People are Messed Up

It never fails to astound me just how messed up the human race can be. People live in their own little worlds, life goes on and no one realizes what a freak the person standing right next to you can be. Perhaps you’re the freak, who knows? What’s my point here? Just this:

If you haven’t heard, there is a man in Austria who has been holding his daughter captive in a cell in his basement for the last 24 years, yes 24 years. That, of course, isn’t the worst of it. He abused her sexually, fathering at least seven children with her; 1 whom he burned in a furnace after the baby died from neglect, 3 who were held in the cell with their mother and never saw daylight; then taking the other 3 to live with him and his wife. The wife apparently had no clue, as she believed the daughter to have runaway when she was 18 and was then told the children were left at the door. This is a really messed up deal, as you can well imagine.

Then, here locally, there is man who is convicted of a robbery. He threatened 2 women with a knife at a Fun Tan shop, attempted to rape them (but no information on why he didn’t actually rape them) and took some cash. Now, this too is messed up, but I think most people would agree that it’s not as messed up as contestant number 1.

So, want to take a guess at what their jail times are? I’ll give you a hint.
The maximum sentence the Austrian can receive is 15 years, yes 15 years. The robber, was handed a 40 year sentence.

Now, I would present the question. Who here is really the messed up people?

If you said, the people residing over our world’s legal systems, then perhaps there is hope for you yet. Maybe, just maybe, you haven’t succumbed to the weird, messed up, bizzareo world that these other people are living in. I personally don’t understand how our values got so terribly screwed out of place. Seriously, when did threats and robbery become a more serious crime than, confinement (for years, and years), sexual abuse, and let’s face it, just outright being too fucked up in the head to deserve to live?

People are messed up, man.

Lilies and Ferns

Today prom- ises to be a busy, busy Sunday. Whilst I write this I am thinking of how I’m going to manage to dig up a bunch of Ferns that I need to move. Then I need to replant them, get laundry done, motivate two out three children to take showers (one is already done), do the dishes, get my own shower and leave to meet R’s dad in Elkhart for dinner. Then I need to get back here, call a friend who I will be swapping some of my ferns with (she’ll be giving me some Lily of the Valley) so I can arrange to get those, call the Audubon (again) because I just can’t get in touch with anyone who seems to know where the key to the sanctuary is, then…I have three articles to write for Inside Granger that will be due by Tuesday. But hey, no pressure…seriously, I can do this but it will be a busy day so…I can’t stay long.

BTW – I did get my first professional publication out in the May issue of InMichiana. I was very thrilled. It’s not out to the public yet, but should be soon. When it becomes available I’ll post a link to it. Thank you Charmi for plugging it; I really appreciate it.

Big Mistake

Wow! Talk about your bad mistakes! I think I really messed up here, seriously. I can’t believe I put a picture of King George on my BLOG site. What was I thinking? OMG!!!!! Now every time I pull up my page I have to see his face. I get sick to my stomach and lose any and all chance of writing anything decent, because all of my creativity is instantly sucked from my being. WTF!

I think I may have to delete the picture. I am completely serious. I don’t think I can take it much longer. I actually told myself, “It’ll be ok, it will only be visible until you write your next post, as long as you don’t scroll down; and after a few more posts it will be sent to the archive where you never have to look at it again.” I really did say this to myself. But, despite the reassurance I find myself sickened at the mere knowledge that it’s there and the impression is now burned into my brain. What’s a poor girl to do?

I hate to eliminate a portion of the BLOG that was honestly put there to make a point, but….I don’t know, I guess I’ll try to keep my dinner down for a few more days and hopefully allow it to pass into archive land. This is tougher than giving up crack, though. I just want everyone to know the lengths I’m willing to go to in order to provide a full layout of my thought process. I wouldn’t do this for just anyone.

That said, I’m going to post this and then go to bed. I need to get up early(er) and I have a full day ahead of me. What else is new, right? Ok then, I’m not putting up a picture tonight. I want to try and erase any and all images from my mind; at least for the present time. God, please don’t let me dream tonight. It might be more than I can take.

Rant

The Biggest Whiny Brat Of All
*Think About It

Dare I say it, lest I become the target for whiny vengeance? Well, I must. Someone has to say it. Things are just going too far. Have you heard about the kid, I think he’s in one of the Carolinas, who was going to plant multiple bombs throughout his school? I mean come on. The kid didn’t like jocks or some stupid ass thing like that so he was going to blow “Everyone” up and then take his self out too.

I am getting so sick of these dumbasses. Seriously, what makes them think that their problems are any more difficult than the problems that every other person on the face of the planet is dealing with? I blame this recent trend on a society who has babied their children to death “literally”. Today we see kids on their local soccer teams, ALL getting a trophy because “No One” should be left out; or work appreciation awards go to “Everyone” because it’s not right to ignore those who are only doing what they were HIRED to do.

People!!! Let’s get back to reality. There are those of us who excel and those who don’t. If you’re one who does not, then get off your ass and work harder! People have been living together for centuries without having to recognize the “special” feelings of every freakin’ person on the planet. And guess what, everyone didn't go postal because of it.

I think what it boils down to is this. We have created a generation of people now, who expect to be recognized for everything in their lives, no matter how absurd. Then you get these people pissed off because, let’s face it, it’s impossible to recognize every single accomplishment for every single person. Next thing you know, you have these dumbasses running off on a shooting, or bombing, spree because they feel left out. BOO FUCKING HOO!!!

In my day, people got recognized because they deserved it. They went over and above what was expected of them. They went the proverbial, “Extra Mile” and made the world a better place because of it. I didn’t get the brownie buttons and the mentions they did. I didn’t excel like they did. I was a semi-popular nerdy kind of freak who floated along like most everyone else, and you know what….I didn’t go off and kill anyone!!!

All I can say is that I think these people are spoiled little brats. Whining about how hard their life has been, when they obviously haven’t experienced shit. Let’s put them all on a plane and drop them in the middle of Africa or Iraq and tell them to fend for themselves. Then maybe they’ll toughen up a bit and begin to understand what a hard life is really all about. Oh wait…we can’t do that because they’re all too chicken shit to LIVE after they have destroyed the lives of all of their innocent victims and the victims families!!! Assholes!

K….I feel better now.

Crunchy Frog

Mmmmm, who doesn’t love chocolate? Yeah, yeah I know there are some of you out there but I; I am not among you. I love chocolate. I adore chocolate. I am, at his very moment craving chocolate…good chocolate because there is good and bad chocolate. I don’t believe I have ever craved bad chocolate. In other words, I would very much, right now, like to have some delicious, yummy in the tummy, absolutely bad for you, good chocolate.

I guess some people have been concerned lately that the FDA may begin to regulate the amount of fat in chocolate due to the whole bad fat issue. According to the FDA, though, we chocolate lovers are safe. They won’t be taking away our yummy goodness any time soon.

So, now that we know our chocolate is safe….have you ever caught the “Crunchy Frog” episode of Monty Python? It’s really quite humorous. If you haven’t seen it then get off your duff and do so; especially if you’re a chocolate lover. It’s really gross, but in a funny sort of way. The basic plot has to do with a food inspector coming to discuss the “ingredients” in a company’s fine chocolates. If the title hasn’t given you a clue, well then, you’re a bit on the dense side aren’t cha? There are other flavors too; something like Spring Surprise and Larks Vomit, if I remember correctly. Anyway, it’s a good time. Make sure you bring along your favorite Bon Bons and curl up for a good laugh. “And now for something completely different”.

A Day In My Life

In the words of Mayor Richard Wilkins III, from Sunnydale, “Well Gosh”. It’s been such a busy weekend. It started out with me joining The League of Women Voters. That was actually rather fun. (Hey, don’t blow me a line of nerddom here. If the Buffy reference and D&D posts haven’t given you a clue already, then you may as well throw in the towel). At any rate, it was fun and now I have an opportunity to be more of an influence in my community. That alone should scare most people.

After the League I came home to a vomiting child. He wasn’t actually vomiting when I walked in the door. He waited until I got home and began to settle in and then tossed his cookies all the way down the stairway, through the living room and onto the bathroom floor. He was finished by the time he made it to the toilet. So, I spent the rest of the evening (until about 1:00 AM) scraping up pot pie and scrubbing carpet and walls with LOTS of disinfectant and then showering. Of course he wasn’t done; he had a repeat about 4:30 in the morning. Fortunately, I was prepared for that one and had a bucket on hand. I did, however, end up staying awake for a good long time after that and by the time I fell back to sleep the other kids were getting up. I crashed out of pure exhaustion until about 11:00; R got the kids breakfast. I think he felt bad for leaving me with “puke” duty; he has a weak stomach, things would have been much worse.

K, then after I get up and feed the birdies, have my coffee, do some laundry, and take another shower I head off to the store where I stock up on soup, jello, and crackers. I drop it all off at home and head up to campus for the Wolfson Awards and pre-award sessions with the guest author, Brock Clarke who has recently published An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England. I made it home about 9:00 PM and between putting on some jammies, getting the kids settled for bed and feeding the cats I am trying to catch up on my writing.

Tomorrow I have to write up some questions for the three interviews that I’m scheduled to do, Monday, for the Personal Profile articles I’ll be writing for Inside Granger, which is a flagship publication of the Tribune. Then I need to go see one of my daughters’ new apartment, because I saw the other daughters’ new house and now she feels neglected. They both just moved into new places within the last two weeks. Anyway, I’m going to go there at some time tomorrow, it still hasn’t been decided exactly when because…R and his brother will have the van, they’re going fishing, so my oldest daughter is going to come and pick me and the rest of the kids up and go see the apartment; this is, if none of the kids are puking. If they are, then I’ll have to wait until R gets home and go by myself Sunday night.

I still have plants waiting to go into the ground. I’ve been trying to get them in for about two weeks now. They’re going to die before I can plant them I just know it. Oh yeah, I have two poems to write for the Poetic Asides poem a day challenge because I missed last night due to pukage. Does it still count if I write two in one day instead? But despite everything, at the moment I’m writing and listening to X-Mal Deutschland so life is good and I’m content. Peace Out Man!

Gargoyles Anyone?

While thinking what to write about tonight, gargoyles came to mind. Actually, it was more along the lines of collectables. I collect gargoyles, skulls, and dragons those are just the things I find interesting. So, I thought, “I should talk about collecting things and maybe find out what other people collect.” This was all well and good, however…..

And there’s always a, however. I found myself sidetracked from the topic when I began looking for a really cool gargoyle picture online. I did a search for “gargoyles” under Google Images and found some pretty cool stuff. Then, I thought further (this can be a dangerous practice for me) and decided to see what pictures I could find of local gargoyles. So, I narrowed the search to include “South Bend” and you know what I found? Not too dang much, that’s what. The picture that is accompanying this post is the only gargoyle picture I could find that is worth the search. It’s a picture from the house over by Showplace 16, the one way back in the woods. It’s called Beyer Castle and is a local Bed and Breakfast. Now I can’t attest for the B&B’s hospitality since I’ve never had the pleasure of patronizing the establishment; but I can say that they have some awesome architecture and hey…guess what…gargoyles!

That being said now, my thoughts continued. I wondered why there weren’t very many cool pics of local gargoyles. Is it because South Bend is just lacking in its gargoyle population, perhaps South Benders just aren’t into gargoyles, or maybe, hmm I don’t know, maybe there’s something else going on. So, for what it’s worth I’d like to propose a challenge to the local South Bend population. I say, let’s get some pictures of our local protectorates, and water spouts. Surely there must be some beastly eyes peering down on us as we travel the roads going about our business. I’m thinking that South Benders could, with camera in hand, go about their daily business and when a gargoyle is spotted watching you from above, snap its picture. Then post it online and tell us where to find it. Wouldn’t it be neat, if the next time a search for “gargoyles”"south bend”, turned up like twenty pages of really cool gargoyle pictures? I think it would. Personally, I would like to find out just how many of these guys are out there. Maybe we could give, like, a brownie point to the person who posts the most. Just thinking….

Oh, and I would still be interested in finding out what people collect. I know I’m not the only one who hoards items of little or no real potential value just for the sake of having them to look at.