Sunday Blah blah blah

Wassup with blogger?

Yesterday, I tried to do the 'random blog' thing and ended up with about five different sites hawking drugs for erectile dysfunction, a couple of sites that trapped me, and another couple of sites that were distinctly and unpleasantly pornographic.

Hello? Is anyone at blogger actually paying attention?

I've found so many delightful sites through blogger, it's a shame that it's degenerating like this.

--------------

The Giant Milk Conspiracy

I'm dumbfounded at the astronomical rise in milk prices.

Emma and I have started talking again and it's as close to the way it was as it's ever going to be. But since she's a farmerette and is familiar with the wily ways of our gummint, she put paid to the notion that the rise in milk is because of ethanol. (Farmers grow corn - does it go to feed cows or produce ethanol?)

Apparently there are milk pricing schedules that apply to different regions of the US and the ones in the NE are all screwed up.

"There's actually a milk surplus now. Do you know what happens to the milk surplus?" she asked me and I confessed my ignorance. "The liquid is evaporated and the milk solids get sold to India."

And gets sent back to us in the form of extremely tasty Indian candy snackies?

She didn't know. But it still sounds like a conspiracy to me.

-------------------------
Post Secret

I always find astounding things on www.postsecret.com. Every Sunday morning, five or ten people bare their souls. I have been shocked, touched, grossed-out, amused, and more than once said, "No, no, no." Scroll down to the bottom, to the photo of Cassie (which I think is still there) and read her story. I think this girl is beautiful, truly beautiful, and the thought that she wanted to end her life seems like a terrible and desperate waste.

It makes me think to myself, maybe somebody thinks I'm beautiful.

Probably not, but what if?

I have sent in one secret. It didn't appear. So I guess it's still a secret.

But honestly, this whole blog seems to be nothing but Bec's Own Personal Post Secret.

-------------------------------

Scandal in Saddle River

A couple of weeks ago, the story broke that a couple in a multi-million dollar house in Upper Saddle River, NJ, had literally hundreds of animals running around in and through their house.

These people were known in the neighborhood as prosperous and successful and were always immaculately turned out. When a DHL deliveryman went to the house, he was so overwhelmed by the smell that he called the cops.

It was horrible, what they found there.

And as awful as it was, I'm glad I'm not hearing a lot of condemnation of the couple. Of course they're charged with animal cruelty, but it's about the same as charging Andrea Yates with murder. By the time all of this had snowballed into the terrible circumstances that were found at the house, there was nothing like reason or sanity at work here.

The woman had been collecting and hoarding animals and for awhile, it sounds like she'd been able to take care of them. Then her business folded, there were several bankruptcy cases going on, and the couple decamped for a hotel - leaving the animals there, unattended to.

Once upon a time, I would have condemned this woman but I'm a lot more sympathetic now.

She took them in when she was prosperous and she had no idea that things could go so badly so quickly, that she could fall prey to a depression that robbed her of her will to do anything about what seemed like a hopeless situation.

Calling in animal control before things got entirely nuts sounds like the thing to do, but I have to tell you, it's not always that easy.

Animal control will drag their feet. Rescue groups will try very, very hard to convince you that you can deal with it. There are some extremely forceful personalities in private animal rescue and a depressed and desperate woman will invariably be beaten down by that force.

Plus, calling anyone for help means a couple of unthinkable things - it means you have let things get out of control and it means that you have to admit you can't deal with it anymore.

Compound with this the feeling an animal hoarder has that no one can take as good care of the pets as the hoarder can.

I've seen this up close. It was a brief folie a deux I shared with Xman. I've gotten close to it, much closer than I ever dreamed I would, and it scares me. That's why there will be no Sebastian or orange cat or any other cat entering Ma Maisonette until the cat population here has reached two. This is why I will not foster any cat, no matter how sad the story or desperate the situation. At last, people have learned not to call me asking for this help.

I can't condemn this woman. She will probably never be cured of hoarding, but I hope she gets good treatment for her depression and support from people who can help her.

---------------

Lollygagging

I still have to paint the office/study. Painting the ceiling on Friday was in some ways harder than sanding the floor.

I would much rather be at The Church of Barnes & Noble, working on the 'Had she been beautiful' book, cleaning Ma Maisonette, out for a bike ride, cooking a week's worth of food, scrubbing out cat boxes, doing laundry, ironing, cleaning out the filing cabinet, laying on the couch reading, watching a video, brushing the cats, or washing the car.

But no. None of that. Off we go.