ease. I also hope to stop by here regularly. Yes, I’ve been away for a while, only stopping in occasionally over the past couple of months. Maybe the more I come by, the more you will come by as well, and we can chat.

Until then, know I’m behind the scenes trying to work out the kinks still lingering in this new location… and I’m working on my next page turner.

But of course. What else would I be doing, anyway?

the answer to my last post is… “Kris”.

I found the entire show stunning. A little scary at times, I mean KISS all these years later, and Rod Stewart!? Well, I just didn’t know what to expect. They pulled it off, though, didn’t they? Carlos Santana… well, what can I say? THERE’s the man. But the stunner of all stunners for me was QUEEN! Yes. I’m an avid fan. In my opinion, Adam Lambert is the closest Brian and Roger will get to someone whose range is as impressive as the late, great Freddie Mercury.

Alas…

Adam is not the American Idol.

Who can say why the votes went the other way. Kris, is absolutely adorable and he certainly held his own tonight, but push to shove, Adam’s voice soars miles above. There is no doubt. So, it can’t be his voice that didn’t sway the public. Could it be his supposed lifestyle? Are we STILL that backward? Or was it simply the opinion that he wasn’t as good as young, sweet-smiling Kris?

Though I find the last one hard to believe, I guess we’ll never know for sure. One thing we can guarantee, however, is Adam will not fade to black. Without being bound by American Idol contracts as Idol, he will produce his own music and continue to sing his heart out.

Well, I’m not all that upset. Kris, after all, is fun to watch. So all in all, tonight was in fact a win-win night.

Now if all that’s true… why don’t I feel happy?

I have to say, I love both of these guys.

I think Kris is the most adorable guy I’ve seen on TV in a very long time. When he sings, I have to smile. He’s just so dang charismatic.

Adam, on the other hand, doesn’t make me smile as much as gasp. He’s stunning in his confidence and range.

Okay… so tonight’s the night. One of those two will be crowned the American Idol of 2009. They’re both deserving, in my opinion, but since only one can be crowned… my vote goes to…

Well… let’s break it down…

Kris is sweet. He’s charming and adorable. He’s got a killer smile and an attitude that brings out the mothering instinct in me. His arrangements are fantastic, taking the old and making it fresh while keeping it familiar and classic. That’s a knack not every artist has. So, kudos to him.

[clearspring_widget title="Kris Allen: "Heartless"" wid="49e3b4acb258ffb9" pid="4a1400dfa9f90fa6" width="335" height="351" domain="widgets.clearspring.com"]

Adam is a force. He comes onto the stage and simply commands it. I. Am. Here. His voice is amazingly powerful and covers a range like few others. In fact, one other artist comes to mind when I hear Adam sing – the incomperable Freddie Mercury. Adam, like Freddie, has a way of making a song sound so easy and yet when you try to sing along, or when you hear another artist try to sing the same piece, and wind up gasping for air or having voice cracks and cringe-worthy pitchiness throughout – you realize the raw talent behind the master.

[clearspring_widget title="Adam Lambert: "I Can't Get No Satisfaction"" wid="49e3b4acb258ffb9" pid="4a14077000217815" width="335" height="351" domain="widgets.clearspring.com"]

The Idol crown, in my opinion, will crush the delicate though talented Kris Allen. Adam, on the other hand, will stand yet taller than he is with it set upon his head. So, yes, my vote goes to Adam. However, I’m pretty certain both men, winner and runner-up, will have plenty of opportunites ahead and long careers in music well after the glow of American Idol has faded.

That is the questions, isn’t it?

There just isn’t enough time. There’s so much to say but hardly time to say it. I don’t know how time imploded but, somehow, for me, it did. I find myself rising earlier and earlier each morning, feeding my cats – mine and my foster babies who will remain with me until Mother’s day when they go to their new adoptive home – and then the rush is on. Before I know it, I’m washing the dinner dishes and preparing for bed.

It’s good, I suppose. It means we’re doing a lot with our days. But there doesn’t seem to be time to do some of the more personal things I enjoy – like writing. Whether here or on my story. For some reason, everything writing-related has been pushed aside. I will get back to it, and I will wonder what happened that caused me to stop writing in the first place. But, for now, I must let this blog alone and focus on stretching the hours in my days.

I’ve had a wonderful time here. I’ve loved reading other blogs and commenting. I’ve enjoyed “knowing” my blogging friends. I hope you’re all still putting your heartfelt words out there for others to read and I so hope to join you in that endeavor again.

Until then, thank you for being my online buddies. Thanks for the encouragement when I needed it. And thanks for sharing your own lives here and on your personal blogs. You’ve been my online fun and I know once I close up shop here, I’ll want to come back again full steam.

Because goodbyes are so very difficult, I want to leave you with a smile. As an animal lover AND a Queen fan, this video made me laugh aloud. I hope it will do the same for you. Enjoy!

 [youtube="http://www.youtube.com/v/cJOZp2ZftCw&hl=en]

See you all soon.

He will be missed.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/bUgT81FMBn8&hl=en]

We all know an Avon Lady. I’ll bet we all know several Avon Ladies. But do you know about the Avon Foundation? The Avon Foundation has been around for more than 50 years and it’s dedicated to “improving the lives of women and their families”. Their attention is mainly on breast cancer awareness and treatments, and domestic violence issues.

Until this morning, I was unaware of the extent of their work. Through sales of Avon’s Pink Ribbon products, funds have gone to breast cancer research, patient care and support and even food delivery services for those at home too ill to care for themselves. I was so impressed with the list of programs Avon has been involved with that I felt I had to share the information here.

Today, I will be ordering this -

It’s a breast cancer crusade memo pad – it’s inexpensive, goes for a great cause and what writer doesn’t need another jotter?

I will also be ordering this -

Actress, Reese Witherspoon is the spokesperson for Avon’s Women’s Empowerment Fund and she had this to say about this bracelet -

“As honorary chair of the Avon Foundation, I’m very excited to introduce Avon’s first global charity product designed to save and improve women’s lives worldwide.

Purchase the Women’s Empowerment Bracelet for yourself and your friends. It’s a symbol of unity that represents a future without limitations for all women. It represents everything I love about this company.”

I hope you will consider ordering one of Avon’s fundraising products for yourself and for your friends. To show you how much I hope you will do this, I’m giving away one item to a lucky someone who comments on this post. I’ll pick a random commenter by Friday and as soon as I recieve your contact information, I will send this item directly to you -

We must stand together in the fight against disease and domestic violence. This is one simple way to start the process, is it not?

“A skinny black kid from the south side of Chicago” vs. a former first lady… and the ‘skinny black kid’ wins.

Forget where your allegiance lies, this is history.

When Obama and Clinton had their first solo debate we made sure we taped it – to preserve the moment. They were the only candidates left standing and the debate between them - a woman and a black man – was the first in our history. Imagine how it would be if Obama actually chose Clinton as his running mate. There would be no turning back from that forward motion. Young girls – black and white – would be witness to the shattering of that glass ceiling. Indeed, they’ve already witnessed it’s weakening.

But is America, as a whole, ready for a black president? A female president – or vice president? Where I come from, the answer is a resounding, “YES!” Alas, as it’s been pointed out to people from my neck of the woods, New York is not the world and so we must consider the desires of those in the rest of our country. Imagine.

I think it’s safe to say a huge majority of Americans are – and have been – ready for a major change in our leadership. So, assume for a moment Obama and/or Clinton share your political views… or, if you’d rather, imagine a nameless black or female candidate. Do you think this country is ready for that kind of change? Or do you think people will panic at the last moment and vote for the status quo?