Heartless?

I was recently watching a new feed on this story and I found myself shaking my head over it...twice.

Once was because of the stupidity that caused ten people to be injured as they were walking along the side of the road. Unfortunately, two women were killed in that hit & run. How sad...to be at a family reunion and be out for a walk and have some idiot plow into you. I initially was shaking my head because I have thought about the times I have been on similar walks with family and the heartache that family must be going through. Honestly, it is good that the police found that guy before some of the family did...or at least that would have been the case if it was my family.

That tragedy was the first head shake...the second came out of disbelief when the reporter added that "two dogs were also killed."

What?

Did I hear that correctly? When did two dog being hit become worthy of becoming news? Now, this is a dog story that is news! However, in light of the death of two women in this accident, two dogs getting killed is not news.

However, can you blame 9 & 10 News - "the northern MI news leader" - for adding that little tidbit of information in there? I guess I don't. If there is one thing that people in Crawford County care about, it is their dogs. Also, I understand that the police are probably just heaping on the charges of animal kill/cruelty, but it is just semantics at this point.

I have told Amanda a dozen times that if someone tied a child to a tree in City Park, we might get 3 calls on it over the course of the day. However, if someone ties a pit bull to a tree in City Park, we will get flooded with calls from concerned citizens who can't believe the cruelty of anyone who would treat a dog like that. Several people would have stopped to give it water and chew toys...several more would picket in front of the Court House to get all the trees in the City Park cut down so this thoughtlessness wouldn't continue...and a select few would want to know why my partner and I don't get in our cars and drive direct to the scene to offer assistance.

Hey, I do want to make this clear, I don't want any animal to suffer, however, dogs ain't people! Let's not confuse that and, for the most part, they aren't news.

Unless you have 150 Chihuahuas in a freezer...

Good Luck Buddy!

Since I bought one of his T-Shirts and since he is also my nephew, I thought I would make everyone aware of someone you can cheer for next weekend.

Ryan is apparently a pretty good paddler. I know nothing about his partner, but they both sound like they are going to make some noise.

Check out this article from Info Northeast, which also happens to be one of their sponsers, and get to know them a little bit. Then, when you see them on race day...cheer loudly!

Hang em high...

Just a follow-up to my last post. Please be smart about who you leave your kids with.

I just talked to my pediatrian about this...I am a firm believer in state ordered castration for sex offenders. Seriously, I am volunteering my services for free.

To all the single ladies...

Here is some unsolicited advise to any of you single ladies with children: Reconsider leaving your children with a boyfriend. There have been a glut of bad behavior by boyfriends in the surrounding counties that have led to the death of two toddlers and another being taken into protective care.

While I would love to punch the guys in the throat who did the vile deeds to the kids...I am equally disturbed by the mothers of these children who left them in the care of these men. Seriously? You let your child stay with a boyfriend while you went out to the bar? Then, when you find out that he burned the boy in the tub, you conspired to cover it up and came up with a story that he had an allergic reaction? So, you wanted to protect your boyfriend of your child?

Another mother knew her boyfriend would beat up on her boy, but did nothing. Then, when she was in the police car and being taped, though she didn't know that, she says they need to get their stories straight...make sure you watch the video reports on all these accounts.

I'm not sure why this guy is on my list since biting a child to teach him not to bite is the obvious choice of discipline..., but here he is.

Makes you want to stop watching the news...

Bigfoot?

For those who know me, it would come as no surprise that I have more than a passing interest in the unknown...well, specifically of the cryptozoological variety. Ghosts and conspiracy stories are alright, but it was the Bigfoot and Loch Ness stories of the world that caught my attention. I guess UFO's could probably could be added to that list also.

Whenever a program about Bigfoot or his supposed kin are on television, I will watch it and I often visit a site called Cryptomundo, which is run by a renown Bigfoot author, Loren Coleman. So, on a regular basis, I check out what new unexplained zoological mysteries have come to light.

There is always the constant stream of Bigfoot sightings and subsequent hoaxes in the news feeds, but there are also stories of historical sighting of sea serpents, new animal discoveries, and just cool weirdness and pictures to marvel at. Michigan even has it's own rich history of sightings, which I always thought was cool.

Here are a few more sites to check out if you are interested:

B.R.F.O. - There are comprehensive Bigfoot sightings, or alledged sightings, throughout the U.S. archived here...we even have listings of sightings here in Crawford County.

Unexplained Mysteries - Covers a number of topics.

Coast to Coast - Late night radio show dealing in the strange...I used to listen to it almost ever night at work when I was on lunch.

I'm not going to babble about what I think about all of this. I do believe there are thinks we simply don't understand in this world and there are plenty of places in it that the Unknown can exist. I think the deep ocean is probably filled with them...think giant squid!

So, here is a question for you what do you think? Any chance that Bigfoot could be real or are we talking big hoax?

No need to know CPR...Just turn on your iPod

I am fortunate with my job that I DO NOT have to give medical advise as part of my duties at 911. With a push of a button, I can have a trained professional tell a caller what to do. However, if you find yourself somewhere without a cellphone, you can still do CPR...just crank some tunes. Well, one tune in particular - "Stayin' Alive" by the BeeGee's.

Check out this article.

There is one more tune that is suggested, but it probably sends the wrong message - Another One Bites the Dust by Queen.

Why we need Buffy back or "Superhero action, YO!"

RIP

Aileen (Bjorn) R. Nuttall, age 6 of St. Helen, passed away suddenly Sunday, June 28, 2009. Aileen had lived in St. Helen for all of her life and attended Kindergarten at St. Helen Elementary School.

Survivors include her mother, Sharon Nuttall of St. Helen, grandparents, Dennis and Pamela Nuttall of St. Helen, Helen Nuttall of West Branch, Charles Nuttall of Denver, CO, Jimmie Harding of Lafayette, CO and her great-grandmother, Kathyrn Harding of Longmont, CO. Also surviving are her uncles, Patric Nuttall of Kalamazoo and Geoffrey Nuttall of St. Helen and her aunts, Rosemary Nuttall of Higgins Lake and Catherine Lademan of Gladwin. She was preceded in death by her grandmother, Joan Harding.

Visitation at the Steuernol & McLaren Funeral Home in St. Helen will begin on Friday, July 3, 2009 beginning at 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery, St. Helen.

Memorial Contributions may be made to the family.