Resting In Peace

It falls upon me to make the following sad announcement: 

Anne ("Lil' Bill") Warburton has passed on peacefully, one week short of her 92nd birthday. She was in the company of her immediate family in Santa Barbara.

Priorities

Overpopulation and Further Thinking

THIS is the most important problem on the earth, no quibbling, and if humans don’t solve it for themselves, Nature will solve it for us.

The most important weapons directed at the human race are uncontrolled growth of population and laws against the right to die. These are two rights of great importance, rights which should belong only to the person involved. Most women would like to have children of their own. However, in the case of a woman who just loves to breed, her selfish reproduction may cause another woman who also wants one or two children to decide not to have any children at all. There should be a law warning all women of the rights which we owe each other in this regard.

Death has been decided on for all of us by whomever or whatever created us.
Just as important is the right to choose to die, whether to end a terrible illness, or an agonizing and endless struggle with mental illness. This, again, is a tragic, but private decision which should be made by the person so involved and his close family.

Religion is largely responsible for the disasters which await us, urging women to produce many children, and condemning them for having an abortion by teaching them that they must multiply, as well as condemning them for abortion and even birth control as sin. This undoubtedly goes back to the early days of our conquest of the Indians in our crusade to usurp their land-- very successfully, by the way-- and to convert them to Christianity as a means of control.

One of the saddest results of these beliefs is the resulting birth of many physically and mentally ill-equipped humans, many of whom must live relatively long and unrewarding lives, for their families as well as for themselves.

In any event, religion should play no part in our national laws governing all of us, except to confirm that no religious belief, or lack therof, shall control any of us except by the will of the individual so involved

If I can get LittleBill off my lap, and remember what I wanted to say, I hope to get a blog into the airwaves (or wherever it goes) sometime today. What I have to say is a bunch of short thinking, some of it old, but still important to me.

PAUSE...............

Sorry about that, I woke up a couple of days ago with considerable arthritic pain in my left hand and wrist. And I am having alot of trouble talking without lisping or using words that sound similar to what I want to say, but are not the words I want to say. Those problems may be a reaction to the various drugs I am receiving through my implanted pain pumps. And the confusion has entered my computer keyboard as well. Don’t mean to go on feeling sorry for myself. Just thought that the symptoms might comfort other old people who have the same and are relieved to hear that someone else has had them too. I’m glad to say that working on the computer doesn’t seem to hurt my hand.
..........

Now where was I? Oh, yes... As usual, one of the Republican senators was just on TV, winning many new voters by relating how much Republican tax money goes into the hands of the undeserving poor. At the same time, the Republicans use religion and abortion to enlist the support of the poor, especially those who have been taught that abortion is a sin. And so it is that the southern poor in particular end up producing children they cannot support, many of whom, in turn, follow the same path.
..........

From the way in which the Republicans have consistently voted against Pres. Obama, it is apparent that they must have had some sort of plan from the beginning to nix almost everything he has tried to introduce to improve the way in which democracy serves the people. If you watch the leading Republicans, either singly or in a group, they distinguish themselves by NEVER smiling. One wonders if his race has anything to do with their reaction to him.
.........

Abortion and the right to die are the two problems universal to all of mankind, and without them they will lead to our extinction. First, just as I was thinking of what I want to say and how I want to say it, there was a discussion on CNN about the rights of citizens of America, and not one word was said about Indians. It was all about Americans, mostly Christian, to subsume the land and mores of almost an entire continent so that they could continue to practice their own beliefs, including the conversion of others.

And, of course, there was no mention of atheists. As one of them, and speaking for others, we tend to be very comfortable in our moral and ethical personas, all individual, but none out to convert others. You can’t get here that way from there.


ARW
2/20/11

YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS!! A HORROR TALE OF IN-HOME CARE

(Looking back, it almost seems like a Laurel and Hardy comedy for those old enough to remember, except that, at the time, it wasn’t funny.)

A new caregiver was sent to me one morning as a substitute. I was still in bed, and Jackie, my ex-caregiver who has lived here ever since her professional time here, brought her to the door of my room to introduce us. “The caregiver” stood just out of sight at the door until I invited her in. From that point on, it is easiest to recount the FIFTEEN MINUTE span of time we spent together. I can’t, and don’t want to remember her name, so I shall just refer to her as her or she.

First, I asked her to please empty the bedside potty before I got up. When she came back, I told her I was ready for my shower, whereupon she whipped out a completely new pair of rubber gloves and put them on. I told her I didn’t think she would need a new pair of gloves, as I did not have any diseases (except for my various venereal diseases, which I did not mention) and gave myself my bath, so all she needed to do was help me get into the bathroom. Explaining to me that she wore them for her own safety, we proceeded.

Upon entering the bathroom, I could see that no preparations had been made for me, and I moved on to the toilet as a sanctuary upon which to relax as she prepared. As I approached, I could see that the lid of the potty was still up (a no-no for cats) and the seat was covered with feces and urine. Obviously, “the caregiver” had not even raised the seat before emptying the pot.

When she had finally gotten that taken care of and I was able to sit down, we proceeded to the “preparation of the tub.” Nothing, up to that point, had been done. First, I asked “the caregiver” to put down the tub mat, which was hanging on a grab bar along the back wall. The only possible problem here was that she needed to put one end of the mat under the chair in the tub for me to sit on; she handled this very nicely, except that she placed the mat upsidedown, with the sucker side up.

The final step in the arrangements for “madam’s bath” was for the bathmat—you know, the one you step upon as you exit the tub—to be placed alongside the tub. Easy enough, but even that failed. With both mats, she did them “Look, Ma, one hand,” and thus, the mat landed on the floor with a hump in the middle, at an angle from the tub. (By the way if you read the last words of the last sentence over, starting with “with a hump,” you’ll discover, as I did, that it has a catchy lilt to it.)

Back to the story: It was at that point in my saga that I called to Jackie, “Get her out of here!!!” (I’ve been told before that I am inclined to raise my voice when angered, so that may very well have happened here.)

ARW
2/6/11
cc: Everyone, VCC

THIS COUNTRY AND THE WORLD AT THE START OF 2011


Don’t know whether I have mentioned this before, but I find I do my best thinking just BEFORE I wake up in the morning. From there on, it’s a matter of time and circumstance as to how long I can remember, and how soon I can get my thoughts down.

What I am most concerned about right now is the economic journey this country is making. I looked “democracy” up in the dictionary, and economics and democracy are not directly related. So I can only assume that you who spend your lives in the exciting game of getting rich, can do so while at the same time both you and the world can look upon you as an outstanding citizen.

For starters, all animals (humans among them) require the same two assets in order to exist: food and shelter. Very few of us, at least in this country, can provide them by ourselves, and so we must provide them for ourselves by paying others for them in the form of money.

At the top of my sleepy-time notes is my comment that some sort of evening-out between the top and bottom income levels of human existence is long overdue. Few of the rich made their money by their own hard work; most of us, rich or poor, need some sort of financial backing to get educated.

No one NEEDS to be rich; everyone, on the other hand, NEEDS a chance to become educated.

National financing of education is absolutely ESSENTIAL to the success of this nation, and the success of the human animal as a whole.

Many people, on the other hand, resent having any of their own money go toward the education of anyone else. We were all born, however, to different parents, under different circumstances. Seems odd to me that so many of us boast of living in this nation which boasts of being a Christian nation. As LittleBill’s momma, I would like to put forth my philosophy that financial chance è education è ability to find a job è self-esteem è hopefully, the desire to pass the same chance on to others.

Countries need to live according to their own natural resources (gas, oil, fish, crops, natural resources, etc.) rather than trading with each other, and live according to the resources within their own lands.

It is especially bad for countries like ours to woo promising students from foreign lands to free education here, and then keep them here for ourselves. They should be encouraged to go back to their own lands—as it is, our generocity turns out to be a form of piracy.

And countries the world over need to replace machines and technology with human labor, attuned more to the worker than to the technology. It is the worker who must contribute first in order to be rewarded for his work. Technology doesn’t know, and doesn’t care. The most powerful tool of a human being is his mind; the only meaningful purpose of a human mind is to think and to contribute, and the only meaningful reward for his contribution to the world should be appropriate recognition in the form of the ability to provide a comfortable life for his family. It is the employer who provides the reward, but it is the worker who does the work which provides the salaries for both of them, and when the employer takes more than his share of the reward while the employee is given less than he needs to survive, that constitutes the grossest form of robbery.

The Socialist (signed with pride)
2/5/11

THOUGHTS KEEP RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD

There are still many of us around who remember the “olden days”, when few thought much about how many children a family should have. For one thing, it has only been a little over a century since Man abandoned the Ages of manual and animal labor, and dove headlong into the debauchery of living lives made easy by technology.

The worst part is that this age of physical ease has also led to varying degrees of personal greed, best expressed through the lives of some of the Very Rich, but also added to the Wish Lists of those farther down the financial hill.

And—if you can wander down the wandering mental path of an old shut-in—I must explain that what I am about to write came to my mind several days ahead of what I just wrote above.

First, Americans keep bragging to the rest of the world that this is the Land of the Free. Just exactly which Americans are free? Let’s accept the notion that we live in a white nation. (I wonder just what percentage of the Indians—many of whom still live on reservations—think of this as an apt description.)

Next, the black population: Almost without exception, the blacks who live here now are descended from blacks who came here in chains. I’ll bet they have a different view of what “freedom” means—even now!

And let’s not forget the latest problem most annoying to white Americans right now—the Hispanics. To review our national history a bit, our white forebears had to sail—do you get that—actually SAIL all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, and then fight off and kill a lot of the people who already lived here in order to bring OUR children here to the land which (probably someone decided) God had said should be OURS. And now—can you believe it?!—we have Mexicans, albeit many friendly, coming across a different border to Our Country looking for jobs and homes and futures for their children as well?!

Which leads us, in turn, to the caste system this country presently enjoys. We like to think of ourselves as living in a land of freedom for everyone to climb a number of—but not all—ladders of choice. The most popular are those which require Wealth, Family Name, Connections, and Just-Plain-Luck. They don’t require too much work. In almost all cases, if you got it, you get it; if you don’t, you won’t.

The most valuable and meaningful ladders are those which require a great deal of time and effort in any available education and/or opportunity which can be seen as goals of service (large or small) to others.

Why is it that, by the luck of birth, some of us are entitled to lives of comfort—and even wealth, while many others are condemned to lives spent in meaningless, often difficult jobs, unrewarded by salaries that make them worth doing; and even worse, jobs which do not even reward them with self-respect? And to make matters worse, that is the only inheritance many have to pass on down to their children. (Improvements in their lives are beginning to take place now, but they are a long way off.)

Listening to discussions right now on the matter of unemployment, the anwer which both sides seem to agree upon, apparently rests on increased jobs. BUT, how can you solve it when we have increased population completely ignored on one hand, and reduced jobs on the other, due to enormous advances in humanless technology on the other?!

As a hardrock Atheist, it amazes me that so few Christians living in what they like to proclaim as a Christian Nation, apparently have given any serious thought to the moral and eithical sins of our national way of life.

And I close with the conundrum to beat all concundrums: How can you add another drop of water to a one-cup measuring cup which is already full? The answer is, You Can’t.

Neither Man, nor any other organism can spread itself beyond the spatial or nurturing bounds of the Earth without very possibly precipitating the End for All. And I would go beyond this to realize that, MORALLY, this probably should apply to Outer Space as well.

ARW
12/12/10

More Creatures to Rescue

THE PET PERIODICAL – More Creatures to Save

How I could have written on how to save a fly and then neglected other insects far more in need of help is beyond me. I hope this will make up for my mistake.

There are many insects which can ONLY crawl—no flying. And the death trap most eager to welcome them is the bathtub. Once a crawling insect enters the tub, it is trapped, for it cannnot crawl back up the upright slippery side, wet or dry.

For those of you with the sense of mercy to help them, the first thing to do is close the down-drain. Then get a piece of paper (if a fly rescue cup is not available) and encourage the poor creature to climb on so that you can take it outside.

If you’re a really human Human Being, that ought to make you feel good.

ARW
12/5/10

THE PET PERIODICAL

THE PET PERIODICAL – How to Rescue a Fly

Sitting here in my “office” day after day, one would think that I do not have much to write about. From my point of view, however, there is a great deal. My only problem right now lies in actually getting it done. But now, at last, it is very important to me to write on this subject, as I realize how very much I am slowing down.

One day, as I turned away from the constantly and instantaneously available connection of the television screen which brings us the real-life horrors of human life and human cruelty, I turned toward the window facing the opposit direction. And there I saw a fly on the inside—just sitting.

To catch a fly you have to be prepared with instruments at hand and the ability to react quickly. The instruments of choice range from the world-famous fly swatter, back through the years to fly paper and large bowls of soapy water in whch to drown any insect with curiosity--all of them cruel, a trait which only the human animal has been able to conceive and exhibit to such a high degree.

Very luckily, I happened to have a four-ounce plastic food container with plastic lid to match, and I quickly—but sneakily--grabbed them and placed the cup over the fly. Then I slipped the lid between the cup and the window--with the bewildered fly inside--and rushed them through the garage and outside, where I set the fly free. NOW, DON’T ARGUE WITH ME; as he flew away, he waved goodbye and said “thank you” to me!

From that day to this, I have regretted all the time it took for me to learn this lesson. Somehow, instead of feeling crazier, I acually feel more human.

ARW
12/4/10

THE RECENT ELECTION

Don’t know about the rest of you, but the events of the past month have really sapped my spirit and my body of a great deal of their remaining strength.

Many of you—like me—must have noticed that Messrs. John Boehner and Mitch McConnell never smiled during the run-up to the election. On the other hand, President Obama’s smile is full of warmth and sincerity—as it was even when he came to the microphone to acknowledge his humiliating and unwarranted defeat. I hope that intelligent man realizes that the world is fast becoming ungovernable, regardless of who our leaders are.

As for the two Republican leaders, it was obvious that they did not lead their followers with a philosophical banner at their fore; rather, they chose to be a team opposing another team by means of political tactics. At least in my mind, there is no memory of an offering of compromise.

Which leads me, in turn, to ruminating about the real goal of this country. And that goal, I have decided, is to COMPETE. And competition entails winners and losers—between or among individuals, groups, and nations. Whether in sports, schools, groups, or nations.

At the very bottom of the human scale of achievement lie those unfortunate souls who were born with IQ’s beyond any hope of success.

At the very top are those who are blessed with both intelligence and wealth to assure them of comfortable lives.

Below them are the people financially stressed, but with minds, determination, and—often—the luck to get educated, and recognized for what they have to offer. It is this group which represents human life at its very best.

The mixture resulting from putting students of an age in a class together and grading them with a universal achievement score, unfortunately ends up with two groups—Winners and Losers. This must be devastating to those on the bottom. And the possible reaction of some might be to find bravado as their only reaction of choice.

On the other hand, I suggest that the schools establish two grading systems—one for the top, a new one for the bottom—without telling ANYONE, at least for an experimental period. In that way, a student with failing grades might find him/her self suddenly
doing a little better. And this, in turn, should garner recognition (rather than wild praise) from the teacher. Knowing you’ve done SOMETHING right for the first time in you life just might help turn a life around.

ARW
11/27/10

Perhaps I am missing something, or just don't understand. Sarah Palen has a pretty face and looks cute in high heels. Are those the qualifications everyone should be looking for in politics? I obviously need your help.

ARW
10/25/10

An Apology

THE PET PERIODICAL – A Clarification

Don’t Know Why (tum ta tum tum--tum tum tum--), I’ve been signing off as ARW on my Pet Periodical—of all things! From Now On (another song comes to mind, but not the cadence), I will try to remember to sign myself as MErcury, to include my dear, sweet little black cat, Mercury (the one minus the white spot on her chest.)

Please humiliate me by correcting me, loudly, in verse if possible, and for all the other reader to see.

MErcury
10/7/10

THE PET PERIODICAL

The Should ‘a’ Been Original Introduction

The most important thing for my readers to know is that I do not intend to write about animal cruelty (of which there are endless amounts.) That said, I intend to write about animal wonderfulness, and hope to share it with and/or to inspire you from firsthand knowledge.

For each of us, what we become is seldom what we started out to be, however, and I have decided to include one of my very early blogs below just to let you know that—like all humans—I have “osmosed” into what I have become.

Rodeos used to be—and undoubtedly still are--a major form of “entertainment,” and I used to “enjoy” them, along with most people of my place and time. Don’t ask me how I could have started so far behind on the concept of unkindness; my only defense is that it must be a matter of background.

At any rate, I am going to reprint one of my very earliest writings, below, or following, as the case may be; and then I will give my view of animals, as opposed to my view of “humans.” THUS,


THE PET PERIODICAL – Introduction from pre-Pet Periodical Days (01/06/10)

I Wish It Hadn’t Happened That Way

When I was young, I grew up on a ranch in Wyoming. My family were well-to-do, so the ranch was a retirement home. My father didn’t do any physical work unless it was for pleasure, which it often was. We ran a few cattle, and we had riding horses and two teams of workhorses. No one out our way had electric lights or telephones until we moved in and had the wires extended from town. (The telephone line was communal, so we all took turns on using it. If it was busy, you just waited. Our telephone number was 28.)

One day we children were whisked into town for the day, but I know what went on. A large hole was dug down closer to the barn, and the four workhorses were led into it. Then, one-by-one, they were shot. My father was a kindly man, but I do not recall why he had that done. All I can remember is that, after that, we had tractors—and no work horses. One of our saddle horses died of sleeping sickness (possibly near that time), and it may have been that the other horses were also coming down with it. I just don’t know.

It has always been my belief that most ranch hands have felt love for the animals they worked with. Red, our ranch hand, had no family that I was aware of, and no car to get there. This was 70-some years ago. Not everyone had cars, many hitch-hiked, and there was little to do in town except drink and look up the “girls.” He probably hitched a ride into town with Elmer, the foreman.

Thinking about that time from the viewpoint of the ranchers, having no car, and nothing much to do when you got there must have been a pretty lonely life for a ranch hand, especially if he was the only one on a ranch and uneducated to boot.

But this is not just about one family, one ranch, and four horses. It is about the beginnings of a time when so many ranchers and/or farmers were making changes, abandoning live animals for machinery. It is about a large part of human life when too many people (in town as well as country) began to turn from a life of depending on animals as well as returning their love to using things made of metal and glass in their stead.

By the same token, people began to turn from country living to living in cities packed close to each other. The odd thing is that, in a world long past, people could live far apart, yet count on each other at harvesting time, as well as when emergencies arose. And you always waved at everyone you passed, whether you knew them or not.

On the other hand, if you move into a large town or city, the tendency is to ignore most everyone, even your neighbors (sometimes even those in trouble.)

Here I am at the end of my blog, and where do I find myself without even realizing it? Pointing out a major part of what happens to humans as our numbers increase.


Don’t know why I have been signing myself as ARW--on The Pet Periodical—of all things! From now on, I will try to remember to sign myself as MErcury, to include my dear, sweet little black cat, Mercury (the one minus the white spot on her chest.)

MErcury
10/5/10

A BIT MORE AUTOBIOGRAPHY

To fill in those people who may not know, I post what I write on both of my outlets, annewarb@gmail.com, as well as and Paws de Deux , my blog. Except under rare circumstances which don’t presently occur to me, my message is the same. That said, I will relate some more biographical background, to kind of fill you in as to why I have become the rather strange person I am—and which I hope you may find interesting.

As I have told you before, I was born into a rich family. And that is important because it allows for avenues and choices. Whereas, in a poor family, help by every member is of great importance, participation by members of a rich family is usually voluntary. At least that’s the way it was
in my family in the days of the Great Depression of the 20th Century (chiefly the 1930’s.)

Our connection with the Rest of the World was tenuous at best, even for the educated; and as a result, our values and our knowledge were tenuous at best. We had no connections with the world such as those we have today. Many of us—even today—do not want to know what is going on in the world. For those of us who DO want to know, we are blessed--in most cases--with conscience.

ARW
9/30/10

THE PET PERIODICAL – The Rescue of the Rat

One day, I strolled from our house on the ranch down to barn, taking our four dogs with me, tails wagging, and noses sniffing the ground for scent.

As we drew near the barn, the dogs suddenly darted forward. I rushed after them to see what was going on, and found them sniffing at a long pole lying alongside the barn. It looked like a telephone pole—which it probably was. I yelled at the dogs, knowing that there must be some animal trapped behind the pole, and eventually, they gave up and went off in search of greener fields.

I stayed behind to see if whatever it was was all right, and eventually a small rat climbed up on top of the log, sat up on his haunches, and thanked me in rat language for saving his life.

This may sound like a really sweet story—which it is—but it has much, much more meaning to me. It was experiences like this that have converted me to the singular religion which was conceived in my heart and now consumes my mind and soul.


LittleBill
9/28/10

First, Some Family Background

Although we and our siblings are often recognizable as having come from the same family, we are just as often totally different, both in views and lifestyles. And so it has been with my family.

Also, keep in mind that we are products of our century, our time, and our history.

My father, Poppy, came from a middle class family in Buffalo, New York. He did not go beyond his sophomore year in high school, but he had a brilliant mind and a charming personality. At the time when I was born, Poppy owned a paint manufacturing company in Cleveland, Ohio--very possibly financed with the aid of my mother's inheritance from a very rich lake freighter family.

My mother, Mother, was--to my knowledge--the last remaining heir of her family. My memory of her revolves around the sight of her sitting by the radio doing needlepoint or reading Redbook or Cosmopolitan. She was not what I would call an intellectual, but she was an example of her time and class.

My older sister, Liz, led a miserable life. She eventually ran off with--and married--a rodeo cowboy, and they had two little girls, Teensle and Toni. Why it is that such awful things happen to the most miserable people, I don't know, but Teensle got into a drawer of prescriptions and swallowed a bottle of pills--which killed her. And that took away whatever joy poor Liz had ever experienced in her life.

My younger sister, Cynthia, on the other hand, was the "little princess" of the family. Whereas I was large of bone and struggled with overweight, she was--and remains, from her pictures--the darling of the girls.

My brother, Gus, was the baby--and the pride--of the family. He loved classical music (as do I.) Except for one or two temporary jobs, he never worked, until my mother sent him off to learn how to conduct a classical orchestra. He conducted various orchestras (as a guest conductor, I assume) around Europe and the United States. Next to conducting, by far his greatest interest was himself.

As the second oldest sibling, I, Anne--aka Duck Duck, Rudy in boarding school and college, Mommy, Ma, or Mother (depending on mood or relationship at a particular time)--have had an up-and-down existence.

With pride and conviction, I can say that I am easily the most mentally endowed and practiced of all the rest of the family.

And so, with all modesty, I close this enumeration of my family members.

ARW
9/29/10

The Ranch

THE PET PERIODICAL – Background

My family moved from Cleveland, Ohio, to a lovely ranch in northeastern Wyoming in the early 1930’s.

Our home was built under an enormous cottonwood tree—about a mile from the front gate. From the long veranda along the front of the house and facing west, we had a panoramic view of the Big Horn Mountains. And from the back of the house facing east, we had a panoramic view of a very long grass-covered mesa, a section of which was grazing land for our cattle and horses. And the foreman’s home, the bunkhouse, and the barn were situated halfway between our home and our front gate (to the west.)

Looking toward the mesa and to the right of the house was a small hill which played a prominent role in ranch activity. For it was that hill that our horses chose as a staging area for one of their most notorious tricks.

LittleBill
9/28/10

THE LORD’S PRAYER THROUGH ATHEIST EYES


Having gone from a three-year stint in an Episcopal boarding school to full-blown atheism in my declining years--thinking about values (aka Real Thinking) as compared to religious belief (aka Being Told What to Think), I decided to look up The Lord’s Prayer last night. And sure enough, it was all about ME! I tried to copy one of the many versions, but don’t know enough about the computer to do it, so I am printing it as I remember it from those boarding school days.

Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kindom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and ever. Amen

Speaking from the mind of an atheist, there probably has never been a person in the world who has not sinned, and there are only two sources from which to seek forgiveness. The first should always be the person or creature who has been wronged. The second should always be yourself. There should be no other make-believe source, like God, that you should be able to seek as a source of relief for a guilty conscience. If you are too late, or if you did something unforgivable, be prepared to live with it for the rest of your life.

ARW
9/27/10

THE PET PERIODICAL

THE PET PERIODICAL – Two Smart Alecs

When we first moved to Wyoming, we rented a small ranch in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains. And there we kept our black and white Shetland pony, Skunk, and our two horses at the time, Tex and Red.

One day, we came home to find the three of them in the corral, as usual, but with what seemed like an unusual restlessness among them. Skunk appeared to be his same sweet self, but the other two seemed to be putting on some sort of act. They were wandering around, noses in the air, as if they were humming softly to themselves. It was obvious that they had done something wrong.

Let me set the scene. Our saddlebarn was a long, one-story building built on stilts. You climbed up two steps, and that is where the saddles were. From there, to the left and down one step, were the goodies.

Upon closer observation, the two outside steps appeared to be slightly askew. Upon entering, we found two holes in the floor of the saddle room. AND THE GOODIE ROOM WAS A MESS!


ARW
9/27/10

THE PET PERIODICAL PRELUDE

(Two issues too late)

In this new periodical, I have decided to include stories of ALL living creatures, not just pets. Almost all of them will be true stories from my own life, while some of them will be musings on the state of things. Many will be happy, many will be sad or even horrifying, some will be stories which I have written before, but from a different point of view.

I admit to being an extremist—and hope that you can bear with me as I ramble on about the things that have made me who I am—and expect to be
for the rest of my life.

LittleBill
9/26/10

Just a Thought

THE START OF THE END OF IT ALL

It suddenly occurred to me last night that the middle of the 20th Century was very possibly the Beginning of the End of Everything.

Many of us were born before World War II. A few of us were born at the beginning of the 20th Century, just as some of us were born at the beginning of the 21st Century. And there may even be 2 or 3 people still here who were born at the end of the 19th Century. But most of us who are presently here have been born since World War II.

As Shakespeare would say, “Aye, there’s the rub!”

The reason being that the 20thCentury saw both the great jump in world population, and the beginning of the Age of Technology. Technology has eased the work of most of us and increased our capacity to produce more and better of those things which, so far, we have needed and wanted. It has also made it possible for more of us to be born and more to live longer and better.

On the other hand, technology has cheapened many of our values and made them more personal and private, thus loosening our bonds with other humans and other creatures and living organisms on this Earth.

Tractors have replaced workhorses; cattle are for making your hamburger or steak, and chickens are raised in tiny little cages where they can see each other, but not mix. Their eggs are laid in those cages and collected each day for your comfortable and comforting breakfast, secure in the knowledge that they have not come from chickens just running around in a barnyard, living normal chicken lives (eeuuw!)
And now, since mid-20th century, mankind is replacing itself with technology. This brings to mind the many complaints about our President Obama and his failure to create more jobs for us. But don’t blame it all on him; he just happens to be at the nexus of the problem; and that is that WE HAVE RE-CREATED OURSELVES INTO TECHNOLOGICAL OBSOLESCENCE. We’re NOT NEEDED ANYMORE!

To all of President Obama’s critics out there, what would your solution be if you were President?

The Socialist
9/25/10