It's 12:35 and I'm still awake after my shift.

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I'm not a tech person and beyond video taping my neighbour endlessly chainsawing, this was my second attempt at Youtube.  What's with the neighbour, you ask?  He cut down the nice maples in his yard even though there was nothing wrong with them in June and kept on with them until fall.  I know people thought I was exaggerating when I reported seeing him on the ground, saw running and his face up to it.  He couldn't figure out how to work it.  I managed to get a wonderful shot of his old father in law shaking his head at him when he didn't notice.  You see, he did this all day...all day...until about  0900 at night. It was impossible to sit outside and enjoy the evening.  Or for me to sleep in the day.   I think the only reason he cut down the trees was to sell the firewood.  But, I digress.
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I managed to make the entire walk down the path without anybody showing up when I shot the video.  By the way, this town being what it is, this place is closed and is  now for sale as it's zoned commercial.  My guess is that  there will be ugly ass houses on it.  What's that song by John Courgar Mellencamp about aluminum and plastic siding?  Yeah...that's it.
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My neighbour cut down his trees, they've got rid of the park and nobody looks after their strays.  There's a theme.  You don't need to buy a vowel to figure out the word is R-E-D-N-E-C-K.

Scene / Seen

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In two weeks, the water level has come up a lot.
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I walked around for a couple of hours today and I still couldn't sleep.

A Detailed Account of a Devil

 

In l995 not far from where I live, a horrific crime took place.  It was  near Halloween and Friday, October 13---it was the stuff of which horror films are made.  This was the fiend who not only attacked two girls and killed one, but then continued to torment the survivor and the community.
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When Horror Movies Come True
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In brief,  Misty Cockerill and  Tanya Smith were two fifteen year old girls on their way to a birthday party when a man jumped out from between a row of hedges.  Before they had time to process what was happening, the aluminum bat wielding Driver began to assault Tanya.  This could have given Misty a chance to bolt, but she picked up the bat and struck Driver with it in an attempt to help her friend.  However, he was much taller then her and it did not strike with sufficient force or in the right place to do damage.  It did enrage him enough to club her with the bat, using all his force, several times on the head.  Somehow, she came to and stumbled into a hospital hours later.  Her concern was again that they find her friend.  Unfortunately, Smith's body was retrieved from a waterway some distance from the original crime scene.
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Driver did not stop here.  He began to phone various agencies detailing how Tanya Smith's  "right nipple tasted good."  He stole her gravestone and placed it atop the van of a local radio station.  He tossed a wrench with a note through a window claiming responsibility for other crimes.  When he was finally caught, he claimed Tourette's  and OCD made him do it...that in fact he actually hadn't done it.  Yes, he'd raped the girl, but only after some phantom boogy man had done it.  You see, he just couldn't resist taking full opportunity of the naked girl laying on the ground.  I guess she didn't say "no."
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Rod Gehl's book is basically an exploration of this case from a law enforcement stand point.  There are a lot of details, but he doesn't delve into the emotional.  It is very cut and dry....just the facts, ma'am.    I noted that he tended to state the relevent details a couple of times.  It is thorough, but the book could have been much more had there been an incorporation of both the scientific with the emotional.

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The chapter which recounts the court case will leave you angry.  I certainly wished there was a way I could magically reach through the book and grab this smirking, hirsite  ginger by his bad facial hair and slap him.  I was left in awe of Misty for her strength, which she continues to display as she advocates for the rights of victims.

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One new detail was revealed to me in reading this.  I knew that his mother had called him in as a potential suspect, yet she stood by him at the trial and maintained the ruse that he hadn't  committed the crime---that he'd merely come upon the unconscious girls.  Then, she had the gaul to want to collect the reward money.
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This book is useful for people unfamiliar with the case and people interested in the rights of victims.
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(Note---I was just reminded as to why I detest Microsoft.  I spent my entire break trying to upload one photo.  Then, when I tried to correct errors, each time I backspaced, my page was delted and I was bumped off.  I had to go to HTML. )

There Are A Thousand Sides to Every Story

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Julia Scheeres fleshes out the Jonestown story as only a person with a past history like hers could.  Ms Scheeres spent her childhood in an isolated religious community.  She doesn't approach this oft told history by  trying to explain what was wrong with these people or how they differed from you and I.  Rather, she relates to them on a one to one basis.  In doing so, she defies the widely held belief that these people were automotons who willingly followed Jim Jones to their death.

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Julia Scheeres selects a variety of people and follows them over the years.  These were not people who wanted to do the zombie death march.  One of the characters is a young boy who rebelled and was punished severely for it.  Ms Scheeres details exactly how well Jones had mentally and psychologically set up this banishment.  He forced parents to take sides against their own kids.  If they opted not to do so, their off spring  faced even more severe cruellty.  While it's hard for peopl who live in a society where cell phones exist everywhere to understand just how isolated this community was, the book tries its best to explain.  Passports were confiscated.  There was a jungle around the compound that was filled with hazordous snakes.  They were miles from the American embassy and they did not trust anybody---including their own family members.  Jones had played occupants  against each other.  On top of that, they were broken by a lack of sleep and starvation.

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In "A Thousand Lives," Julia Scheeres names names of those families who "ratted" on others to Jim Jones.  There were members  who wanted to leave, yet when they tried to do so, their trust was betrayed.

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In some ways it is easier to perceive these people, like those at Waco, as deserving of their fate.  It makes the horror more palatable.  We do this all the time.  We do this when we watch the news and see starving children in foreign lands.  How many others  have you heard make the statement, "They don't really value life that much over there?"  Explain that to the mother grieving th loss of her child.  Anybody who reads this book will never again accept the mantra that they wanted to die.

Small Town, Small Station

I went for a walk when I got off work this morning, as I was hoping to get tired enough to sleep.  It was overcast and the temperature had dropped, but it somehow brought out the colours that are really associated with Easter and spring.  Last fall, this street was used by FOX when they filmed a series here called "Wayward Pines," which will make its debut next month.  This park was utilized and there was a carousel standing in it.   I had posted a few shots from the shoot earlier.  I spoke with somebody who told me she knew how the series ended, as she worked at the hotel where people involved with filming stayed and a script that was being copied had been left on a copier/fax machine/printer/whatever.  I did not pump her for details as I hate spoilers.

An Update on the Patient

I stopped at the store on my way home and picked up some fish.  I carefully hid the pill within its contents, as Patches is a tuna fiend.  Somehow, he discerned the contraband and ate around it.  I therefore had to do the dirty deed and insert the pill manually.  This is a cat that has claws akin to the threads on those sports vehicles that race on the Siberian lakes  in winter.  (BTW, auto correct, why are you telling me that "lakes" is spelled wrong?)
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Those talons  are almost as bad as some of the stiletto pointers I've seen on a few Maury episodes over the years.
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However, nothing compares to the infamous "Ollie goes to the vet" moment where I had blood on me, the vehicle and my keys.  I had to duct tape the door of the carrier back on, as he'd kicked it off.  Ollie was a crazed Jack in the box.  I would put him in and he would fly back out.  Of course, this was witnessed by the other cats who couldn't figure out why I was torturing their buddy.  The vet and her assistant insisted, after realizing that it wasn't the cat that was injured, that I go to the back room and wash my wounds.  They wanted me to go to the hospital, but I have a good immune system.  Ollie, by this time, was a silent, hulking black mass in the cage.  He was weighed and there was amazement at his size---not that he was fat or anything---merely that he was so solid.
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They agreed with me that he (Ollie) could not be pilled.  He was given a shot, even though it wasn't as effective.  It's interesting how quickly they learn that bad behaviour works.
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On that note, I was punished for my sins.  The computer had been toyed with and the mouse was on the floor, along with a collection of papers.  The computer itself had been turned on.  I just hope they didn't order anything from MY Habit.

Forgive the Cat Rant---It's Not a Good Week

The last half a week has not been a good one.  Not only did I book off work at the start of the week due to headaches, but Patches (seen here, snuggling), got sick.  One night he was feeling fine.  He managed to jump onto the table to steal some food he was interested in.  The next day he couldn't walk.  His back legs were paralyzed and he tipped over when he tried to move.  He dragged himself out of his preferred case.
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I contacted the vet and they did a variety of tests.  The upshot was that it could be a number of things.  I had to wait around for the test results and was dead tired, but relieved.  I had been convinced that I was going to have to put him down.     I am going to have to give him some pills to see if they help.  He had to go in two days in a row, as he was dehydrated and he received fluids.  At the moment, his mobility is better and I certainly hope he continues to improve.

Over the last couple of days I've spent so much time hugging him.  Poor Patches---he used to hate being fondled but accepted it like a trooper today.  In fact, I had four cats with me on the camping mattress I have to sleep on when I'm on shift.  I swear the other cats know he's ill too.  It was pretty crowded, but I actually didn't care.