Over at my MSN Blog, I wrote a quick entry about radical thanksgiving. I hope you will look at it here.  . I hope you will take a look at it, and respond if you feel like it.

I love you all, so very much. Thank you for being the first on my list of things and persons to be thankful for. Happy Turkey Day!

In His Care,

Budroe
 

Yesterday was a very "doggie downer" kind of day for me. There are a lot of reasons, most of which don't really matter; none of which matter to this discussion. So, I go to bed this morning after about 2 AM, resolved to leave that day where it belonged, there. I woke up this morning with an emotional "hangover" (if you've had them, you know what I mean.) that had me fighting for the sunshine on a rainy Tennessee morning. Cold and blustery, I got a clue that SAD is kicking in--hard. Great! Another monkee hops aboard for the ride! Pilin' on has never been attractive to me. What I could really use is a dose of goodness. Where do I go to find a dose of good? Here, of course. WDC is usually a place where, if I can't find a dose of good, I can give one. (Shhh, it's a secret!)

So, I open my email. Today, that wasn't one of my happiest ideas. One email, from The Vigilante Angel . In it, I find a WOW! kinda good:

What even makes it better is that it's right at the very top of this Blog! The Blog got an AwardIcon! Okay, so I gotta ask ya: How cool is that? We got a award! All of us! YEAY! Thanks, The Vigilante Angel ! For all of us who share this journey, thank you.

Just when ya need it around here, somehow it just always seems to show up, in the most amazing ways. I tell ya, sometimes, it's just plain scarey!

In His Care,

Budroe
 

I've been watching, over the past two or so years, a growing reality which is spreading across this country--especially in our largest metropolitan areas. Because I live at the present time in Southern Illinois, because we here in the "Land of Lincoln", where so much has happened in the past few years that many would say could potentially endanger our society and our freedom--just to name a few reasons--I thought I would bring this issue to the discussion bar from the perspective of the latest metropolitan area to be publically affected: the city of Chicago, Illinois.

If you live in Miami, San Diego, Tampa/St. Pete, Atlanta, Memphis, Cincinatti, Philadelphia, or several other major cities in the United States, you may well be aware of the issues to be discussed. I'm going to ask you for your help on this one. It won't be too much, but it will take a few minutes of your time. I'm only asking here because I trust the input I get here more than other places. I appreciate you all.

I would like to find out what you think of this, but first I would like to ask you to complete a short survey on the subject. If you complete the survey with your writing.com email, I will reward you with 500GPs. The survey is limited to 100 responses (one per address). I am only looking for general opinions at this point. The survey is located here.  

After completing the survey, please go to the article which caught my attention. Any reference you can give in your comments will be appreciated.

Please read this short article before we begin. It really is important. Read it here  .

Then, post your comments here, and let the discussion begin. If there is sufficient interest, I will create a group for further discussion.

Thank you for your help. This will probably become a series of articles on like subjects. Your input will be greatly appreciated.

In His Care,

Budroe


 

I am in Columbia, Tennessee for a few days. I can't believe it, but it has been colder, wetter, and more humid here since I got here on Sunday than it has been since late Winter in Southern Illinois.

To me, that is just strange. When Sara came up to get me, the trees in her back yard were "on fire" with deep, rich golden and orange leaves brilliantly standing against a backdrop of large Spruce trees. When we got here, a bit more than a day later, every leaf was on the ground. "The big thud" had hit Columbia, TN before it hit Illinois. Okay, so that's just really difficult to explain. I've heard of temperature inversion...but seasonal inversion? Wow!

I hope that the weather is giving you some really good Wow! moments, too. It's a really awesome adventure! And, the leaves smell and feel just as they did so very many seasons ago, when "bundling up" was an invitation to great fun, kicking and jumping into piles of leaves, and we left the raking to the old folks!

I'd love to stay and reminisce, but I've got to find a rake....

In His Care,

Budroe
 

Okay, first you have to understand the premise. There's this Raffle, see, over at

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Or, "How To Kick Your Own Butt"!

I don't know if this year's NaNo is so much more difficult because of all the things suddenly invading my time, or if the effects of the disease are dragging me down, or just having uninvited space aliens in my spinach are affecting me...oh, I didn't tell you?

Whatever it is , the writing of words this time is a very difficult task to me right now. The fact is, I'm way behind, with a good story waiting to be written. Distractions are coming at me like scatter shot. Whatever the reasons and/or excuses may be, this year's NaNo is becoming an overwhelming task. I just thought I'd vent. Thank you.

In His Care,

Budroe
 

This does!

"My Flag" 

"My MIA Orb" 

Who was John Allen Mohammed? And, where is Jarrett, Virginia?

Why does it matter?

Well, during several months back in 2002, he and a juvenile by the name of Lee Boyd Malvo killed ten people in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, wounding 13 others. The pair were also implicated, or "were suspected of fatal shootings in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana and Washington state."1

Known as "The D.C. Beltway Snipers", the two had a field day in a three-week fearfest that left citizens afraid to buy gasoline, or stop at a convenience store. Mohammed, 48, was executed a few moments ago by lethal injection at the State Penitentiary in Jarrett, Virginia. Malvo, aged 17 years at the time of the convictions, will serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Born John Allen Williams, Mohammed graduated High School, then entered the National Guard in Louisiana where he became a marksman with the M-16 rifle. He later converted to Islam, and changed his name. The reasons for the assaults are left mostly unknown, but there are a couple of more highly-favored versions among the many. .

One says that Williams/Mohammed wanted to raise fear enough to extort some $10 million from the United States government in order to create a training camp in the United States where young terrorists could be trained, and prepared for missions against US interests. Probable.

The other says that Williams/Mohammed was recently divorced, and was trying to scare his ex-wife into giving him parental custody of their three children. Possible.

Was he a devoted convert? Was he a shining example of what it means to be a God-fearing Muslim, epecially in America, today? Could he have been a man in search of a hero? Or, maybe he was a hero in search of an appreciative fan club. Or, was he an outraged extremist freedom-fighter who believed he could better the condition of an oppressed people? Perhaps he was just a very angry black man who wanted to hurt someone because he had been hurt. It is easy to cast aspersions, or make internet-fast judgments about someone when you do not know them.

We will, most likely, never know the actual reasons for the events that ended in October, 2002 in a Maryland rest area parking spot, where the pair were discovered by a vigilant professional trucker. What we do know is that the life of John Allen Williams/Mohammed was taken by the Virginia Department of Corrections tonight. Lethal injection was administered after a final appeal was denied by Virginia's Governor Tim Kaine.

         "I think crimes that are this horrible, you just can't understand them, you can't explain them," said Kaine, a Democrat known for carefully considering death penalty cases. "They completely dwarf your ability to look into the life of a person who would do something like this and understand why."2

Ten people, including a Virginia gas station attendant (the crime which garnered Williams/Mohammed his death sentence) were brutally, indiscriminantly killed. Some 13 others were wounded. One thing we do know is that the duo had absolutely, by their own admissions, any intent to stop their actions voluntarily. Williams/Mohammed's Attorney pled for his client's life based upon "Severe Mental Illness". Well, I would say that's a bit of a (pardon the pun) no-brainer! But, mental illness is often used as a "catch-all" for things we just cannot conceive, isn't it?

For many, random acts of violence come into that category. For others, purposeful acts of death come into that category as well. While that discussion continues, we will not be hearing from John Allen Williams/Mohammed any further on the matter. He is dead.

To ALL the victims of these heinous acts, including the lost souls who travelled to Jarrett, Virginia from Louisiana to say goodbye to a loved one, you have my sympathy and prayers. To the government who, representing all the people (including me) who sanctioned this act, you have my concern. I personally believe that the death penalty is wrong--in every case. Sorry. I know many who disagree with me on that. That's okay with me. To those who celebrate this event, and feel that democracy and America are better for it having happened, I'd love to hear your reasons. Please do not speak to me of deterrents, or righteous justification. Give me your personal feelings on the matter; i.e., how does this affect you, your life, or your family?

In His Care,

Budroe

Footnotes
1  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33827106/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
2  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33827106/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

I have recently been the victim winner of an auction which got me a package of reviews and other goodies for my port. I got an Award Icon for a letter, and a Merit Badge in Style (Imagine! I KNOW!) for my work. It has been a wonderful "return" to the active writing life in this community. It has reinvigorated me, and my muse. I am so very grateful to Daizy~wetandcoldbrr for her gift to me! I did not know what to expect, but I promise you that I got more than I had hoped for.

One of the reviewers went so far into my port as to review a work that I hadn't touched since writing the rough draft! Wow! I know they saw it all. The reviews were kind, friendly, and so very helpful. In some cases, I got some confirmation that my work was at least okay. I got interesting comments on how to make my work better that made sense, and came from a clear impression the reviewer was seriously concerned about making my work better--not their review. It was just great!

I got nominated to be a "Best Author". That was a kindness that lifted my soul. It's been almost two years now since I had the abilty to even communicate online, much less write a word. Having no computer, life as you have known it can become a bit of the "terror in the night", if you know what I mean.

At the same time, I have been reviewing work again--one of my favorite activities. The group I am in, "Reviewing Reviewers"  is a really fun bunch of dedicated and talented reviewers who give "in depth" reviews because the focus is on the reviews other writers have given. We also review their ports and their personal work. Good, or bad, we look at them all with the intent to encourage better, friendly, and more significant reviews of other writers' work.

I would also tell you that I have sent some manuscripts to an agent who wants to rep "Notre Dame" and the series. That is an exciting note of news, but of course we "shall see what we shall see."

NaNo   is on cruise mode right now. I noted that some of the nano friends have already submitted their 68k+ novels. I'm going to have to find out how you write 68K new words in seven days. I'm shooting for 16, a goal which in all likelihood I will miss. I have company this weekend, and things of the writing kind are on the back burner. Medical things are on boil, and a mandatory movie attendance is in the works. So, for today, it's just going to be normal (?) living for me.

I encourage you to take the time to have some "Wow!" moments in your world.

Budroe