Update 2 yr old missing in Orlando

The news did a report a few minutes ago that a new concrete pad had been put down recently at the house where Casey was staying - they determined it was around the time the Caylee went missing.  It did not say if they were digging it up but I would assume that they are already in the process of doing so.

This whole story has continued to draw interest because there can be no closure until the little girl’s body is found.  It also continues to haunt millions of us who look at that sweet child’s face wondering how this mother could hurt such a beautiful child.  No matter what a person is going through, there are always options available and killing should never be one of them.

It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear or read an update.  I wish I could hold this little girl in my arms and protect her from the evil that befell her.  Again I find myself wishing that there was some tell tall signs of evilness so that we could identify them and keep the innocent safe.

Assisted Colonization

Well, we knew it would all come down to this eventually. Afterall, we humans are the smartest of all God’s creatures and thus, colonizing the animal world in our own way should be how it was meant to be right?

Not only should we colonize the creatures how we see fit, we should also decide in an animal kingdom triage sort of way, what species we should let become extinct in favor of keeping other species around in this world of shortening animal habitats. Doesn’t that seem normal to everyone?

Scientists have advised that the species of Sky Island in Arizona is basically “toast” because they don’t know where they would move them so might as well let them go extinct. Who needs them anyway?

“When deciding which species to save and which to watch die, Root said one key is uniqueness. That’s why she said she’d save the odd-looking Tuatara of New Zealand, a lizard-like creature with almost no living relatives, over the common sparrow.”

“The risk of extinction has to be balanced by the potential hazard to the community where a species is relocated as well as the time and cost of making the move, Parmesan says.”

“Ultimately, the decision about whether to actively assist the movement of a species into new territories will rest on ethical and aesthetic grounds as much as on hard science,” she said in a statement.

“Passively assisting coral reef migration may be acceptable, but transplanting polar bears to Antarctica, where they would likely drive native penguins to extinction, would not be acceptable,” she said.

“Conservation has never been an exact science, but preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change is likely to require a fundamental rethinking of what it means to preserve biodiversity,” Parmesan said.

Wow, doesn’t it just make you proud to be a human? And, by the way, whose to say penguins are more unique then the polar bears? I think that is subjective and totally unfair. Let’s relocate the penguins to Alaska or Canada - let the bears have the Antarctica.

Somewhere I’m sure someone has a nice little chart with nice little diagrams of how every thing would benefit if we took over nature. Let’s make the world one big zoo. Does it irk anyone else as much as it does me??

I understand that some species are endanger of becoming extinct but is moving species around a good idea? Shouldn’t we let Mother Nature handle, well, Mother Nature? Have we done much good when we have “accidentally” relocated things in the past? Fire ants spring to mind - they came over from Africa or some such place - now look at how they’ve become an epidemic in the south.

Pretty soon I won’t have to watch the Sci-Fi channel to get my “b” movie horror fix - the reality of what we’ve done to our world will far out due what they can come up with on TV.

My Darling Baxter

Earlier this month, after finding that Baxter may have impregnated Wendy’s dog, I decided to have Baxter neutered. I made an appointment for this past Wednesday and took him in.

The vet told me that one of Baxter’s testicles hadn’t descended properly so he would have to cut into his abdomin as well as where they normally cut. I disagreed - feeling that, if the testicle hadn’t dropped, there was little way it affect him getting another dog pregnant. However, the vet convinced me there really was no other way so I agreed.

They performed the surgery that night because, after I left Baxter, the vet had an emergency out in the country so had to postpone Baxter. So Baxter got to spend the day playing with the other dogs there at the vet’s place. I went up the next morning to pick Baxter up and he seemed groggy and kind of tired.

Thursday I left him in my room so he wouldn’t get too excited around the other dogs. He seemed to get a lot of sleep and appeared to be doing fine.

Friday morning I took him for a drive out to the Coralville Reservoir because I knew he hated being cooped up but wasn’t ready for long walks yet. We were there for just a few minutes when I noticed him licking at something very pink on his underbelly. What was there about made me gag.

The stitches on the second incision in his abdomin had come out leaving a hole that I could open up to Baxter’s insides. I freaked. I rushed him - and I do mean rushed as it took me less then a half an hour to get from North Liberty to West Liberty - back to the vet. The vet’s assistant said the vet would not be in for a few hours but agreed the hole should be stitched back up. The assistant tried to comfort me - told me it wasn’t that serious…unless, of course, dirt or something got into the wound before they got it sealed. I was beside myself. Once again I had to leave Baxter overnight with them.

I went this morning to pick him up and I must say, he was very delighted to see me. I brought him home and he is resting comfortably. The vet put staples in his stomach so I wouldn’t have to worry about the stitches giving way again. I’m to closely watch Baxter to make sure I call them right away if he gets a fever or starts acting sick. Of course, I will have to take him back in two weeks to have the staples removed.

My poor darling baby - I hate that he hurts and had to suffer through that.

Happy, Happy, Happy…

Um…don’t ask why I named this post that because all I can tell you is that it is the only thing that came to mind as I sat staring at the blank screen. I’ve been studying my training manual for my new job and my brain is pretty well fried.

It is very cold out these days, again. Right now it is 34 degrees out - it was spitting snow earlier. They (Weather Channel crew) say it will be in the 50’s by the end of the weekend - I hope so.

Right now I have on “Army of Darkness” - I’m going to have to get a copy before I move out on my own as I enjoy listening to it in the background.

My training officer went home sick on Friday and Monday - then called out sick Tuesday and Wednesday. I am way behind in my training and they are all bent out of shape over it. My training officer returned today and was not happy. As much as I resented feeling like it was my fault - I realized this afternoon that it partly is.

My training is my responsibility. If I want the best training possible, then I need to be assertive and insist on it. The other trainers who covered for mine could have covered more stuff with me but didn’t. I should have been insistent rather then let them dictate what we were doing. So I can’t be passive, waiting for them to direct me…I need to take the initiative and be a bitch if necessary to get what I need.

So tonight I’ve been studying the book. Tomorrow and Monday we have extra people in the room so we won’t have to take a lot of the stuff - this will get us caught up to some degree…I hope. I hate being behind.

Dog Rescue

It is a beautiful 57 degrees here in IC and the sun is really shining! So inspiring was the warmth that we decided to take our three dogs on a nice walk. Each dog had a separate leash and separate handler so we could all enjoy the nice day without worrying about the dogs getting tangled.

It is muddy out but we found our way over to the nature trail that is not far from my son’s apartment. My son and his girlfriend let their dogs go once they are away from traffic - I can’t do that with Baxter because he keeps won’t listen to voice commands.

Our path took us around a pond whose surface ice has started to melt due to the warm day. Baxter loves the water but it was Rocco who decided he wanted to try his hand at ice skating. Unfortunately, the ice wasn’t strong enough around the edges to hold his weight. He started falling through and rather then head back to the shore where we were all screaming his name, he took off for stronger ice.

Still, he found patches that weren’t that strong and repeatedly fell through. My son got as close to the edge as he could and gently called Rocco over. Rocco, soaking and tired, came over but while he was still out of reach, he fell through the ice again.

This time there was no coming up for Rocco. His nose came up briefly then he sunk down beneath the ice. We were all screaming by then. My son, not about to lose his beloved dog, kicked off his shoes and literally jumped out to where Rocco had last been seen. He didn’t have to reach far under to find the dog and pull him up. The water wasn’t deeper then my son was tall so he wasn’t in any immediate danger of drowning - though believe me, my heart skipped a few beats. My son managed to grab Rocco around the upper body and pull him to the side of the pond.

My son was soaked from the arm pits down so we ended our short nature walk and headed back home so he could change into dry clothes. Rocco was cold but warmed up on the way back - he seems fine now. My child will probably be alright too, though he was sniffling a lot as he changed clothes.

Let me just say…it was scary as hell and I don’t ever want to see that happen again. I’m glad my son saved his dog - he would have been devastated if Rocco had drowned - and that my story has a happy ending. My son’s cell phone might be history but hey, small price to pay…you know?

Last Day at the SSO

Well, this is my last day of work for the sheriff’s office. It seemed like the day would never arrive and now that it has, I was didn’t want to get out of bed to greet it. Stayed in bed with the covers up to my chin making a mental list of everything that has to be done yet. It is a daunting task, wrapping up that part of my life. It seems like I have made so many big changes in my life the past five years and here I am, about to make more.

It is 67 degrees here - I’m about to go walk Baxter. We will go to Payne park because it is close to the pharmacy and I have to pickup my iron pills.

I have to turn in my uniforms today and all my stuff at work. Should be interesting. Last night at work I had to say goodbye to a lot of my friends who I wouldn’t see today. I hate goodbye’s. I know that a lot of them will write once or twice and then fade away but hopefully a few will stay in touch for the long term.

The Numbers

Have spent the past hour running the numbers trying to squeeze every cent out to know that I can move even if I don’t have the condo rented. You have no idea how badly I rollercoaster from feeling good about moving to feeling like I’ll stroke out from the stress. I just want everything to go right, you know?

My son was worried for a few minutes that I was changing my mind - I told him no way, I’m committed 120% to moving. If I have to figure out a way to work a second job then that is what I will do. I’m moving, no matter what.

Employment Separation

Received my employment separation form at work this morning. Seeing it sent me into a panic - what if I don’t have enough money - what if I don’t get the condo rented? - what if I get paid monthly and don’t get a first check till May 1st? OMG!! What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING? {hyperventilating}, {shaking uncontrollably}, {pulse pounding in my head - it might just explode}.

Deep breath - find my happy place, find my happy place, damn it to hell where is my happy place??? Gotta get out of here - the walls are closing in. Did someone set off the emergency vacuum? The one that sucks all the oxygen out of the room in case of fire? Everything’s going black - I’m seeing stars…(background voice: “Space, the final frontier…these are the voyages of the Starship…”).

What is that I hear? It comes from far away - somewhere in the dark. Oh, it is my son and he’s saying “Mom, I am so glad you are moving home. I can’t wait till you get here.”

The world rights itself - the vertigo disperses - my breathing returns to normal and I start to smile. For my son did say those exact words just last night on the phone.

29 Days

Have 29 days left until the day I leave Florida. Have 22 days left of work and 25 days until I pick my sister up from the airport. I have 3 more 12hr days at work…then it will be all 8 hr days. Yippee!

I’m scared - I won’t deny it. I’m scared I won’t have enough money. I’m scared I won’t find someone to rent my condo. I’m scared I won’t find a place to rent when I get up there. I’m NOT scared about finding a job because I got the call today saying I was hired at the University so that is cool. I’m a little scared of the paycut…

I have a lot of anxiety. As my sister says, it is a big life change - moving and rearranging my life again - but it is also an adventure. I have to focus on the adventure part otherwise I will worry myself gray.

Cloverfield Review

Ok folks - I forced myself to go see the movie - almost turned around several times. Got to the theater and it was so dead I thought they might be closed but they weren’t.

I got the theater all to myself (woohoo!), which is always a huge plus for me because face it, other people talk during movies and I find myself getting more and more aggravated as the movie goes along.

Before I say what I thought of the movie, let me just say, I had never heard of this movie before seeing a preview of it the other day at work. I saw it and was like “Cool, when does that come out?” and was told it had been out for awhile. No one told me anything about the movie - no one raved it up or trashed it. The only thing I read about it was that it was filmed like the Blair Witch Project which made me skeptical to say the least. I hated the Blair Witch Project - didn’t understand the sold out theaters at all - however, I also waited till it was on DVD to see it and maybe something got lost in the transition?

This movie was excellent - I really can’t say anything bad about it at all. When I left the theater, my neck and head hurt like they would if I had just completed my 12th ride on one of the rollercoaster’s at Busch Gardens. Yes, the film is jumpy so people like my sister Marge, who get motion sickness, can not go see it. But oh it was thrilling, memorizing and riveting. It was not scary in the least but the action came fast and furious once it started (about 10 min into the show).

When I got out, I called my son right away to tell him what a good show it was and how he had to see it before it left the theaters. He said, and I quote, “I’ve been waiting for the hype to die down.” Hype? What hype? I didn’t even know the movie existed! He said it had been #1 and that everyone was gushing about what a good show it was so he figured he’d wait a bit. Goes to show what happens when I don’t keep up with newspapers and what is happening in the entertainment industry.

Bottom line - if you like sci-fi at all and want to see a movie that is fun and thought provoking - see Cloverfield.