Imagine

Imagine a world where your backyard - your home is destroyed by others - buried beneath a sea of concrete and new homes - unlike yours. Imagine being imprisoned because you think and live in a manner different than others. Imagine being forced to fight - where the loser dies - for entertainment. Imagine being dragged behind a vehicle, having body parts cut off, or hung. Imagine being hunted down and shot for the sole reason of existing in the first place. Imagine being part of an experiment - one where you had no choice but to participate. Imagine being given a deadly virus so that others could watch you die. Imagine.

These cruelties are played out each and everyday. When we commit these atrocities to each other, humanity weeps. When we commit these acts on animals, it is called progress. We are the most destructive animal this planet has ever seen, and like a virus we overtake and destroy the body in which we reside.

Highlight to Illuminate

Isn't it amazing what highlighting text can do? Nifty little trick. I like to think of it as being similar to a car using its headlights when it's dusk out....or foggy....or when there's poor visibility in general. A beam of light - announcing your presence to other vehicles and illuminating the road before you. It always seemed like a good idea to use headlights when visibility was limited. But then again, that's common sense, and as we all know, common sense is a rare commodity.

Sometimes I wonder if the lack of common sense in relation to driving has anything to do with the color of the vehicle driven. At least in my current neck of the woods, it appears that there is a correlation. Not only will you come across vehicles driving in poorly lit conditions without headlights, you will also find that these very same vehicles occur in colors such as black, dark blue, gray, and brown. Are the owners of these poorly illuminated vehicles burglars in their spare time and are used to creeping around without light? Perhaps. But then again, perhaps not. Like black text appearing on a black background, they blend in with their surroundings. Trying to figure out how to read what I've written here is a mere inconvenience, having a head-on collision is deadly.

Incapable of Self Thought, Buy a Robot

"Family Locator" cell phones. These handy little devices can be given to your children and with a click of the button you can monitor their every movement. Advocates say it's a more dangerous world out there and these handy devices will help keep kids safe; they may help keep kids off drugs because parents will know where their kids go. Is today's world actually more dangerous than before? I don't think so. There has always been rapists, serial killers, child molesters, kidnappers, hate crimes, and those who vie to destroy the world. As for drugs, they've always been part of the human experience. If it isn't meth, it's cocaine, heroine, or opium. There will always be something we, as people, shouldn't delve into. So, I ask, what are we teaching our children? We are teaching them that they are irresponsible, untrustworthy, and incapable of thinking for themselves - incapable of making decisions. When the time comes in the near future, when these children - raised through the eyes and will of Big Brother - enter the world of adults - unable to make decisions on their own - fail to question the removal of yet more Constitutional rights, refuse to stand up and tell their leaders that domestic eavesdropping is illegal, stand back and allow, yet another American to be held in jail without legal representation, and lack the ability to question the motives of foreign policy - don't be surprised. After all, this was how they were conditioned to respond - with complacency.

Children today, like children of yesterday, need to explore their surroundings and test their parameters. It is true, that yes, they like children of the past, may fall and get hurt. However, it is the occasional bump and bruise along the way that opens their eyes to the realities around them. If you want an unthinking child, perhaps you should invest in a robot.

Earth Day

Today, April 22, is Earth day. This is the day that we bulldoze mountains, extracting lumps of coal, allow oil to pool upon the ground below the metronome-like bobbing of oil wells, spew thousands upon thousands of pounds of carbon monoxide into the air, and dump toxic materials into the water! Wait, I have this backwards. That's what we do EVERYDAY! For this one day, stop and look around. Observe the blue of the sky, the feel of rain upon your face, take wonder in a rainbow, the song of a bird, the wisp of the breeze, the texture of grass, the roughness of bark, smell the earthiness of soil, be amazed at the flight of the dragonfly, see the joy in a young child's eyes, smell the sweetness of a flower, feel the soothing touch of sand between your toes, dip your hand into the river, and watch the fish swim by. This is Earth day - She gives us beautiful gifts each and every day; the least we can do is appreciate them.

The Preventable Death and the Law

Nestled in northern Arizona surrounded by mountains and pine trees, is the sleepy little town of Flagstaff, Arizona - population 50,000, where in June 2000, a 17-year old boy shot and killed a police officer - the first officer killed in the line of duty. Why am I mentioning this? Because this young man was diagnosed by both the prosecution and defense as being a paranoid schizophrenic. His behavior had begun deteriorating a year before - he began drinking only bottled water because he thought the city water had lead in it; he thought both his parents and the citizens of Flagstaff were aliens; he stopped playing sports - dropping the dreams he had of becoming a professional athlete. He remarked that the only way to stop the aliens was with bullets. His mother had him tested for drugs - negative. Later, he got arrested for drinking and drug possession. His parents tried to commit him - so he could get help. However, the state declared that he was not a threat to himself or to others. Committing him was denied. June 21, 2000, this young man stole his brother's truck and drove around a neighborhood in the middle of the night with the stereo blasting. Understandably, the police were called. Shots rang out, an officer fell. An officer that believed in community service - he chopped firewood for people who were unable to do it. He did it because he wanted to.

At the trial, the judge admitted that this young man is delusional, yet in the same breath declared that he was sane during the act of murder. He is now charged with first degree murder and will go to prison for life.

Unfortunately, there are no winners here. The family of the teenager wanted to get help for their son. They were wondering what was wrong. The family of the officer, a father to one, is grieving. The community lost a valued member. This could have been prevented if only a young man had been committed and received the help he required. Now, two lives are lost.

Gas and the American Bloat

Imagine: gas prices over $4.00 a gallon. Four dollars. Wow. Just two years ago, upon my arrival in the Southeast, gas was a "mere" $1.45. Two dollars a gallon was an eyebrow archer. Summer projections of more than $3.00 a gallon, hurricane season around the corner, a radical leader in Iran, Chinese progress, ethanol additives, a never-ending war in Iraq, and let's not forget, the American need for speed, convenience, and super-sized vehicles, yep, $4.00 is around the immediate bend.

Four dollars a gallon. Now, if you have a large SUV that you fill once a week, with let's say, 15 gallons of gas, that will run you $60 every week, $240 every four weeks, $3,120 a year. That is, if the price stays at the new low price of $4.00 a gallon and your driving habits don't change. We won't even discuss car insurance, registration, inspections, emissions, and maintenance. Between the cost of fuel and required accoutrements, one could take out a small loan just to operate these vehicles.

I began to wonder - how many Americans have actually thought about how much they will be spending on fuel, and what they're doing to reduce fuel costs. I admit that I've seen more hybrid vehicles on the road; however, I also know that these vehicles are out of the price range for many Americans - myself included. So, what can we, here in the US, do to reduce fuel consumption? I for one have slowed down and turned off the A/C (a difficult thing to do in Florida). I don't stomp on the gas when lights turn green. I maintain a constant speed and I regularly maintain my car. My little Kia went from around 25 mpg to 31-32 mpg. What do I see around me? I'm passed by motorists driving way over the speed limit - including school zones, wild weaving in and out of traffic, and jackrabbit starts at lights. Perhaps these individuals don't care about the cost of fuel, the ever-dwindling supply of fossil fuels, the increasing toxification of our environment, or the lives devastated by wars fought for the control of energy resources. I ask myself, "Why don't they care and do something about it?" Have they forgotten the gas lines of the 70s? Were they even born yet? Why the complacency? Then a thought strikes me: many people in the 70s paid with cash, not credit. They were in-touch with the amount of cash they had. These people put money aside for gas money, for trips, for the new television set. People, today, particularly individuals from my generation - X, and generation Y, are governed by plastic - the facade of economic success - branded with the names Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. The true impact of gas prices doesn't seem to cause a ripple in the thought processes of individuals today. Is it because we can always pay for it with plastic? And, then when the statement arrives, we don't need to pay the entire balance. Why should we? The minimum amount will do. There is always tomorrow in our little private plastic utopian towns. All that matters is our external image. I have a big screen TV. I have a big SUV. I have a killer stereo. I am better than you. See how "successful" I am.

Herbal Rhythms: Deciphering Herbal Codes

Herbal Rhythms: Deciphering Herbal Codes, 198 pgs, published March 2006. By Jane Lytle and illustrated by Dawn Frost (me!). Our book is now available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, and Publish America. A blurb from the back cover: This book discusses fourteen herbs. These fourteen herbs are some of those most commonly purchased and used by the average gardener/cook in this country. I've attempted to provide a wel-rounded picture of each from its place in history, medicinal and culinary attributes, optimal growth conditions, harvesting, recipes, and projects for children and adults alike. Included in each chapter are various different hints and suggestions regarding cultivation, storage, and utilization that pertain not only to the herb being discussed, but to all herbs.

The 30 Inch Inseam

This past weekend I went shopping with a friend at the local mall. For what? Jeans. Due to expanding age and waistlines, it was time for a new pair...or two...of jeans. This should be easy. We wandered into Sears, headed toward the men's department, and scanned the wooden bins for the dimensions: W30, L30. Ahh! There it is...all the bins on the TOP shelf. I take a step back...in order to scan with my craned neck. I glance over at my shopping partner, who is also craning to see. Reaching up, once on my toes, I find a possible pair and hand them over. It finally occurs to me: Why is the shortest inseam on the top shelf while the longest inseam is on the bottom? Who came up with this brilliant idea? Anyone with half a brain would see the insanity of this situation. Are shorter individuals less trust-worthy than taller ones? And, if the store places pants short people might want to purchase on the top shelf, the short individual would be forced to ask for assistance - where they can be monitored closely for improper behavior? Or, does the individual responsible for this design flaw have a personal vendetta against short people and relishes the thought of having them stretch for their pants? Perhaps, store design gurus think short people aren't striving for lofty enough goals? With a sigh, we find a coulple pairs and head to the women's department...where once again, the smaller sizes are up high.

Boy Scouts and FEMA

It is simple and to the point, "Be prepared." You'd think this motto belonged to FEMA. It doen't; it belongs to the Boy Scouts. FEMA has a similar motto, "A nation prepared." Perhaps they should learn from the Boy Scouts, or at least Websters, what prepared actually means. It means that one has the equipment, personnel, and plan in place before an emergency situation arises. A Hurricane Named Katrina made it pointedly clear that FEMA, local officials, and the White House failed not only to prepare but also to lead; they failed to act.

Okay, I'm clearly being unfair. Chertoff, Brown, and other high-ranking government officials weren't informed about the motto and didn't know it existed. If it didn't exist, then they didn't have to understand it, let alone, live up to it - they don't need to be responsible; it is obviously the Secretary of Mottos fault for not informing them of their Motto duty. Or, did they mix up the FEMA motto with that of the Sixth US Army, "Born for war?" After all, our leadership appears to think more highly of Middle Eastern matters than those we face here at home. Until our leadership realizes that we face catastrophes, poverty, lack of health care, and poor education here at home, please, Mr. President, put the Boy Scouts in charge of FEMA. As a resident of Florida, it would make me rest a little easier knowing that those in charge would actually "Be Prepared."

School Zones

I am baffled by the state of Florida and it's description and use of school zones. I was mistakenly under the impression that 20 mph is the speed limit around a school during certain periods of the day. Seems to make sense. Well, not here. Private schools apparently don't count as schools or are viewed as "less" than worthy of school zone signs and speed limits. Consequently, cars regularly roar by doing 50 mph or more - at the school I work for.

Thanks to the constant hounding of a lobbyist, whose grandson attends our school, we now have the city's attempt of school zone signage - we have inherited a winky-blinky light. I've noticed that the two blinking lights were removed from the public school down the road; they had four blinky lights. Two not only informed traffic of an upcoming school, but also warned them to slow down to 30 mph. After these two introductory warning devices, another set of blinking lights warned drivers to slow down to 20 mph. Our school is now the proud possessor of two winky-blinky lights telling drivers to slow down to 30 mph. Are you confused? I am. I guess 30 mph is better than 50 mph, but what about 20 mph like other schools? Are our kids less special or less "kid-like" than other kids? The kids at our school are dyslexic; they require specialized teaching techniques that aren't offered in the public school system.

Irregardless of which school a child attends, they are still children. They are all worthy of extra caution and awareness from drivers.