Cleveland Horror

On Monday, May 6, three women were rescued from 10 years in captivity in a house in Cleveland.  Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were kidnapped by Ariel Castro in the 2000s, kept in the basement and later in separate rooms in the house, tied up and chained.

He raped them, impregnated them, starved and punched them to force miscarriages, for all but one child from one of the women, Amanda Berry.

He's on suicide watch.  I have mixed feelings.  He deserves the death penalty but suicide seems an easy way out for him.  Perhaps life in prison where he'll most likely be murdered?

I don't think it's right to wish him death, but I can't help but think of the 10 years, MORE than 10 years, these girls and their families have been suffering.  His obvious mental illness is no excuse for what he did.  It might explain it, but it doesn't excuse it.

And his two brothers, in and out of that house all the time over the past ten years?  They knew nothing?  So far police have released them and not charged them.  And his mom, living two blocks away?  Really?  No idea?

THIS is why I always want to know my sisters or my mom or my daughter or my son or my husband is home safe, at school safe, wherever they are.  THIS is why I have no problem "checking in" with my mom so she knows I'm home, safe and sound.  THIS really could happen to just about anyone, anytime, anywhere.  There are a lot of crazy people in this world, just walking around, appearing normal...

They Got Their Man!

Boston law enforcement, along with the FBI, ATF, State Troopers and National Guard caught Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev (19) hiding in a boat in Watertown. His brother Tamerlane (26) was shot early this morning during a wild chase. His brother ran over him when he continued to try to escape.

Congratulations to Boston law enforcement, FBI, ATF and State Troopers on getting their man!

I'm so happy tonight.

Bullying

By now you've probably all heard the story about Karen Klein, the bus matron in Greece, NY, who was bullied and abused by a group of middleschoolers on the school bus a few days ago.

I watched the 10 minute video.  I was physically sick about 3 minutes into it, and crying soon after that.   I had to force myself to watch the whole thing, and I know a lot of people who were unable to do so.

But bullying is important to me.  Or should I say, ANTI-bullying is important to me.  I always said when I retired I wanted to do something with a literacy foundation or a library or something like that.  But I think I've found a new cause.

I'm not linking to the video here, it's that disturbing to me.  If you want to see it, it's easy enough to find.  I donated to Indiegogo, to the vacation fund someone started for her.  I'm happy to see it's more of a retirement fund at this point:  at this exact moment in time, it's at $466,201.  The goal was $5000.

I'd like to thank everyone who donated:  you don't know me, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for finding a few dollars to share with this woman.  She's 68 years old, still working to make ends meet.  That measly $15,000 she makes as a bus matron helps, I'm sure, but there's not enough money in the world that she should have to take that abuse from a handful of monster children. 

And yes, I blame the parents.

Sure, kids + a pack mentality = trouble, = cruel kids.  We all have heard it before:  kids are cruel.  But you know what?  I know a boatload of them who are NOT.  My sisters and I are not.  My kids are not.  My cousin and his kids are not.  My family members are not.  My neighborhood children are not.  The majority of the kids I've met volunteering in a local school for the past 7 years are not. 

Sure, there are a few.  But they're squashed down the minute we hear anything remotely cruel:  "Apologize to XYZ, we don't talk that way in this classroom."  "You owe so-and-so an apology - that was mean and we don't behave like that."  And then we talk about whatever issue it was that caused the cruelty:  someone is short, different, blonde, poor, foreign, etc., etc.  And 99 times out of a hundred, the kids learn tolerance and acceptance and kindness.

These little monsters who behaved so terribly on that bus were not taught to respect their elders.  If they had been, pack mentality or not, they would not have done what they did.  You've seen it:  if a child is uncomfortable with what's going on, they shut down, back away, or simply don't participate.  They might not have the strength to stand against the bullies, but they don't play along.  These kids enjoyed it.  It was FUN to call her "fat a$$," or "stupid" or "sweaty" or comment that she probably doesn't have a family because they all killed themselved to get away from her.  Oh yea, you mother-trucker?  Did you happen to hear later, after you opened your cruel little mouth, that Karen lost a son to suicide years ago?   Feel better now?

A father of one of those boys went to apologize to her.  At least that's what I saw on Anderson Cooper's AC360.  Where was his son???  I didn't see HIM there apologizing!   [If he was there and the clip didn't show it, I apologize.]  And when AC asked Karen if she accepted the boys' apologies, she said she hadn't gotten any yet.  Statements read by Anderson Cooper??  Really?  THAT is supposed to make me believe you feel some remorse, you little animals??

I am HORRIFIED at their behavior.  They have not ever suffered any serious consequences for bad behavior; I'd be willing to bet that same $50 I donated to Karen that they haven't.  I'm supposed to believe they've never behaved this way before?  Really? 

Guess what, I'm not that stupid.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox and ending my rant now - but I vow now and forever to fight bullying wherever I see it.  It's always been something I stand against, and I am comfortable saying I fight it when I see it, but this situation has simply strengthened my resolve.

We need to stop this madman.

http://vimeo.com/invisible/kony2012

If you have 30 minutes, watch this video.

I was seeing links to it all over FB and Twitter yesterday and I wondered what or who Kony2012 was so I watched the video today.

He is an animal.  A criminal.  A bad guy.  A REALLY bad guy.

He needs to be stopped.

This is a Wikipedia link to Joseph Kony:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

It will take you much less than 30 minutes to read about him.  It will take you MUCH MUCH less than 30 minutes to be horrified, and I hope, moved to act.  If you can't donate, if you can't put posters up, you can spread the word.  Make people aware.

I never thought I'd say these words, but...

Thank you, President Obama, for acting.  I hope it makes a difference.

He Listened...

No locusts, but more rain...

J and I drove through Little Falls and Paterson, Wayne and Lincoln Park on Monday.  My  heart simply bleeds for those people.  They're no longer getting rid of "stuff" from their flooded basements; they're getting rid of their basements!  The piles of "stuff" on the street, waiting for trash pick up, no longer include Grandma's old sofa, Lola's toy kitchen, Roy's train set, last year's Thomas the Tank Christmas present.

They're throwing out insulation, oak floors, sheetrock, paneling, water heaters, washing machines and dryers, refrigerators and freezers, dehumidifiers, shop vacs, cars, bicycles, milk crates of tools...

I complained and bitched and moaned about the water in my basement, water that J and I spent hours and hours sucking up with a shop vac, carrying up the stairs and dumping it outside the side door.

Guess what?  WE.HAD.IT.EASY.  I am ashamed that I spent all that time groaning about 6 total inches of water in my basement that never got over 2" since we were on top of it.  Eventually we were able to sweep it all into our sewer trap, once high tide went down.

SO.FREAKIN'.WHAT???

We didn't lose anything, not a stick of wood, not an appliance, not even a lousy garbage bag filled with crap I took out of my red Honda when I sold it - in 2000!!!  (Side note:  that WAS my favorite car EVER!)  My treadmill never got wet, our washing machine and dryer are up on a 3" platform so the water never touched them.  None of J's tools were damaged or ruined.

We saw PSE&G volunteers and command centers and food stations giving out hot meals in styrofoam containers, a guy driving around in his SUV giving away cases of water.  I watched a guy carry 2 cases of water into his home, shouting to the driver, "I wish I could do something for you, but I'll never see you again, so I'll pay it forward, I promise!  I'll do something to help someone, someday.  Thank you!  Thank you so much!"

I am ashamed. 

Yes, we had hoped to stop by my girlfriend's house in Lincoln Park to see if there was anything we could do, but honestly, it was more like a field trip on the way home from the lake than a mission or a call to action.

My life has changed.  I have been sending extra clothes and stuff to the Vietnam Vets for years because they come pick it up at the house (how convenient, Krys!).

I will be doing a bit of digging today, online, making some phone calls, to find out where I can help LOCALLY.  There's got to be a place I can bring things for these people, people like me and like you who just happen to live a little too close to the Passaic River.  People whose lives were affected FOREVER by Irene last week, and guess what?

That damned river is going to flood again this week!  All the clean up and siphoning out of their basements they did this week?  For naught, because the water is coming again.

There's a guy on William Street in Little Falls...  I don't know his name but here's a video of his home:



http://activerain.com/blogsview/849068/santa-s-in-little-falls-nj

He sets this up every year and opens it to the public in his 2-car garage.  Trashed.  So much damage to his home and to his garage, and it's September.  He should be preparing to bring joy to thousands of kids, he should be plugging in light strand after light strand, getting ready for the holidays.

Instead, he's cleaning up.  Again.  And Lord knows how many of his decorations were damaged in this latest flood...

I want to help these people, all of them, directly, not through the Red Cross, not through Flood Relief organizations, I want to touch their lives directly, and I'm going to find a way to do it, even if all it means is buying a handful of pizzas and dropping them off at the Command Center/Food Tent...

Last week, an earthquake. This week, a hurricane.

What's next? Locusts? I REALLY don't like bugs, Lord, so can we stop at just two natural disasters and forget the plagues?

Although the actual hurricane, Irene, wasn't as bad as we had been prepared for, we got water in our basement. If Jack and I hadn't jumped on it first thing after breakfast, we'd be underwater now. It never got deep; it was just a constant stream of water, well, constant streamS of water coming up through the floor, in through the windows and walls. Our neighbor on the left has 6-8 inches of water in their finished basement. Our neighbor across the street has a completely renovated basement that was done a few years ago after the sewer backed up into her basement - so deep that her second refrigerator wad literally floating. She sent me a photo that year of Ole' Faithful gushing out of her basement toilet. And that happened again this morning. Not quite as bad as last time, but she was SUPPOSED to be on vacation in Virginia this week... Imagine if it was spouting lime that with no one there for a week...

It can always be worse; we just have to keep telling ourselves that...

5.9 Earthquake in Mineral, VA...

... and we were evacuated from our building!!!
I was in yoga class, in the middle of some stretching, and we felt the floor move.

It was more than the rumble of a truck passing in the street below.  This was, for lack of a better word, "different."

It felt shakey, like a truck, vibrating up and down, but it was also swaying back and forth.  You know how they say, "Once you feel it, you'll recognize it!"?  Well, that's true.  To a point.

We knew it was something more than a big truck.  But we never expected it to be an earthquake!

We finished another 3 or 4 minutes of yoga, and were just settling in under our blankets for a 15-20 minute nap (this is "Yoga Snooze" class, after all!), when the sirens went off and they evacuated the building!

I grabbed my flip flops and my clothes and my work I.D. and ran out of the building to my assigned spot.  The 4th floor meets on Pier A, on the right side, about midway.  My purse, keys, and phone, and all my money and credit cards, were at my desk.  I could get on the train, and get home, but I couldn't get into my car.  I could walk from the train station to my house but I couldn't get inside.

And besides that, it was H.O.T. outside today - I was wearing a t-shirt and some capri-length work out pants that were a heavy jersey.  It was so warm that an hour later, by the time they let us back into the building, I needed a shower!  (Keep in mind, after Yoga Snooze, I don't normally need to shower; it's not a class in which we really exert ourselves all that much!)

I haven't seen any news reports yet from the epicenter - I don't know how much damage was done there - but apparently this earthquake was felt as far south as South Carolina and as far north as Rhode Island and/or Massachusetts, depending on the news media you subscribe to...  I must say, though, if I felt it as strongly as I did, and it was nowhere near a 5.9 in Hoboken, NJ, then I can't imagine what "The Big One" must have felt like!!! 

And, quite frankly, I don't want to know...

My aunt's family is okay.

Thank you, God.

My aunt is Japanese and we've been wondering if her family is okay (she lives in Colorado Springs).  My cousin called her (he lives nearby) and it turns out that, luckily for her and for the family, she has no friends or family in the affected areas of Japan.

Which means that much more of my prayers can go to random strangers in that country who SO need them.

Tomorrow I'll be doing some research for a charity I can donate to - we have an office in Tokyo and thank goodness, they're all okay, too, although they've closed the offices until Monday or Tuesday of next week.  Our company will be matching our employee donations so I'm going to try to make a good one to contribute to the grand total.

It feels good to work for a company who cares.

Sending prayers to Japan...

My aunt is Japanese.
My cousins are 1/2 Japanese.
They have relatives there.
They have relatives there who may (or may not) have suffered in this massive earthquake and tsunami.
I'm praying for my family.  And for their family.

And I'm praying for the many, many people in Japan I'm not related to.
I'm praying for their survival, their safety, their families, their grieving, their recovery.

I'm praying a lot today.

Happy 100th, Mr. Reagan!!!

You would have been 100 today.  You were one of our greatest presidents, in my humble opinion, at least one of our greatest contemporary presidents.  You were a patriot, dedicated to your country, you had faith and valued your faith above all else, allowing it to guide you in all your actions.  You were funny - and your one-liners reminded me of my dad's humor, delivered with a straight face and followed up with a smile once you knew we all "got it."  Oh, how I wish you were still President!!!  Those are some mighty big shoes to fill...

Horrors in Haiti

I don't know what to do.

I've donated money. I've brought foodstuffs in to church where they're collecting canned goods to send to those poor people.

It's not enough.

It's days like this that I sometimes wish I was a go-getter, someone who would really get off her butt and do something.

My heart bleeds for these people. I cry as I watch the news reports. I thank the Lord that none of my family is there, but at the same time I feel for those total strangers as if they were family.

When they find a survivor, a young child, or an older woman, I cheer, buoyed beyond belief that another person beat the odds. Could I live seven, eight days without food and water? I truly don't think so, so used am I to opening the cabinet and grabbing a diet Dr. Pepper and a breakfast bar whenever I feel like it (forget about "when I'm hungry").

We are truly spoiled, here in this great USofA.

I, for one, will try my best to appreciate what I have, do with a little less, and give a lot more.

THAT is one thing I can do in honor of those in Haiti.

Haiti

Please do whatever you can do to help those poor people in Haiti. I spent a few moments today at lunchtime watching some video on CNN.

I cried.

I made a donation to the Red Cross and my company is matching any of our documented donations as long as they're made by January 31. I'm so glad I work where I do.

If you pray, please pray for Haiti.

If you send good wishes or positive thoughts, please send them winging to Haiti.

If you believe in anything, please ask for help for Haiti.

RIP Patrick

Just heard Patrick Swayze died.

So sad.

He was sick for so long, fought the hard fight for so long.

But what hurts the most is what his poor wife will be going through. They were so obviously in love with each other - I can't imagine what she is feeling now.

I remember when my dad died, I was at the wake, talking to a work friend, and my mom walked over and reprimanded me for "socializing" at my father's wake. (Apparently I had been looking like I was enjoying myself a little too much.)

I admit I got a bit annoyed, but then Eric said something I'll never forget. He told me not to worry about my mom, not to be embarrassed - that her husband had died and of course she was upset.

So I jumped down his throat and said, "My FATHER died. I'M upset, too!"

But he said - wait for it, here it comes: "It's different for you, Krys. He was your dad. You didn't pick him. Your mom? She chose that man to spend the rest of her life with, to have a life with, to have children with. She chose him over all others. Of course you love your dad, but it's a different love than the love between your mom and your dad, and you have to understand that. If my wife died, as much as we fight like cats and dogs, I'd miss her with all my heart, there'd be a huge hole in my life that no one else could fill. It's different."

And I never forgot that. Such thought-provoking words, so simple though. And that was my first thought with the announcement that Patrick Swayze had died. "His poor wife." Of course, he's not suffering any more. But, oh, his poor wife...

A Tragic Accident on the Hudson River

I'm really glad I wasn't in the office on Saturday. My office windows look right out onto the Hudson River, exactly in the spot that helicopter and plane collided just before noon on Saturday. 9 people died in this crash. Such a tragically different outcome than just 7 months ago when that jet crash-landed in the river and all survived.

I've been glued to news reports. The older I get, the more I watch the news, and the less I watch for entertainment (although I will admit to a couple of sitcom and drama addictions). As I post this entry, I can see several police boats and divers going in and coming out of the water, searching for the last two bodies and the mangled wreckage of the Piper.

My heart goes out to the families of those who died. What a sad, sad thing.

Another magazine is going under...

Hallmark Magazine will no longer be Hallmark Magazine. Hallmark (corporate) has been forced to put an end to this magazine. The February/March issue will be the last one.

And my Catholic guilt is making me feel as though had I subscribed to this magazine the way I wanted to when it first came out, it wouldn't be going under now.

I know that's ridiculous. But what's more ridiculous is that there are all sorts of worthless, disgusting, degrading magazines out there with enough circulation to keep them going even in these difficult times. But a nice, wholesome, pretty magazine like Hallmark Magazine? Not so much.

Very sad.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!! Today is mom's b'day - I hope it's one of the best ones yet! Jack and I are taking her out to dinner, and we're supposed to have cake at my house, but the heat and humidity might put the kibosh on that... Maybe we'll do that another evening... Mom will talk to C and let me know later today.

So the plumber came on Sunday to look at the work that has to be done. While we are putting a tub in the new bathroom, no one will ever use it - we're shower folk. But I really wish I could put a real tub in the space, not one of those hotel tubs that are only 14" deep... But because of the space restrictions and the places where the beams/floor joists are located, we're sort of stuck when it comes to running the drains and water pipes. So I suppose I'll have to decorate the bathroom with a full shower curtain, rather than just frame it, so you can't see the mini tub we're being forced to put in... Of course, if we wanted to delay the bathroom work until they ordered another tub, we could do that, but really, according to DH that's "NOT AN OPTION." Now, he really didn't say that, but I know that if I even mention delaying the work, his head will really and truly explode on his shoulders and I'll have to clean up all that gray matter. We have to have it done before the end of August 'cause he goes back to school and no one will be there to have the work done unless I take off and if I take more days off now I won't be able to take days off when we want/need them in November for Teachers' Conference or in December for my birthday or Christmas or even for Christmas shopping...

I visited one of my favorite blogs the other day: http://phopecj.blogspot.com/
I hope Miss Hope doesn't mind if I cut and paste the pertinent info here - to those of you who say the media isn't biased: WHY HAVE WE NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS HERE IN NJ? [Note from my mom: It was mentioned on whatever TV station she was watching, but no follow up story, and they don't know why these guys had the stuff they had in their car and there was no mention of the Naval base or the jail...]

We sat in silence when the story turned to two guys who were taken into custody for allegedly having bomb fixin's in their vehicle. Location of this incident? The local anchor stated it was Charleston, South Carolina. The banner on the bottom stated Goose Creek, South Carolina. A standard roadblock interceded and stopped these fellows. Now, here comes the good part. I'm not going to tell you any classified information. That's probably because I don't know a lick of it to begin with. But, do you pay attention? I mean, REALLY pay attention? Because if you did, you would know that we have the Navy Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, South Carolina. I know this because my husband was an instructor there for three and a half years. This is where we have a few thousand kids that are fresh out of boot camp. They are cramming so much knowledge into their young brains in a short amount of time so they can go out in the fleet and protect our country. I've had the honor of being on this base and, believe me..it's loaded with our smartest and brightest. It holds our hope for a generation that will love this country and continue to protect it and serve it well. I will give you the link of the article that I found online so that you may gleam more information. Plus, it'll save me alot of typing.http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0807/444994.htmlHow about that? Are you surprised? Truly? This worries me. Of course, it worries me. I wouldn't have taken the time to write about it if it didn't. Let's just talk hypothetically now. Let's just say these boys were seriously thinking of doing harm. (Remember, it's supposed to innocent until proven guilty here in American...so for now...we'll just do some "suppose this or that" talk). Let's just say they managed some how to get on base. Let's just say they even managed to get as far as the school where our young men and women are sleeping in barracks....or even the building where they attend school. Let's just say they blast this rolling bomb of a vehicle and take out the school.Have you any idea what this could do to our Navy? Any idea at all? It could have the potential to severely damage an entire generation of sailors. I can't even fathom what the repercussions could be in the long run. But, I'll be more than happy to let you stew on it for a few.Because I have another concern I need to address.Again, I'm not giving out any classified information. My husband doesn't tell me stuff and I don't ask. I respect his job and duties and would never in my life ask him to betray an oath that he has taken. So, do you know what else is at our Goose Creek, South Carolina Naval Training Command? A brig. That's a jail. And it's a jail that holds some of the worst bad guys that threaten our country. Take for instance:http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/06/10/dirty.bomb.suspect/If you hung with the article long enough, you would have seen where Mr. Muhajir is being held. Yeah, scary, isn't it? It's enough to make a person wonder. Were Two Bomb Suspects harboring thoughts of taking out some of our kids? Or were they thinking about breaking out this Muhajir character..or even taking him out so he can't rat on anyone? Will we ever know?Now comes the good part. This is where I once again spout my love for this country because I am getting ready to state some of my very own personal opinions.All you tree hugging jerks who keep talking out of your butt about stopping this war and cutting funding?Shut up.When you know every single little detail and get a full complete picture of what's going on? THEN, open your mouth to speak and just shut up again. You don't know it all. You seriously don't. The media will only show what is guaranteed to boost ratings and if that's something that slants against our troops and defense plans, what do they care? Anything to stir up controversy and keep viewers tuned in to their stations. Let the people do their jobs. Let them keep us safe. Let them keep OUR CHILDREN safe. Let them work to keep our country a "free" country for future generations. I'm all for everyone having an opinion. Unless it's a stupid one and I've heard too many stupid ones on this subject to last me a lifetime. If we are to survive in any capacity, we must remain diligent. We have no choice. We have to have surprise roadblocks. We have to have someone standing watch at all times. I welcome any and all comments and arguments. For or against. I reserve the right to delete stupid stuff. Cause I'm crazy like that. I love living here in the U.S.A.

Minneapolis Bridge Tragedy

Last night, at 6:05pm (local time), a major bridge on I-35 collapsed in Minneapolis. So far, 9 people are confirmed dead, over 60 injured, 10 critically, and 20 are missing. My heart bleeds for those families. The pictures are horrific. There was no warning. There was some work being done on the bridge, general maintenance and repair, apparently, and there is no evidence yet that it contributed to the collapse. It was a HUGE section of bridge that fell; I don't know yet how much initially fell and how much was pulled down because of the failure of that first part. A school bus was caught on the end of the bridge and didn't fall into the Mississippi River; the children exited from a rear door since the front door was jammed against the side of the bridge.

I remember years ago Eric G. told me that he was afraid of bridges, that every time he drove across one, he all but prayed, even though he wasn't a particularly religious person. "I hate them!" he said. I can remember being mildly amused: how could this big truck driver be afraid of bridges!?!

Today, as I was driving to work, I had to cross over and under several bridges on Route 3 East. Most of them are concrete bridges, built sometime in the late 40s and 50s. One of them, the Berry Creek Bridge, in the Meadowlands, is a big structure. That one makes me nervous; you can't see anything above or below you, or immediately over the sides...

I hope for the best in Minneapolis.

[Note: As of today, 5 are confirmed dead, not 9. That's 5 too many.]