That dumb dog...stupid bird (Animal Intelligence)

First: Why Animals Don't Get Their Due

There are many humans among us that continue to refuse to appreciate and respect animals around us.  We first must acknowledge that many people participate in 'leveling' others.  I am not going to go into the psychology of leveling in this blog, but it does serve at least a couple purposes for the person doing such activity.  First, a person of good moral fiber would never try to level an individual who is obviously lesser in some way than the individual doing the leveling.  Other than to satisfy a severe need to climb a hierarchy, no matter how pathetic it is, a person would have no real need to level someone already lower than himself.  The other most obvious reason is, "There is something in that guy that I can't stand about myself." Many people go about their daily lives, attempting to degrade singers, musicians, artists, designers, etc, while there is a really good chance that the person being degraded has exponentially more talent than the person doing the degrading, thus the need for the lesser person to bring the greater person to his level.  The farther apart two people are in talent, ability, financial status (and the list goes on for quite a while!), the harder the lesser person will try to close that gap.

Back to the animals.

When a person degrades an animal's intelligence, it is most likely because the human 'degrader' is threatened because that animal must might be (read: IS!) more regal, intelligent and creative than the assailant.   Because  the person that feels threatened is already in denial about the animal's intelligence, any additional show of intelligence on the animal's part would be a moot attempt.  Basically, the animal is defenseless against such an attack, making an easier target for someone who must so this leveling in order to make himself (or herself) feel better about living in their own skin.

As a segway, no amount of leveling will appease such a need.  You need to do things to make yourself feel better. That is the only solution to your problem.  Good people do not feel bad about themselves.

KANZI - the Bonodo!    

The first clip in this blog is about Kanzi, a bonobo.  A bonobo is a chimpanzee relative.  They are not kept in zoos for reasons that you will discover in this clip.  I have the issue of Time Magazine that Oprah is talking about, "What Animals Think" from Time Magazine.  In this article, a reporter arrives to do an interview with Kanzi and his trainer.  Upon his arrival at the facility, Kanzi signals to the lab supervisor, Tyler Romine, "Get us some coffee."  The Tyler retrieves 4 cups of coffee, one for Sue, the primatologist in the following clip, one for himself, one for the reporter - and one for Kanzi.

After a few minutes of the interview, Kanzi decided that he wanted to play a game with Finlay, the reporter.  Kanzi tells him to go into another room and get a ball to play the game with him.  Finlay is not familiar with this facility, and he takes a bit longer than anticipated to retrieve the ball.  When he walks back into the room with the ball, he asks Kanzi, "Are you ready?"  Kanzi answers him, "I'm past ready!"

Let's take a look at the cognitive steps needed for that simple exchange, alone (Just the "playing ball" concept - I don't think I need to cover the "Get us all coffee" concept!)

1) Kanzi wanted to do a fun activity with a visitor.
2) Kanzi asked the visitor to retrieve a tool (the ball) needed to play the game.
3) Kanzi had to wait (a complicated concept, in itself) for the reporter to return.
4) When the reporter asked him, "Are you ready?" and he answered, "I'm past ready!" , that exchange covers another group, all into itself, of complicated thought processes.
     a) A sense of time passing.
     b) "I am waiting to BEGIN something."
     c) "I know how long it would take the average person to go into a room and get a ball, and you took longer than that!" - an advanced sense of time.
     d) I am getting impatient! (impatient, meaning he has to be aware of this particular emotion, and he knows how to describe it!)

This is Kanzi, as seen on the Oprah show:

Slow + lettuce = Kale
Big + water = a flood he had seen on TV - the flood in Iowa
Bread + Cheese + tomato = pizza

That is not random stuff.

This episode of Oprah also features people who help raise orphaned baby elephants.  The woman that started this elephant refuge said that a few years ago, she had to take a short business trip. It was while she was gone that one of the baby elephants in her care grieved himself to death, because she was gone.  Grieving over an absent individual is a higher cognitive thought process.  She says that after that loss, she has learned to have her assistants stay with the babies, on a rotating schedule so that no baby elephant becomes attached to any individual person.  When I say STAY, I mean STAY.  These keepers sleep in a loft just overhead of the sleeping baby elephants. Each baby elephant is individually put to bed: He has his own pillow, and is covered up with a blanket.

When these elephants reach the age that they can fend for themselves, they are released into the wild. Yet, when "past orphans" have babies of their own, they will always return to the camp to show this wonderful lady their new baby.  When the proud new mother reaches the camp, the other elephants at the camp put their trunks over the baby, as if to hug and welcome him into their world.  The keeper also tells the story of a young female elephant who was shot with arrows from an idiot poacher.  She was able to walk, and she walked back to the facility.  She alerted the keeper that she had a problem, and laid down on the ground so the staff could remove the painful arrows from her body.

Elephants also mourn (another advanced cognitive thought process!) other dead elephants. If the elephant has recently passed, they move their trunks over the body, and visibly mourn this passing.  If they happen upon the bones of an elephant, they will explore the skull, and identify the individual that passed.  Once again, they mourn.  There is far more to the intelligence and cognitive abilities for each of these animals, and these are just a few of the many available examples.

ALEX - the African Grey Parrot   

I have an African Grey Parrot (Conrad), myself.  I cry huge tears every time I watch the end of this video.

I do have to take issue with one thing that Diane Sawyer said in the beginning of this clip. She says that Alex the Grey was "kind of a genius in the parrot world".  This is not true. Alex was bought by the trainers from an average pet store. He has the average intelligence of any African Grey parrot.  His selection was made completely at random.  African Grey parrots have the cognitive sense of the average 4 year old.  Both Conrad and myself are insulted when somebody approaches his cage, and talks to him in "silly bird language".
ALL parrots have some sort of cognitive level.  They have been tested many times, and it has been found that the African Grey parrot is the most cognitive, with Yellow Caped Amazons coming in a close second. 

An African Grey knows quantity - they can count, and I am not talking about simply reciting numbers.  If they have been so trained, they can  express these things: (Hey - you didn't learn how to spell or count until you went to school, did you?  They have to go to school, too!)
1) You can put 3 pennies on a table, and ask, "How many?"  He will answer, "Three!"
2) Show him a tray with 3 red blocks and 4 blue blocks. Ask him which color has more?  HE will answer, "Blue"
3) Show him two plastic keys - one small yellow key, and one larger green key. Ask him, "Which color is bigger (since they are both keys!)?  He will answer, "Green"

They know the difference between shapes, sizes, quantity, color, hot / cold, and what matter something contains (wood, metal, wool, etc).  I don't care who you are, I will not let you tell me those things are "lucky, random answers!"  If those are lucky, random answers, I need every African Grey Parrot on the damned planet to play the lottery for me!

Not only do African Greys have an advanced cognition, they express a wide range of emotions:
love, anger, shock, fear, worry and they are master manipulators. In general, African Greys are rather clumsy birds.  Falling off a perch happens all to frequently.  When Conrad falls off a perch,  he will climb back up on the perch, and then for an hour, he will sit there and shake.  His eyes are huge, and he is an emotional wreck.  African Greys are capable of thinking, "What would have happened if...... I could have been hurt, etc?"

On more than one occasion, I have caught Conrad rummaging through his food bowl, in with good African Grey fashion.  He will pick up a fist (claw!) full of food that he doesn't want to eat - then he will hurl it through the bars of his cage, and across the room!  I will tell him, "Stop that!" He answers me, "No, you stop that!"  Meanwhile, he has a fist full of food, but he is staring straight ahead, hoping I wouldn't see the food in his claw.  The second I turn my head, I will get food against the back of my head!

On another occasion, I was feeding him his breakfast. He asked me, "What are you doing?" I answered, "I'm giving you your breakfast."  He responded, "Awww, that is stupid!"  I said, "Stupid, my ass!  There are starving little birdies in China that would love to have your breakfast! I should cut you back to your daily rations for a week, and give you no treats!"  He hung his head and said, "No, daddy, daddy, daddy!  Conrad is a GOOD boy!  I love you!"   I had to laugh!

Often, as Mark is getting ready to go to work, or we are getting ready to leave the house to go shopping, etc, Conrad will say, "Bye, Bye, buddy! Bye, bye!"  One morning, Mark was getting ready to go to work, and Conrad started, "Bye, Bye, buddy!"  Keep in mind that Conrad owned ME before we met Mark.  I am Conrad's mate, and there will be no other. At any rate, as Mark was getting ready to leave the house, Conrad was getting upset because Mark hadn't left the house in the time that Conrad thought was appropriate.  After his last, "Bye, Bye!", Conrad asked Mark, "Well, are you gone, yet?"  Mark said, "I will not have you run me out of my own damned house!"  I laughed histerically.

I will not go into the entire saga, but we also have to keep in mind that an African Grey parrot has no vocal chords, no teeth, and they don't use their tongue to speak.  They have literally no structures required for human speech, yet they are capable of using human speech appropriately.

On the other hand, great apes have all the structures necessary for speech, and with the exception of a few vocalizations, they use very little of their voice.  I'm hoping Kanzi's son enlightens the world, and has some capability of appropriate speech.

Conrad can mix the sound of a kitchen blender with the sound of a vacuum cleaner and get the sound of an electric drill, for example.  They can mix sounds to get many other sounds. 

African Grey parrots have no vocabulary of their own.  A study was done on a flock of wild Greys, and they were found to be using the entire repertoire of 9 other individual species of birds - and two species of bats, and they used these alien sounds to communicate with each other.

I have not yet mentioned that Orangutans love to groom so much that they will groom their own reflections in a mirror. These are the only animals that recognize themselves in the mirror: great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans,  humans, and gorillas), rhesus macaques, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, elephants, and European Magpies.

Many animals (crows, apes), are capable of using tools to perform tasks.  Rats and squirrels will learn complicated, multi-step tasks with lightning speed.

...and the list can go on and on......


For more information and more videos, look up on YouTube:
Koko / Gorilla
Bonobo / Kanzi
Alex / parrot
 crow tool use

and check out this squirrel maze!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eDSubTVYEQ


- Michael

Is there no rest for the weary? (Bizarre exhumations in Pennsylvania)

Has anybody heard the latest news concerning the bizarre, lonely lady (Jean Stevens) from Wyalusing, PA? 
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You will have to pardon the pun, but in a nutshell, Jean Stevens either paid, begged, threatened or coerced an individual to go Lime Hill Cemetery, located at the end of the street she lived on, Old Stagecoach Road in Wyalusing, PA, and on two different occasions - 10 yrs apart - she hired a man to secretly exhume the bodies of both her husband and her twin sister, June.   Both individuals passed away from natural causes, and foul play was not suspected. Her twin passed away in 2009, and her husband, 1999.
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A case worker eventually turned her in to the authorities, and she has been completely cooperating with the investigation. Jean had the body of her twin sister, June, on the sofa in her living room, and the body of her husband was found on a sofa in a detached garage.  Jean stated that she would talk to them, and put expensive perfume (uh- yeah!) on the body of her sister.
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In the GARAGE?  Garages get very hot in the summer, and dead bodies do not keep well in the heat!
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A bit about funerary practices in the USA:

There several different levels or stages of embalming that are offered by most funeral homes.  According to the wishes and the financial situation of the family of the deceased, you can opt for a very light or partial embalming, if the visitation or funeral is to be held almost immediately, or you can choose a full-on complete embalming, including a "head shot" for those with multiple viewings and an extended stay above ground.
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I am guessing, that since June Steven's obituary stated that she had a graveside funeral service, her body was only lightly embalmed - just enough to get her through a possible visitation.  However... I reread the obituary, and no mention of a visitation was made.  Considering the fact that no conventional funeral or visitation was held for this woman, I am assuming that she was, minimally, embalmed lightly.  Contrary to popular belief, and with very few notable exceptions,  even a full embalming serves only to keep a body from decomposing only long enough to get the individuals through a funeral.  
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There are notable cases, such as Abraham Lincoln, Eva "Evita" Paron ("Don't Cry For Me Argentina") and Vladimir Lenin.  To this day, the bodies of these individuals are presentable, and have not decayed.  Eva Peron's body was tended to and continually touched up for weeks / months by a mortician who had some type of relationship with her body!  Abraham Lincoln's morticians traveled on his funeral train, and because of the approaching spring weather, he had to be touched up before the train made each stop.  Those bodies have been out of the public eye for decades, in the case of Eva Peron, and since 1865 in the case of Abraham Lincoln.  To this day, Vladimir Lenin's body has been on display daily since his death in January 1924.  The morticians that tend to his body have a very prescribed method to attend to the continual preservation of his body.  If Gunther Van Hagen would have been around, somebody could have paid to have Lenin plastinated! 

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This is the procedure used to tend to Lenin's body:
"The family of Lenin's embalmers states that the corpse is real and requires daily work to moisturise the features and inject preservatives under the clothes. Lenin's sarcophagus is kept at a temperature of 16 °C (61 °F) and kept at a humidity of 80 - 90 percent. The chemical used was referred to by the caretakers as "balsam", which was glycerine and potassium acetate. Every eighteen months the corpse is removed and undergoes a special chemical bath. The chemicals were unknown until after the fall of the Soviet Union, kept secret by authorities. The bath consists of placing the corpse in a glass bath with potassium acetate, alcohol, glycerol, distilled water, and as a disinfectant, quinine. This was the process used for all subsequent treatments of Lenin's body and continues to be used even now.^[1

One of the main problems the embalmers faced was the appearance of dark spots on the skin, especially on the face and hands. They managed to solve the problem by the use of a variety of different reagents in between baths. For example, if a patch of wrinkling or discoloration occurred it was treated with an acetic acid diluted with water. Hydrogen peroxide could be used to restore the tissues' original colouring. Damp spots were removed by means of disinfectants like quinine or phenol.^[1]

Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the continued preservation work was funded by the Russian government. At that point the government discontinued financial support and now private donations support the preservation staff.^"
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The following links offer  a crash course in embalming:

Embalming techniques
http://embalming.net/  

http://listverse.com/2007/11/08/the-5-stages-of-embalming/

http://www2.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/scraig/embalming.html
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Back to the story of Jean, June and Jimmy Stevens.

 Needless to say, the bodies of Jean Steven's relatives received only minimal preservation techniques, and they would have maintained the bodies for most likely, less than a couple weeks.
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The authorities said that when they were tipped off, and discovered the bodies, they "in various stages of decay".  I'm saying, "Ya think?" he he he
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Here is a link to the full story of how this woman obtained the bodies of her deceased husband and sister:
http://tinyurl.com/JeanStevensExhumed
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Here is the actual original obituary from the funeral home that prepared the body of June M. Stevens, age 90
http://www.mchenryfuneralhomes.com/obits/?p=74
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An on-line obituary or Jean's husband, Jimmy, could not be found, because he died in 1999, and that was when on-line obituaries were in their infancy.
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This is the article where the District Attorney determined that Mrs. Stevens would be allowed to keep the body of her deceased relatives, provided that she builds a crypt or a similar structure to store the bodies!  Yes - that's what they told her, and that is what she did.  However, the crypt that she had built looks like nothing more than a garage with a typical shingled roof and siding.  June Stevens plans to have her own body placed in the crypt when her turn ad death's door arrives.  Since the crypt is built on a typical residential property, I have to ask the question, "What happens to these bodies, and this crypt that doesn't look too permanent when the time arrives to sell this property?" There are laws about burials on private property, but permits can be obtained, in cases such as Elvis Presley on the grounds of Graceland, and The Von Trapp family on the Von Trapp Family Lodge Grounds in Stowe, VT (Where the 2011 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway was built!)
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The article that gives Jean Steven permission to keep the bodies if she builds the crypt:
http://tinyurl.com/JeanStevensKeeps
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In the past couple days, I have located the link that states that the man that exhumed these bodies for Jean was eventually arrested, and faces several misdemeanor charges.  Jean Stevens, however, has not been charged in these exhumations.  I did read in one article that they would not disclose whether she had received psychological counseling.  I'm thinking she might need it! 
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Once again, I have seen a picture of the 'crypt / garage' that she build on her property, but I can't relocate that link.
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In summary, I have several questions:

1) Has NO ONE walked into this woman's home, and seen a dead body sitting on the sofa in the past 10 years?

2) Did NO ONE see some stranger using most-likely odd equipment digging up recent graves?  Removing vaults / caskets / bodies?
This is a link to Findagrave.com, the Lime Hill Cemetery where both of these bodies were buried - and subsequently exhumed: (Click on "Satelite view" and zoom in - you can see the headstones in the cemetery:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=515161&CScn=Lime+Hill+Cemetery&
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When a person places an entry on Findagrave.com for a small cemetery, they usually list all the names of the people buried in that cemetery.  I look on the list, and found neither of these individuals.  What's up with that?  They should still have head stones in this cemetery, don't ya think?
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In addition, you can see in this photo that the town June resides in is just a street or two away (near the river), and that there is somewhat of a subdivision right around the corner of this cemetery.  Did NO ONE drive by and see anything suspicious?
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3) Did the man that removed these bodies simply remove the bodies from their caskets, once he got them out of the ground, and throw the caskets back in the hole he dug, or did he take the caskets along with him to Jean's house?
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4) If he DID take the caskets along, are they, too, stored in the garage?
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5) Did NO ONE see him unloading bodies from a vehicle into June's house?
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6) The light embalming definitely did nothing in favor of the ambiance of this home, but it might have helped with maneuverability. Have you ever tried to move the limb of a deceased person after they have been embalmed?  They are called "Stiffs" for a reason! VERY STIFF!  I would have paid good money to see the man who exhumed these bodies (he is in his 60's!) and June - she is 91 - trying to get these STIFFS to sit on the sofa!  Go ahead and try to get them to bend at the waist!
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Things that make me go...... HMMMMM!
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- Michael

While we are rewriting history... (AKA Changing Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer)

(Hold on a second - I will be right with you)

:::sounds of Michael pulling out his desk drawer and retrieving his custom-made stamp and ink pad that reads, "TOO DAMNED DUMB TO LIVE!!!" ::::


I keep promising to Mark that I am going to have such a stamp made, but I would need to buy every ink pad that Staples, Office Max and Office Depot has ever carried!  I want a forehead-shaped stamp that takes up their entire forehead. Could you imagine all the ink that would be running around this world?

 OK.  I'm back with you now.

Those people who believe that they have enough power, enough talent, or the right to rewrite history to suit their needs have a lot of work on their hands.  It is a very daunting task, indeed.  After they rewrite a famous work of art (Mark Twains Adventures of Tom Sawyer, for example!), they need to take a trip to the Louvre in Paris.  Their next take is to 'fix' that smile on Mona Lisa's face.  

After all, don't you know that even though it was once acceptable and considered proper for people to NOT smile in their portraits, it is now accepted, and in fact, encouraged.  My prayers are with you, because you are up against the little known artist, Leonardo da Vinci.  I mean  - C'mon!  Who the hell was **HE**. anyway - and what did he know about it?  Today is just that - today!  It is not yesterday, and it is not tomorrow!  WE are here today, aren't we?  We are, indeed, and we can do whatever we want to, to suit ourselves!  

Side note: The "Me Generation" doesn't just affect those born during that era.  It is an addictive, contagious disease, and I have noted that it spreads across several generations, afflicting folks from 7 yrs. old to 70 yrs. old.

 Unfortunately for you, your hard work doesn't stop there!  Your task has only just begun.  You now must travel to Florence, Italy.  There is a statue there, David, by another unknown and worthless individual - Michelangelo.  

Doesn't Michelangelo know that it is politically incorrect **IN THIS COUNTRY, AND IN THIS COUNTRY, ALONE!** to be nude in public?  Most Americans don't realize that on any summer day, you can visit any public park in Europe, and the visitors to that park are happily sunbathing - in the nude.  They would like you to be clothed when you board a city bus, for example, but when you are in any public park, you can sunbathe au natural.  

Oh - don't forget the exposed penis on the Statue of David!  For this cover-up job, the tools you will require are much more than oil paint and a brush.  You must make a complete outfit of clothes for him. A pair of shorts won't do!  There are some folk in this country that are also offended by a bare, muscly chest, I don't care how natural it is! 

There are some Reubens in Europe that are showing, **GASP** of all things - FAT, naked ladies!  After all, boobies are inappropriate.  Break out your paint brushes again!

I think this undertaking is going to require a large team that is working together as efficiently as a finely tuned machine, but there is good news ahead.  A large portion of the work has already been done for you.  

Both in the past and in the present, people are working hard to erase anything linked to Adolph Hitler and / or the Nazis.  They have systematically destroyed Third Reich buildings, documents, and anything linked to this horrific period in history.  It is an undisputed fact that this reign of terror was singly the worse thing that ever happened to an innocent group of period.  Who would want to remember it?

OOOPS!  Let's not eliminate music.  Acoustic pianos and guitars are outdated.  I mean - if it isn't available on a smart phone, what good can it possibly do?  How archaic are they ?!?    Now harpsichords and pipe organs come to mind.  What a tragic waste of time and wood.  Nobody uses those things any more.  Just think of how many homes can be heated this winter if we demolished every pipe organ in, let's say, St. Louis, alone.  

The folks on your team might want to branch out.  Send some to destroy timeless art, some to destroy musical relics, and some to tackle huge sculptures.  If you want to make the task slaughtering Mark Twain's world famous literature feel like a simple walk in the park, you might want to first sharpen your talons. Considering all things, this next fella was alive 500 years before Mark Twain. First come, first serve!  My first thought was that we should completely transcribe the writings of William Shakespeare into common American English.  I mean, who the hell speaks in Old English, anymore?  I am hard pressed to find anyone who is NOT texting, and bastardizing the hell out of the English Language - much less speaking proper English.  I absolutely love it when this opportunity presents itself:

Some idiot: (After hearing someone on the radio, on TV or in person speaking British English):

"Oh, I hate it when they talk like that.  Why can't they talk like everybody else?"

Me: "You do realize, of course, that they are speaking proper English.  After all, they invented it!

Some idiot: (Gives me a dirty, confused look, and walks away!)

Do you know how many people have never seen this text? 

You can approach me at any time of the day or night, and ask me to recite the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales.  I can recite the following literature word-for-word, in Middle English, and with the correct rhythm and prose.


The writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue:

Whan that Aprille with his shoores soote

The drought of March hath perced to the roote

And bathed every vein in swich liquor
Of which vertu engendred is the flour
When Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes and the yonge sun
Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne
And smale fowles maken melodye
That slepen all the night with open eye
So priketh hem nature in hir courages
Thanne longen folke to goon pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seeken stronge straundes
To ferne halwes couth in sondry londes
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Canterbury they wende
The hooly blissful martyr for to seeke
That hem hath holpen whan that they were sike

I can't stomach the remodeling shows on TV these days. On a mere whim, these people will go into a home and rip out timeless decor and architecture, and replace it with crap that will be out of style within a year.  They have no concern or regard for any history the home or its contents might have.  This country, after all, is not well known for preserving a lot of its history. 

The United States of America is known world-wide as being the country that quickly destroys it's own history "to build a parking lot", as they will often tell you.

And now, a quote from Rick Steves (world famous travel guide who has, in fact, been around the world several times):

"I would like travelers, especially American travelers, to travel in a way that broadens their perspective, because I think Americans tend to be some of the most ethnocentric people on the planet. It's not just Americans, it's the big countries. It's the biggest countries that tend to be ethnocentric or ugly. There are ugly Russians, ugly Germans, ugly Japanese and ugly Americans. You don't find ugly Belgians or ugly Bulgarians, they're just too small to think the world is their norm. "

Translated:  Americans incorrectly think the rest of the world revolves around their own small part of the planet, or worse yet, they think the remainder of the world must abide by their (the American's) beliefs, standards and morals - or what is left of them. Or...worse yet...the Americans don't even know they are are harboring or even fostering those thoughts and beliefs.

Incidentally, Rick Steves also says on a regular basis that he has to mind the photography and video that his team captures when he is traveling abroad.  He says that it is an unfortunate fact, indeed, that they have to edit the film that they capture because of the taste of "21st Century Americans".  He has to eliminate art that is  many hundreds or thousands of years older than the United States is, itself, because a few Americans like to think they know what is best for the rest of the country.  I think it is yet more amazing that every other country in the world can admire and enjoy these works of art.  They have done so for millennium.  The only effects they have suffered are a much higher level of education, timeless art, and they have produced ALL of the world's best artists, most of the world's finest musicians, and many more historic figures. (The United States ranks 25th out of the top 34 countries in Math Skills alone. )

A small segway:  When I worked on the flower market, I worked with a woman who is a devout Catholic.   I had some customers that are first-generation Indian (India) immigrants to this country.  This particular group of people are devout Hindus.  As a part of many of their customs when they are practicing their religion., they make floral garlands and give them as offerings at the beautiful Hindu temples. 

When the devout Catholic asked me "What do they do with these garlands?" and I explained to her the process, she said, "Well, that has nothing do with religion!"  In her tightly closed mind, she was thinking, "If it isn't a Catholic belief or tradition, it is not religion!"  Can she possibly be serious?  The Hindus, for example,  were worshiping in their own manner 5,000 (yes, five thousand!) years before Christianity surfaced on the planet!  One person's religion is no more - or less - valid than any other persons!

The following picture is from one of the recent pujas (or poojas).
I know an Indian woman that makes these garlands.  She is a good friend of mine.  Her work is exquisite and breathtaking.

More photographs of practicing Hundus, the Hindus Temple of St. Louis, and their services and ceremonies 
:
(click on any link on this page)
http://www.hindutemplestlouis.org/Gallery/Pictures.aspx

Question: Why should we keep reminders of Nazi / Adolph Hitler around?

Answer: As a memento to **NEVER LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!", and as a much needed history lesson for future generations who never experienced it the first-time-around. Genocide is to be avoided!

Question:  What harm can possibly come about from altering Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"?

Answer:  My first off-the-hip response is, "Why don't you just rewrite The Bible???", but that rhetorical question is invalid, because that book has been written and rewritten by so many men since the Rosetta Stones were discovered that firm believers in The Bible wouldn't recognize the original text if it was laying directly in front of them.  **ANY** time translation (and humans are the translators!) is involved, such an opportunity to "write the story as the writer sees it" is so readily available, that is is absolutely impossible to have untainted text before you.

Another answer:  The language Mark Twain used in his books was ABSOLUTELY appropriate for the time the books were written.  

People, we can't go back and change literature,  we should not change art, and we can't rewrite history.  Incidentally, Mark Twains writings are all the above: history, art and literature.

To think one has the right (or the power!) to change a literary piece is doing a gross injustice to both the artist / writer and our future generations.  It is definitely a horribly pompous and careless attitude to have by saying to your future generations, "Without your knowledge or consent, I am going to make a permanent change by  rewriting and otherwise changing works of art. Because I have a God-complex, you will never know the difference.  I am so accustomed to seeing the world from my own small point of view that I thought you should live in the same small, constricted world - so I reduced or eliminated your choices for you."

C'mon, people!  Are you really that messed up?

Let me quote the man, himself:

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

The person who is changing this man's work opened his mouth yesterday - and he opened WIDE!

- Michael

Re: Tornadoes in Missouri & the St. Louis area.

Re: Tornadoes in Missouri & the St. Louis area.

I am extremely fortunate and thankful that we were spared the destruction and devastation that visited the St. Louis area on Dec 31, '10.

Lindbergh Blvd, which is a busy St. Louis thoroughfare, passes just 2 blocks north of our home.  If we would get on that street, and take it less than 7 miles south (just a hop, skip and a jump by St. Louis standards), the street was closed for most of the day on Dec 31 due to these storms. There were many homes that were completely destroyed, while other homes and businesses suffered extensive damage.  That morning, Mark was going to suggest that we visit the area, as we often do, to do some shopping and to have lunch.

The devastation skipped over the area that we live in, and continued about the same distance - 7 miles into north city St. Louis.  Our home is in the Ladue residential area of St. Louis.  There are a *lot* of very tall,  old growth trees in this neighborhood that are not in the best of condition.  If there are ANY high winds or other weather in the area that appears to be capable of producing damage, we are in the basement in a flash!  On this particular day, however, we did have some moderate thunderstorms, and some of the rainfall was a bit on the heavy side, but we  have experienced MUCH heavier downpours in this area on a regular basis. We did experience some "mildly" heavy rain, but nothing drastic, and there was very *little* wind - virtually nothing to speak of!

We also had a storm in the early fall that produced yet another tornado about 4 miles from our house. That particular storm did produce massive amounts of rain, and high winds. We did have some limbs down in the back yard that were bigger than the diameter of my thigh (and that is HUGE! he he he), we we never lost power, and no damage was done to the homes in this area.  Due to the old, tall trees for miles around us, our power goes out here quite often in storms or windy conditions, and we never lost power on either of these occasions.

My heart does go out to my neighbors in both the Sunset Hills and North St. Louis areas of St. Louis.  Sunset Hills is a part of the St. Louis metropolitan area, such as Clayton, Bridgeton, Richmond Heights, Ballwin, etc. I wish them a speedy recovery, and to echo the sentiments of those interviewed on TV, we were lucky that only minor injuries were sustained, and no lives were lost.   The residents of the Rolla, MO area weren't as fortunate.  There were lives lost in that area.

Here is just one video of many on YouTube of the recent St. Louis area damage.  I have seen video of war zones with less damage. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Pd_KoZoVg

(You can find other videos of this storm by searching "tornado st. louis Dec 31" or other similar searches on YouTube.)

The lives of those that were effected by nature's power cannot possibly ever be the same.  I wish them a speedy recovery.   May their hearts find the strength they need in the days, weeks and months ahead.  There will be times ahead that it does not seem possible, but if you are still breathing, you have another chance at life.  I encourage you to go forward and make the best of the situation.  Become stronger.  If you do not have a zest for life, now would be as good of a time as any to GET zest!  Literally - stop and smell the roses. Try a cuisine that you would normally not.  Try different music and try different clothes.  Change the hair style!  Don't change for the same of changing.  Change for the experience, and to keep your mind and body flexible and receptive.

May you find the strength, wisdom and perseverance that you will need in the future to overcome these obstacles.

- Michael

A Rare event - the total eclipse of the moon - DON'T MISS IT!

The last time a huge eclipse of the moon happened, I was on my way to work on the flower market in St. Louis.  It must have been during some "floral" holiday, because we had to be at work at 3:30 AM. (Yes, those flower people are freaks!) 

Even though I have never slept later than 9:00 AM in my life, and since I have been disabled for 4 years, I have not slept later than 7:00 AM on any given morning, I do not particularly enjoy being out of bed and at work at 3:30 AM to hurl flowers at ungrateful people.  But, in the words of the immortal Sophia Petrillo, "I Digress!"

Anywho, this was ONE morning that I enjoyed being up at 3:30 AM!  I had just pulled out of my parking space on the way to work (still dark outside, of course), and I drove one block and heard Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" come the radio station - K-HITS 96.3 (www.k-hits.com).  I turned the corner, and looked up at the end of the street.  The was a **HUGE** dark red moon, looking as if it was going to swallow the entire earth.  I know I was on my way to work, but those flowers - and the people - can wait. The radio station was cued to play Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" album with THIS OARTICULAR SONG starting with the moment the shadow started to creep across the face of the moon, and ended at the exact moment that the moon went out of eclipse! I had to stop and pull my truck over to the side of the street to savor the moment - the right music for the perfect event, before I drove on. I openly wept!

This song, my favorite from the album, was playing when the moon went into total eclipse, and turned deep blood red. This is bar-none, listed as the greatest non-lyrical vocal in rock music and probably ALL of music, as far as that goes:

"Great Gig In the Sky featuring the vocal mastery of Clare Torry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAydj4OJnwQ

Back to the big event:

https://patch.com/missouri/stlouis/see-super-blue-moon-total-eclipse-over-missouri

More information can be found on:
A very useful page, "World Clock and Time Zones" - look around this page, there are a lot of useful time calculators, etc:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

On space.com, the article with complete details:

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/monday-total-lunar-eclipse-moon-preview-101220.html

I don't know if it is an appreciation of beautiful, eerir and scerene things, the Wicca, the Hindu or the Buddhist coming out in me, but for me, these events are religious and awe-inspiring, even if it is just a shadow to you!

- Michael

Can I get one reservation on the Island of Misfit Toys for a bulldoggie?

This little event could not have happened at a more appropriate time!


I believe I hear the steam whistle and the clanging bell of the train that is making it's once-a-year trip through the movie 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer' to the Isle of Misfit Toys.  This train is booked for frequent stops, but I would like to add one more stop - my house!  She'll be comin' round the bend when she comes!


Last night, Mark went a couple blocks to Schnucks (local St. Louis grocery store chain) to get supper.  He wasn't gone more than 15 minutes.  He wasn't more than a minute out the door, and the bulldoggie, Sherman Peepin' Steven Burglar - Don't ask / don't tell! (AKA Sherman or Peeper!) started barking furiously from the back of the house.


Moments earlier, I had let the 2 larger dogs, Amanda, Yellow lab / Chow mix  and Denver, black lab / Sher Pei mix out into the back yard to go potty.. The entire yard (1 acre) is fenced in, and the fence has a hedge of bush honeysuckle growing around the entire perimeter of the yard.  Our back yard butts up immediately adjacent to Interstate 40, and wraps 1/4 around our subdivision as the highway takes a turn.  A half a block south of our subdivision,


The first of 3 visual aids:

The white box in the middle of this pic is my back yard.  We do have a chain link fence completely surrounding the back yard, as well as the huge sound barrier wall along I-40.    On the right-hand side of the pic is Warson Rd - a major thoroughfare.  Then you will note Clayton Road - very, very busy, indeed.  The interstate that borders our subdivision is self-explanatory, and there is Lindbergh Blvd. to the north (left).  It defies all explanation that ANY wildlife whatsoever can survive to get in our yard.  Considering the man-made barriers (the interstate, major roads and streets, and a completely closed in chain link fence!), West County St. Louis is famous for two plants, in particular: 1) Winter Creeper and 2) Bush honeysuckle.  The winter creeper is a vine that grows quickly, and will overtake anything, particularly trees, in it's path.  The bush honey suckel grows so thick that even a small dog would have trouble finding his way through the thicket.


The moral of this part of the saga is: "How is it possible that ANY wildlife can get into our back yard, with the lone exception of small birds that can fly quite some distance?"


Needless to say, we have more than our fair share of squirrels, and a large colony of chipmunks that we share our 1 acre with.  Some time in late November, on one of those wonderful rare, balmy nights, I heard an owl outside our window.  We live 3 miles from the large St. Louis Galleria Mall - , and a good 20 + miles before any true wilderness or forested areas become the common feature of the land.   A few weeks before that, our dogs started backing furiously - glaring out the patio doors in the great room.  I jumped up and ran to see what was disturbing the peace.  Two large turkeys were looking back at me - too startled to move for a moment!  They were IN the back yard!  How can that be possible?  Turkeys are known to be poor flyers.  The could not have possibly come across any of the major traffic arteries surrounding our home and have expected to live through the adventure!  I had a choice: keep the dogs in the house, and let them tear the crap out of the house, trying to get out and chase the turkeys, or let them out into the back yard. I slid that door open, and all 4 dogs charged across the back yard in one pack. Those turkeys took off in a fast sprint towards the back fence, and thus - I-40!   Since I didn't hear any screeching tires or deadly crashes, and we didn't find any turkey innards on the shoulder of the interstate the next day, I think they somehow found their way to safety.  Personally, I can't imagine the shock of  being a piss-poor flyer, in the first place - and flying over a sound barrier (leaving a heavily wooded area), and immediately flying over a very busy interstate!


Anywho... We have also been confronted TWICE with deer. Once, a deer was trying to climb over the fence AND through the very thick bush honey suckle to get IN the back yard.  Are ya nuts?  The second deer - just a couple weeks back - did make it into the back yard. Once again, the dogs were letting me know that they were barking at more than "just a squirrel".  I initially couldn't see what had got their attention.  I mean - how big can an animal be that has to squeeze through the thicket, through chain-link fence, and across some of the busiest thoroughfares in the area - and already 20 miles into a metropolitan area?  You guessed it! This time, Mrs. Deer made it over the fence, through the bush honeysuckle, and into the yard...but...I didn't see her until the dogs were already chasing her across the yard and towards the sound barriers along the highway! OMG, indeed!  Since that brush was so thick, the only place for her to go would be to attempt to jump the sound barrier.  Do you know what's on the other side of that barrier!  200,000 cars a day moving at 60+ MPH! Once again, I didn't hear any crashes or tires skidding, but I honestly don't know what became of her!


(The end of Chapter 1 ...he he he)


Onward!


At any rate, last night, Mark went to the Schnucks (near the intersection of Lindbergh and I-40, in the map, above) to get supper. He wasn't gone more than a minute, and the 2 larger dogs wanted to go outside for a while. I let them out, and returned to my chair to attempt to knit a leaf to attach to a knitted flower.  I was 30 seconds into my concentration when Sherman (mean looking bulldoggie!) was standing in the entrance between the great room and the kitchen, in the back of the house.  When this particular breed of bulldog decides to announce an intruder, the announcement is not quiet and polite!  It is a mix between a bark and a roar!   It is shocking to many people, and many other bulldog's barks are very high-pitched and down right yappy!  Yes - the mascot of the US Marines YAPS instead of BARKS!  :)


Sherman Peeper was in full-on attack mode and stance.  Roar / Barking, front legs spread to steady his beefy self, and he absolutely would not enter the great room. I even tried to push him, and he resisted!  We are just far enough away from downtown St. Louis, and far enough off the beaten path to keep vagrants and people on foot out of our area.  I knew it wasn't a person that he was barking at.  Knowing that the 2 larger dogs were outside that room and in the back yard, I was fairly confident that there was no wildlife out there, either.  What could he be barking at so furiously?


I keep 5 gallon buckets outside underneath the roof line to catch rain water.  I can water my houseplants that I keep outside in the summer for 2 weeks from the water that I catch on a good downpour.  This portion of our house was built in Frank Lloyd Wright style, and without gutters.  The water runs off the back of the house in one big sheet, and if I don't have my handy buckets in place, it splashes down on a bed of pea gravel to allow run off.    When nighttime temps threaten to go below 55, I bring in my tropical house plants, only leaving the pineapples and the Cherimoya tree outside until the temps dip in the lower 40's at night, then they come in for the winter, too.  I use my empty 5 gallon buckets to sit the plants on to keep the "kids" from eating them!  I didn't need one of the buckets, so I left it out under the eaves.  We had a couple good rains before the temps turned bitterly cold,  and the last bucket that was still full of water froze solid.  The ice was already bulging above the rim of the bucket, I believe that another good freeze might crack and ruin my trusty, useful bucket.  was waiting for a day that was in the 30's to allow the water to melt just a bit, so I could dump out the 5 gallon chunk of ice without it sticking in the bucket and giving me trouble.  I will spare you the details, but I never wear clothes in the house, and only on the coldest of days to I wear a simple robe around the house.  About 5:30 PM last night, I was in my snug little robe, and decided that I could step outside quickly to dump the ice out of the bucket - step back inside when it was all over, and the entire maneuver shouldn't take more than 10 seconds. Presto!  I dumped that ice out so fast that I didn't get goosebumps on ANYTHING!  :)  My other goal in this exercise was to dump the ice out carefully, so as to preserve it's form - so I could watch it melt and Mother Nature take her course.  This is a photo of the subject at hand:

 

Back to the wildly bark / roaring, highly pissed off, fearful bulldoggie!   We know that there couldn't have been any unsavory characters in the great room or outside - those bases have already been covered.  I am here to tell you that I couldn't not get this little butchy man to go into the great room, much less outside to go potty with the others..  Eventually, with his thick neck as stretched out as he could ("I want my head a little closer to the villain, but I want to keep the rest of my body away from it and as safe as possible!"), he mustered up enough cajones (Ka - Ho - nes!) to approach the glass of the sliding doors.  The other dogs were already outside - what the hell can he be looking at that bothers him so much.  Have I told you that for 15 minutes, he never stopped barking / roaring?

I opened the back door quickly.  The other dogs ran back inside - but he would NOT go out!  All the encouraging and shoving wouldn't budge him!  What was this tuffie barking at?  The intruder is in the picture immediately above these 2 paragraphs - a chunk of ICE!  GOOD GOD, GERTIE!  If I take a piece of aluminum foil and crunch it a bit, he will tuck tail and run out of the kitchen.  Every Tuesday (trash day!) is hell for this poor baby!  I have to put a new trash bag in the trash pail.  When I shake the bag in he air to full extend the bag before I put it in the can, he is outta there in a split second!  This 'mean' bulldog is afraid of the weirdest things...anything that moves or makes sound!  Thankfully, he doesn't panic when I play my keyboards.  He can most often be found in the mornings sleeping right beside one of my Leslie speakers, or in the music room with me at any time when I am practicing.

Back to the story at hand....  I had to wait until Mark got home from shopping (15 minutes).  I told him why his "baby" was barking so furiously in the back of the house. Mark went out in the back yard, and Sherman VERY reluctantly followed him - until Mark took a step towards the chunk of ice. Sherman shot out of there like a torpedo leaving a submarine. He ran halfway across the back yard before he thought he was safe from that "Ice Monster".  Mark spend the next 10 minutes trying to coax Sherman closer.  Sherman trusts NOTHING, but he does trust us.  Slowly, and after several attempts, Sherman did work up the courage enough to come to Mark, who was standing immediately next to the ice creature!  Sherman VERY skeptically sniffed the ice once.  We both could see the wheels turning in his head. The look on his face said, "Oh, is THAT what it was all about?  It's just ICE!"  Then he sniffed again.  The look changed to, "I am so embarrassed that I wasted so much energy worrying about a chunk of ice!  Then - he started running by the ice, playing with the other dogs, and completely ignoring that it was even there.  I thought we might have to have a re-introduction this morning when he went out to potty for the first time, but nope.  Even though he is literally often afraid of his own shadow (honestly!), he is a pretty smart cookie once he gets it all figured out to his own satisfaction.   Here is Mr. "Meanie".  I'm tellin' ya - with Bulldogs, it is 'All just a look!"

  Look at that lower lipper! He might be deathly afraid of a chunk of ice, but he does know how to cover himself up with his comforter!


I have his ticket ready for the Isle of Misfit Toys..  My mean baby is broken.  He is not mean at all.  Tell the conductor to make a stop at the Kirkwood Train Station.  I will make sure he doesn't miss his boarding time!  WHOOO HOOOO!  ALL ABOARD!!!


- Michael

You know what, Honey? It's NOT all about Forgiveness!

You know what, Honey?  It's NOT all about Forgiveness!


When I was an active nurse in a nursing home in St. Louis, I had a patient that had been admitted to that particular nursing home two years prior to my employment.  She was an Alzheimer's patient that was in late stage 3 Alzheimer's when she was admitted.  She was completely non-verbal.  She never made a sound.  She could not walk, feed herself, dress herself, or do any activities herself required for daily living. She never opened her eyes, and sat all day in a wheel chair, with her hands folded in her lap, rocking back and forth constantly.


One of the nurse's aides that worked with me was wheeling Doris to the dining room, so they could feed her lunch.  As the wheelchair was rolling down the hallway passing the nurse's station, Doris said, "You know what, honey?"  The nurse's aide was about to interrupt her, and I raised my hand to try to get her (the aide) to let the patient talk!  From what I understood from her family, Doris had not said a word to anybody in over 5 years!  I went to her wheelchair and I said, "No, what, sweetie?"  She said, as clear as a bell, "Human beings are the nastiest animals!"  I know I had tears running down my face.  I bent down, and gave her the biggest hug I could muster.  I said, "Honey, you haven't said a word in over FIVE years, and this is probably the most profound statement I have ever heard - and that you have ever spoken!"  Her eyes were always closed.  But - she did smile as the astonished aide pushed her wheelchair towards the dining room for lunch.


Segway:  I have been following the story of Dr. William Petit and his family of Connecticut.


If you more details, you can find them here:
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Dr-William-Petit-Speaks-Out-for-the-First-Time/1


On a Sunday morning in July 2007, the close-knit Petit family attended church services in their Connecticut suburb like they usually did. They had no premonition of the terror about to take place.


According to police, two convicted felons who were out on parole randomly spotted Jennifer and Michaela at a neighborhood convenience store. After following them home, 44-year-old Steven Hayes and 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky plotted out a horrific home invasion.


After Sunday dinner for her family that night, Dr. Petit fell asleep reading the paper while the girls watched television and headed off to bed.  At 3 a.m., the two armed intruders broke in. Dr. Petit was the first victim, bludgeoned with a baseball bat and tied unconscious to a pole in the basement. Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela were bound to their beds and tortured throughout the night.


No banks are open at 3 AM. They tortured this family until Monday morning.  They forced Jennifer, William's wife and the mother of his children, at gun point to drive to the bank and withdraw $15,000.  They said that if they got the money, no additional harm would be done to their family.  I'm thinking the criminals were lying about that, too.  To help protect her family, Jennifer drove one of the criminals to the bank, while the other held the remaining family members hostage in the home.  Once they arrived at the bank, Jennifer went inside and wrote a check for $15,000, and on a deposit slip, she wrote a message to the teller, stating that she and her family were being held hostage for ransom, and she asked the teller in the note to call 911. 


The teller did, indeed call 911, but it took them a HALF AN HOUR to get to this home - in a suburb!  Wait - there's more!  Within that half-hour, everybody but William would be dead, and the only reason he survived the brutal attack on his family was that the criminals thought he was already dead.

The criminal then drove Jennifer back to the house, where they proceeded to tie her to the newel post of the stair case.  The sexually assaulted the 11 yr old girl, and then poured gasoline around each daughter and Jennifer.  These criminals then set the house on fire, and ran out the door.  William Petit had been unconscious since his brutal beating the night before. The smell of smoke stirred him, and he managed to break free from the post. He crawled upstairs and out the door, laying in the yard yelling for help. A neighbor heard his cries for help, and called 911 - the second time!  But it was too late.  Both of his daughters and his wife died of smoke inhalation.  By the time the fireman had arrived, the house was a total loss.  They found Jennifer (the wife) at the top of the steps. She had broken free of her ties, and was running up the steps to save her daughters when she collapsed and died.  She died of smoke inhalation, and her body was burned beyond recognition.  The medical examiner had a good idea who she was, but a positive identification had to be made using her dental records.


Are there no police?  If I had the financial resources of Mr. Donald Trump, Mr. Bill Gates, Miss Oprah Winfrey or Ms. Martha Stewart, I would set aside several  **million** dollars a year to fight people such as those employed by the county.  Somebody is horribly negligent, and because of their negligence, 3 valuable lives were ruthlessly taken, and one man's life is permanently gutted.  The criminals were captured.  The oldest man was sentenced to death and is on Death Row.  The second man has not yet gone to trial.  Is it a surprise to you that he has already plead "Not Guilty" to all charges?  How incredibly stupid can he be (and the lawyer supporting that plea!)  Dear readers, I will not stop to consider your upbringing or your moral beliefs. What you believe is your business - not mine.  I do believe that this man deserves to die, and I believe a lethal injection is not adequate. Simply put, some people are a boil on the ass of man-kind, and they deserve to die - outright.  In fact, they should die in the same manner in which their victims suffered.


Even though I definitely was not in the house when these horrid crimes were committed, I firmly believe that when these 3 vivacious lives were taken, they did not die by merely going to sleep.  I do believe that those that kill should die the same way their victims died.  I do believe in the entire judicious (trial) process, and I believe they deserve a fair trial. It should happen QUICKLY and PUBLICLY, and not years later.  The American Public tends to have a short memory for these events. A trial and punishment years after the fact is a wasted opportunity. Granted, I am in 100% agreement that these people deserve to die.  I think it is a wasted opportunity to educate people in the following manner.  If you kill, the message should be: "You are going to die for your crime...you are going to die quickly, and publicly, to serve as an example of 'How Not To Live Your Life', and "This is What Will Happen To You If You Violate Another human Being".


In her quest to be the 'conscious and the mind of America', and a good reporter, Oprah asked Mr. William Petit if he could ever find forgiveness for these ruthless murders.  He responded by saying that he has received many tracts from religious groups stating that these acts were "God's Will" (C'mon, are you serious?).  He politely asked the tract-senders to reconsider, because "God" would never be behind an act so cruel to individuals who just came home from his house of worship.  He also stated that he is very angry with God at the moment, and that several smart people have told him that it is perfectly acceptable for him to be angry with God, because God is "Big, and he can handle it."  I will agree with Mr. Petit. Actually, during the entire interview, there wasn't a statement that he made that I did not agree with.  He went on to say that there are other forces at work in this world, and that God and "the Devil" both are given too much credit and too much blame for things they might have have had a hand in.  I am in **no way** belittling this man's experience. I would never attempt to do that in 1,000 of my lifetimes. My heart and soul cries out for him, and I am hungry to see the perpetrators see a painful, vicious demise?  Why?  Because they deserve it - we've already discussed this point.  However, it didn't take a mass murder and a ruthless act of arson for me to realize that God and the Devil do not receive credit (or blame) for every act on this planet.  People have free will, and exercise it every minute of every day - and there are other evil (and good) forces working daily around us that are a bit more conspicuous than we originally would imagine.


Mr. Petit went on to say that since it is inherent in the human constitution to hate evil, any forgiveness for these people is, in his own words, "inappropriate."  Oprah said one thing in response to this answer to her question, "That is a very good answer!"  I also firmly believe that there are many people on this planet who commit horrid acts that will never deserve forgiveness.  AND.....simply because one's misdeeds are not quite as bad as the acts that these 2 men have committed doesn't mean you are a good person. Bad has many levels - and they are all just that - BAD! Just because you aren't Charles Manson does not also make you Mother Theresa.


Since this incident, Mr. Petit (he was a prominent physician in his 50's) has lived with his parents.  His younger sister has been at his side every minute of every day, trying to keep him company and to ensure his physical and mental safety.


Forgiveness, dear readers, was never meant to be a reward for the person who wronged you!  Please review the definition of true Sadomasochism.  No, this word does not belong solely to a certain group of people interested in sexual pleasures derived from bondage.  The original term is useful in psychology.  For example, a child has learned that if he does something inappropriate, he will be punished in some way.  In addition, he (or she!) has learned that after his punishment, his parent will feel guilty for inflicting severe punishiment, and the parent will then lavish him with gifts.  What has he learned?  I act up, I get punished...then I get rewarded for acting up!  That is the true definition of Sadomasochism. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadomasochism


Apply what we have just learned to the case of someone forgiving a wrong-doer as a gift or reward for the perpetrator.  Can you say, "S & M in it's truest form?", because that's exactly what would have just happened here. What should also be gleamed from this little exercise is that forgivness is for the person who was wronged, and never for the person or people who has done the inflicting. Why would we want to give an evil person a gift or a reward?  Count me out of that one!


We have determined that forgiveness is, indeed, a gift, and in fact, a necessity for the victim.  These principles also have to be worked every day, all day long.  There is rarely a "cure all".  Trust me when I tell you that I have to mentally (and sometimes verbally!) kick my mother, and most of my own family, for that matter, of the piano bench every morning of my life when I practice my music?  Why?  Because it was a favorite past time for my mother and my older brother to pull up a chair on either side of the piano and LOUDLY mock and jeer me while I practiced my music as a child.  I can't tell you how many times I have caught myself seething to the point that I can't play another note, and I turn beet red and start shaking.  Vidions of my fingers wrapping around their throats until they are no longer breathing are stabbing at my brain.  I have to stop myself immediately and coach myself, "Michael, don't ever let anybody live in your head rent-free." and "Anger, frustration, hatred, and loathing are very heavy cloaks to pick up in the morning when you get out of bed, and put on your shoulders every day to wear throughout your day!  I have to tell them, "I forgive you. Not because you deserve a gift. This gift is not for you - and it will never be for you.  This gift me for ME, because I am a good, very talented, beautiful human being who has worked hard to make this world a better place, which is more than I can say for yourselves!"  I have to give them one good symbolical kick, and their asses land on the hard, cold floor beside the piano or Hammond bench. THEN...I play better music than I ever have.  However, once doesn't do it.  I find myself having to shoo them off at least every-other day. 

These things are never completely finished, and they take daily maintenance.


I do have one thing to say to Mr. Petit. In this round, I am in no way lessening my personal experience because it wasn't near the level of the hell that you experienced.  Remember - there are different "Hells" right here on Earth! My mother and most of my immediate (and some extended!) family are monsters.  My immediate family is soaked with individuals who have committed any where from minor to major infractions against their fellow man.  Stress, bitterness, hatred, seathing, and the list goes on only serves to give away your power. YOU deserve to keep that power. You were a prominent physician that can no longer practice because of what two men did to you and your family.  I can never and I will never be able to fathom you level of grief, suffering, anger and dispair.  I can only use my life as an example, because that is my own personal view point.  I can tell you that even though I have suffered at the hands of idiots, and if I ever returned to their vicinity, I'm sure they would be more than thrilled to try to pour their famous crap on me again.  What a bad mistake that would be - but I digress!


I you do not reclaim what is left of your life from the worthless idiots that took away your world, there would be 4 deaths in the family instead of 3.  That would be another senseless loss.  I never knew your family, but I guarantee you that they would not want you to wither away and cease to function as a result of their deaths.  Bette Davis is the only person who ever wanted that!


Mindless things that other people will say that you will never hear out of my mouth:


1) "Oh, it was God's Will!"
My response:  "How do you know, are you God?"


2) "Oh, they're better off." or, "They're in a better place!"
My response: "Where the hell do you people come up with this crap?  Do you run it through the filters in your own mind before you mindless repeat what you have heard other people say?"


What should be said, "I am here for you if you need anything, or you want to talk." Or - give them a big hug. No more is usually wanted, or is necessary.


Dr. Petit, you have to say, "I release you, you heavy burdensome cloak of fear, anger, hatred and disgust!  I don't forgive you, you criminals. I never have and I never will. You do not deserve forgiveness.  But, for one more minute, you will not steal my power that you did not deserve in the first place, nor should you expect that I will give it away to you."  Then, I play music on one of my instruments. Music is incredibly healing.  I go to my local Missouri Botanical Garden, to the Climatron Tropical Rainforest, and even in the middle of the winter, the warm sun beams down on my face, and I am surrounded by a rainforest filled with plants and birds. You have to find what works for you, and you have a lot more work than I have to do! 


Poet Maya Angelo, a St. Louis native, once wrote when asked of her personal reprieve: "My Garden is the place I want to go after my last breath is refused, but before I meet God."  Personally, I have several of those places.  The Missouri Botanical Gardens is one of them, The Shaw Nature Preserve or The Butterfly House are others, as is my piano or Hammond bench, or a local nationally-known art show.  Those are my places of refuge.  You need to find your own, and try your best to take those demons by the horns.  We are already mourning 3 losses - a 4th loss caused by a person who ceases to flourish because the actions of another person (a thief, a murder, or a bad person, in general!) is unjustified.  To live under the heavy cloak that they thrust upon you can be considered the same action as allowing them to commit yet another crime against you.   Not only will is effect you, but the burden will be transferred to those around you, creating more damage in the wake of the original misdeed.  I did not just lapse into highfalutin' duck-speak.  I can list names of individuals who are presently living such lives.  Trust me when I tell you - it isn't pretty!


- Michael