Christmas

Christmas
My sister, Nicki, and I were talking last night about our childhoods. I can't remember why exactly we got on the topic, but it made me dwell on my own memories long after the conversation was over.

Christmas has always been special to me. It was the one of two times a year I felt like I was part of a family. The gifts were great. The food was better (my dad is the best cook ever, he mixes things you wouldn't think of, and the recipes are never duplicatable), but the best part was . . . no fighting! Clean house! We actually ate at the table, and together.

My most vivid memories are always around the Christmas tree, or the table. The tree would give the living room a gentle glow. I never really wanted to unwrap the presents. If I did the picture would be ruined. We always did, of course, and somehow my older brother, Adam, gave the best gifts every year.

As I've mentioned, Christmas was one of the times we all sat at the table. Adam carried the conversation along, talking about anything and everything, and Dad would make us laugh (or my mother groan, like the one year he taught us to sick our tongues out with mashed taters on them) and Mom would complain about the cheese in everything, and well . . . it was Christmas. :)

The only memory I don't like about Christmas was the few years where Mom and Dad dragged us kids out of the house to look at Christmas decorations. I really didn't care if Red Deer was alight with Christmas. It was great to look at as long as it wasn't the sole purpose of leaving the house. Then we kids got cranky.

Now that I'm older, my perception of Christmas has changed. I really love the outdoor decorations now. Gifts are no longer wished for. And the music...ug, the music.

I hate Christmas Carols simply because they are never ending. There are only so many times you can hear Jingle Bells without wanting to take bells and smack them over the head of whoever wrote the song.

I also am tired of hearing the loud Christians whine about how Christmas is ruined. The only ones ruining it are the Christians that shout how its being ruined.

Twilight and Why the Argument Around it Bugs Me

I do not like romance stories. In fact, I find them boring. I prefer stories like Lethal Weapon, the Terminators, and I also like mysteries, like Murder She Wrote, or science fiction - Doctor Who, Star Trek.

So Twilight isn't something I really would like to read or watch. I read the first book anyway after watching the movie. My sister bought it, and no, I wasn't forced to watch. I was impressed with the music, the acting could have been better but it wasn't bad, and yeah, the vampires sparkled. All in all, I didn't like it for one simple reason: I'm not into romance.

Now, if you don't like Twilight, good for you. If you think it's okay, power of freedom! If you love it, excellent! But why, those of you who hate it, do you have to tear it down so much?

I am tired of hearing how it has no story to it. Pardon? Did you actually read the book or books? If you did then you would know it has story, lots of story. Not only is the story about a girl who falls in love with a vampire, but it is also about a young girl who has to get used to being in a new school, living with a parent she barely sees, and oh yeah, moving to a different state. The story of Twilight also encompasses the emotions of family, loyalty, and self-sacrifice. So what exactly is non-story here? I mean, really. Read the damn book or books before you spout nonsense.

Second thing I'm sick of hearing: vampires don't sparkle. Actually, they do. It is written into the story.

Seriously, if you have a problem with vampires sparkling, then you have to find fault with vampires being intelligent, attractive, and looking like humans. Check out vampires - they are NOTHING like the vampires you seem to be in love with. Sparkling is the newest change, and the least 'worrisome'.

Third thing that bugs me: Bella has no personality. Um, yeah she does, actually, she has likes, dislikes, flaws, and things she's good at. She has her own speech pattern, and her own way of dressing. She is independent, not really spontaneous, and she cooks. Guess what? This makes up her personality. If you want to know her more, then read the books.

Fourth thing: people whining about how the vampires should be eating humans and leaving the animals alone. Warning bells! Not all animals are human, but humans ARE animals. Forgetting that little thing for the moment, let's look at this.

Would you really want the blood of a murderer flowing through your veins? Or a rapist? A child molester? I mean, the thought of even touching those monsters makes my stomach turn - yes, they should be punished; yes they need to be put away, but really, eat them? I wouldn't want the taste of a torturer in my mouth.

As for the 'innocent animals being eaten' - what kind of drugs are you on? Obviously you know nothing of animals. Even deers aren't gentle sweet creatures - deers are deadly wild animals. Just because they turn tail instead of fighting does not mean they are defenseless or weak. Just because they are beautiful does not mean they cannot kill you.

Before you spout things, do some research. And for fuck sake, if you are going to bash a story, READ IT FIRST.

Alright, fine.

Alright, fine. So we've both been slacking in the blogging department. What can I do about it? Write a post.

Music. Ah, yes, music. My iPod. I love my iPod. Wanna know my Top 25 according to my psycho iPod? Probably not. Here it is anyway.

1) Droppin' Plates - Disturbed

2) Supermassive Black Hole - Muse

3) The Game - Disturbed

4) Fever - Adam Lambert

5) High Heels - Lola

6) Down With The Sickness - Disturbed

7) Down With The Sickness - Richard Cheese

8) Abracadabra - Sugar Ray

9) Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert

10) Meaning Of Life - Disturbed

11) Shout 2000 - Disturbed

12) The Fight - Shiloh

13) Festival Song - Good Charlotte

14) Acadia - Marianas Trench

15) Stupify - Disturbed

16) Cemetery - The Headstones

17) Son Of A Bitch To The Core - The Headstones

18) If I Had You - Adam Lambert

19) Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas

20) Get Up And Dance - Faber Drive

21) Magnet - Lindsay Lohan

22) Last Resort - Papa Roach

23) 100 In A 55 - Pop Evil

24) Music Again - Adam Lambert

25) Shut Up - Black Eyed Peas

A lot of Disturbed's album Down With The Sickness rotation.

And the song I am currently listening to as I write this? Empty Bed Blues by Bessi Smith. 1930s jazz. B-e-a-utiful.

And happy Winter Solstice to those who celebrate it, happy Christmas and whatever else this late December Holiday season.

Finally, A Post!!!

Hi, there. I've been one of the bloggers on this pretty much since it started, and finally, I'm writing a damn post.

At first, I was thinking, "Well, what the hell am I going to blog?" Then I started getting what I referred to as 'BlogFear', of which is when one is in a state that they have a blog, but are seriously afraid of some idiot flaming them. But than Zackie and I discussed it and I am now pretty much cured of BlogFear.

So what exactly is this crazy chick blogging about?

I've got three things I wanna tell you.

9 out of every 10 mating pairs of giraffes are male. Yup, giraffes are a very gay species. :D

40% of cats are left-pawed, 40% are ambidextrous and the final 20% are right-pawed.

The Andrews Sisters were the first all-girl group to have sold a million records, and through-out their career had sold over 90 million records.

So there you have it. My first contribution to Our Mosaic!

Hello world. I've come across a great webpage, one that is working towards the End of Slavery. Here's the address:

http://www.freetheslaves.net/Page.aspx?pid=284

So go there! Join up! We will end it!

Broken Butterfly (A Poem)

She was wonderful.
She was beautiful.
Flying on the wind without care.
Then one day it all changed.
And suddenly the wind wasn't there.
Her wings became worthless.
Her world went still.
All she could see was no longer there.
People would say she could have been something,
but she is too dark and angry to be anything.
She could fly if she wanted.
She could soar with some friends.
But its like she's determined
To never be happy again.
She killed her own wings.
She killed her own wind.
She made herself useless.
Because she wouldn't
Wouldn't begin.
She could just leave,
and mend her wings.
She could just fly.
But she wants to be a broken butterfly.

Welcome!

anancientspirit has joined the Mosaic.

ABANDONING ANIMALS

I was originally going to write this just for my writing club, but I believe the subject is much too serious for me to keep it confined to my writing friends (and sometimes critics.) I feel I need to write this because an idiot in a small, dark car dropped off a Persian cat on our doorstep last year about a month before winter. I cannot remember if it was a blue car, or a brown one – or maybe it was black. It was strangely clean, so it was from the city. A country vehicle would be dirtier, even if you had just cleaned it.

The cat was obviously an indoor cat. Her fur was pristine white, and brushed. She was (is) very friendly, and she kept trying to get into our house. She would not eat the mice our cat, Tinker, brought her at first. I do not think she knew what to do with them, because she watched Tinker eat his mice with curiosity. When she figured it out, she was all too happy to munch.

We tried every name we could think of on the abandoned kitty. Fluffy, Furball, Princess, even Cleopatra. We gave up and just decided to call her Samwise, after Sam in LoTR. (Yes, we know Sam is a guy, and the cat is a girl. Nevertheless, we like ‘Sam’ for her name!) What a shock! She responded to Sam. I think her full name must have been Samantha before we renamed her. She actually meows when we say Sam. The other names she would look at us as if we were stupid. Got to love cats and their attitudes.

You know what we have recently out? Those low lives – those dirt bags that even scum despises – had her declawed! They forced a declawed cat that was obviously strictly an indoor cat into the country without her primary source of self-defense!

There is no excuse for those dimwits to have done what they had done to Sam. Only someone who is very selfish would have kicked a declawed cat out into the country. My family has had many cats over the years, and some of them came from homes that did not want them anymore. The rest were born on our acreage.

Animals that we have made part of our family are not human, but that does not mean they do not require respect, love, and a safe place to call home. We have no right- none at all - to take a cat, dog, or anything home with us unless we are going to be responsible. This means even if something happens and you cannot keep your friend – be it allergies, or money or lack of preparedness for a pet – you only have the right to find a place for the animal without dumping them.

Outdoor animals may take care of themselves, and do not require our help as much. True, we feed them, and provide them with their own house, but they usually find a better place to sleep anyway. Like, say, that wonderful place right above your bedroom, so they can wake you in the middle of the night by walking.

But what of indoor pets? This is more important, as most animals that are dumped are strictly indoor pets. We, the humans, are in charge of food, sleeping areas, and anything else our little (and sometimes quite large) non-human family member will need. That is a lot of work. Only someone who is mature, and has the time, can take it on.

Pets are such wonderful additions to a family! They are loyal. They do not judge us. They do not lie, cheat, steal or harm us, allergies non-withstanding. Allergies are not an attack on us, either, as it is our own bodies that do the damage.

When we tell our pets, “This is your home too! I will take care of you, don’t you worry!” we had better not lie to them.

That is exactly what that moron did when he or she dropped off Sam at our home. They took her in. They made such a promise to keep her safe that they removed her major form of defense. Then what did they do? They took her to a strange place, and threw her out like a piece of garbage. Why? I do not know, and frankly, I do not care. To abandon an animal makes you selfish, lazy, and stupid.

We have had animals we could not take care of before. We found places for all of them quickly. We are a rather strange family in that we are not very active in the community, and we are way out in the country. If we can do it, what gives someone from the city (or more rarely, the country) the right of not finding a home for his or her pet? They are closer to sources that will take the pet.

Is it because some places charge? May I ask why these idiots think those in the country have money to take on an unexpected pet? Also, if they don’t want their so-called “beloved” pet to die in a shelter, what makes them think the animal will live in the wild? These sick people choose starvation over euthanasia for their pets. Wow, can you feel the love?

I have noticed in the city, pets are for indoors. In the country, pets are mostly outdoors and to have them inside is rather odd. So that is just more evidence of dumb people. Oh, a nice country barn should keep Fluffy during the winter! Forget that Fluffy is used to constant warmth in the house, and that barns are nowhere as warm as a house in the summer, forget when the weather hits minus thirty!

Grow up people. Animals are not a fad, nor are they accessories, dolls, or toys. Throwing them out is nowhere near the same as getting rid of that jacket from last winter. Yet, abandoned pet rates are so high each year that no one can say how many are left for dead. Pets eat, poop, sleep, have fears, and play. They breathe. They grow and think. They are alive. Can a jacket do that? Is a jacket alive?

Being human, I naturally think abandoning a child is worse than abandoning a pet. But I think the evils are quite close, though. Animals are not humans. However, humans are animals - it is sad that we have forgotten that fact.

Remembering (A short story)

Salty air sends wisps of memories cascading through my mind. Laughter of so long ago as we ran along the beach, or caught our dreams on the waves. Our guardians used to call us back when we were younger.

We used to say, "They are afraid we won't come back, that's how happy we are here, alone together."

If the moon was high in the sky we had stayed too late - but did we care? Time was nothing. Happiness didn't have a time frame, or a stamp of reality. I remember it well. Stars would guide us along our paths. Leaves and shells surrounded us, and we whispered gentle touches. Silent melodies only we could hear. Even the storms that swept across the island could not ruin our lives.

Do you remember any of it where you are? Are you waiting for me? You told me to recall it all and to know that no matter what happens, you love me forever. Nothing can tear our love.

Your voice is in my ear when I need you. That one tune that you drove me to distraction with, that song I used to spite. I find my voice sings it sometimes. Laughter usually follows as I realize what I am doing.

I feel your hands when the sadness overcomes all other emotions. Fingers linking with mine, or flicking the bit of hair that tends to stick up. I even feel you poking me in the sides when I start to grumble like an old man.

Everything thinks I am so sad. One man says I will pine away for the rest of my life. I won't let that happen, I'll find another to share life with, but I will still remember you. That can't be a sin. Maybe your loss will always be in my heart, but sitting next to it will be joy, because you gave me that. You taught me to care about myself. You instilled the lesson of love. Strange, isn't it? How two children lost to the world can find solstice together.

Yellow roses used to be a sign of jealousy. Some still say they are. You said they were shaped out of gold.

The lady I bought one from thought I was odd, especially after I told her what I plan on doing with it.

So here I am with warm water in between my toes, salty air getting into everything, and stars guiding me along the shore. I take a deep breath. Moonlight dances around the horizon. My hand reaches out.

I let the rose fall to the ocean, let the currents sweep it away, and I hope that it will somehow end up at your grave.