Arkansas Blog

The Shadow knows.

The opposite of love isn't hate, it's greed. The opposite of good isn't bad, it's ignorance. My brother generally just asks "Are you drunk or stupid?" Anyways, here's what got me up at 5:AM today:

Thoughts on hb1026 (Oil and Gas)

1939/1979/2009/2029? By Roderick A. Bryan

The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission is the first stop for purveyors of the Fayetteville Shale yet the commission lacks the scientific expertise, communication skill and political will necessary to appropriately disclose potential environmental and health risks to the public. The increased authority given to the Oil and Gas Commission regarding the Fayetteville Shale is becoming a missed opportunity to improve the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health.

The Oil and Gas Commission has become much more than a commission. It has grown into an agency. An unrecognized, undefined agency is a dangerous prospect for the people and its government. While the "agency" portion of the current commission should definitely be populated by a majority of people with oil and gas experience, the board is an entirely different matter. It should be as diverse as possible.

Many legislators have defended the Oil and Gas Commission by mentioning Director Lawrence Bengal by name and saying what a great job he is doing. It is time to define his role, and those who follow him in the future, as director of an agency that is governed by a board or put the Oil and Gas Commission under the jurisdiction of another agency through a restructuring process. Annual sessions will provide ample time for such a task. Passage of hb1026 would have to be "undone" to achieve such a restructuring. Arkansas Interim Resolution 2007-004 was perhaps an abbreviated attempt to initiate such a process but it never made it out of committee.

In many states, like Pennsylvania and New York, the Oil and Gas Commission is a subsidiary of the State Environmental Protection Agency. Pennsylvania hired 36 Environmental Inspectors for the Marcellus Shale before drilling began.

Arkansas has approved funding for, but not hired, 4 inspectors for the Fayetteville shale and 3,000 wells have already been drilled. The AOGC website is written by and for oil industry people. It begs for more input from scientific, health, educational and communication professionals. If passed, this bill sends the message that Oil and Gas Exploration supersedes science, agriculture and human health in Arkansas.

Many people view the general condition of the game of baseball as a reflection of our overall society. When kids see athletes injecting chemicals to improve performance do they see board members and politicians doing the same thing? When ball players defend these practices as "a pressure to improve production", do the kids know where the players learned this response?

Rejecting this bill is an opportunity to improve the game.

Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul. - Edward Abbey

The opposite of love is not hate or greed.

It's fear.

I'll agree to that. Hate and greed are both children of fear. Click my blue name for F.E.A.R.

Limbaugh has been on CNN for...about 12 hours...talking out his ass to a bunch of great Americans (or fucking dumbasses - I dunno, because all you can see is the backs of their heads) who will all have to get knee surgery from jumping up and down into standing "O's" everytime he makes some idiotic liberal smear. Even though they're facing him, I think that fat drug addict has seen the backs of their heads quite a bit also.
Did anybody ever tell these people they lost the election?

I just switched to Alltel cellular service for my move to South Arkansas. Everything seems fine, good new phone, reasonable charges, etc. etc. until I tried to set-up my online Alltel account to track minutes, messages, etc. and began to be treated like an unwanted CCRRR troll on the ArkTimes blog.

I may not know what evil lurks in the hearts of men, but I can intimate relate the evil of IT techs that write programs to exclude anything, but MicroSoft Explorer and it's virus and worm porous and infested software. IT programmers are closing rapidly on lawyers as THE group that need to be stood against a wall and shot or worse.

After one week and ten to twelve sessions with Alltel Support Operators a nice one from Manhatten, Kansas managed to register my account and a password on her sixth or seventh try. When I tried to logon, the input of id and password returns you to Registered? Input your ID and Password over, and over, and over . . .

Two more operators and a Biznet Tech specialist, turning off all Windows Vista Firewalls and Protection, All Norton firewalls and protection, and checking IP computer hardware to prevent any protection from keeping Alltel website from working and the upshot was. . . .

"There is something wrong with your Operating System call Microsoft about your Windows Vista Ultimate, or there is something wrong with your computer call Sony Vaio, or there is something wrong with your Internet Service Provider, but we are very sorry there is something wrong with your end. . . ."

They were very polite, nice, helpful and almost as frustrated as I was.

Have any other ArkTimes bloggers had similar problems? Any suggestions? I can take the laptop tp the corporate headquarters, but I suspect the technical expertise there is more on eidetic knowledge of rates and services and usage statistics.

In any case, had Shakespeare used a computer with internet connections, he would have called for the programmers and snotty IT gurus to be stood against the wall and turned over to Torquemada for tender ministrations prior to being drawn and quartered.

HELP? if anyone has any useful suggestions. I hope y'all have had a better day.

I get the "best" results using firefox on windows XP. Best means about a 40% success rate. Mac Safari, Mac or windows Explorer, not so much.

Can't wait to try the new I-Hop Octo-Mom Special.

You get 14 eggs, no sausage, and the guy in the next booth has to pay.

Snowflakes flying in the Spa.

I watched a few mins of Rushburger, all I could take. How in the world did that
clown get 3 women to marry him?? I'd bet my life he's a 3 incher.

Strong wind....big fat flakes, I love snow but no ice please.

Thanks, springdale_progressive. That's my next attempt on Monday with an old XP computer, but their customer support line says it only works with IE, firewalls, popup blockers and anti spam turned of!!!!

I may be relegated to demanding frequnt paper print outs or verbal readouts from the operators until they program for Firefox and Windows Vista Ultimate.

jazzy....just for you. Do the clicky thing.

Yep, we've got big snowflakes and they're sticking to the deck. Seems like the perfect alignment for Arkansas' Frozen Daffodil Festival.

We're kinda hunkered down by a fire tonight. I've got a pot roast going and ms. mann is sauteeing fresh spinach with grape tomatoes. French fries are in the oven. Just don't feel much like eating. Our sweet little 13 year old terrier mix had had a swelling heart--not the good kind like the Grinch--and we had to put her down today. But we're okay, really. It was the kinder thing to do, and her end was as peaceful as we could have hoped for.

Love your peeps and your pets. No one's gonna be around forever.

Thanx Cato.....have heard all this for years, even that his first two wives were

working on writing a book together to expose his secret life,,,,later heard the

project was halted due to a big pay off to SHUT THE FK UP.

With all my flaws, which are many, I can't be bought at any price..............

Ummmmm.....better rethink that,,,,,,,with Idiotmoron's depression upon us might

have to sell a little bit of my body.-----------:>)

Keep up the excellent work, RB

Been snowing all day and into the night up here.

Hugh:

I am sorry about the loss of your dog. Even when you know it is the best thing to do, it is never easy, is it?

I will give both of mine an extra hug and a kiss tonight in honor of your beloved pet.

So sorry Hugh.....losing a pet is next to losing a child but you did the right thing...

Nothing should have to suffer, G'son even shot a squirrel, hit by a car, trying to

drag itself to side of street...........he came back inside with tears streaming

down his face.

Condolences to Hugh Mann on the loss of your pet. They give so much and usually ask so little except for love.

The opposite of love is indifference which is what Mr Cox's organization shows in their attacks against children with Amendment 1.

If you want to see examples of why churches can't get along, read the article in the DoG on how different denominations, and even in what we would consider uniform denominations, handle the issue of Communion. Interestingly, the ones with "closed" communion also see to have a high correlation with those with closed minds on social issues.

Hugh, so sorry to hear about your little dog. As you know I've been there before myself and it was tha hardest thing I think I've ever had to do.

I will even admit to crying more over the loss of my dear Samantha than I did when either one of my parents died. When I told that to my vet she said that is because we always expect out parents to die when they get older but with our pets we truly expect/want them to live forever.

It will get better Hugh, it took me two years to even want to replace her but I now have the sweetest rescued Golden Retriever a person could ever want. Molly is here now but Samantha's ashes are on top of the tv in a beautiful blond box and her spirit is still present in the house.

hugh, very sorry to read about your loss. No matter the rationale for putting them down, it hurts like hell to lose our beloved pets. Believe me, I can empathize: We went through the same thing a few months ago with our 17-year-old cat, and a lump the size of a cantaloupe still erupts in the throat every time we try to talk about it.

"Ask the beasts and they will teach you the beauty of this earth."
-- St. Francis of Assisi

Cato --

I know it was meant only for Jazzy, but she and I are very, very old, very, very dear friends and she said it was okay to click so I did.

Now Norma is vexed.

It's not that Rush Limbaugh is a closeted gay pedophile addicted to kiddie porn that vexes me. I mean, it DOES, but we already knew that.

It's this whole thing about conservatives being the biggest consumers of porn and especially UTAH the Magic Underwear State because as a licensed sex therapist I was cleaning out my porn stash Thursday and thinking none of my clients has asked for this shiz in ages because they can get it online so I don't have to warehouse it anymore and I need the space to expand my wine cellar so I'm getting rid of it.

Only, WHERE?

Have you ever tried donating porn to Goodwill?

I spent Thursday thoughtfully and carefully sorting my porn, bagging it in heavy-duty black vinyl leaf bags, and labeling it. I've nothing illegal. Just your ordinary "Hetero Vanilla," Femme Vanilla," "Male Vanilla," "Hetero Femme Dom," "Hetero Male Dom," "F-F Dom," "M-M Dom," "Bodacious Ta-Tas," "Booty-licious," "RamRods," "Pregger Brides," "Sin-uous Seniors," etc. The usual.

I'm saying to Goodwill, "But this will help a down-on-his-luck man who might otherwise blow his food budget, so to speak, on porn and fail to put food on his family."

Goodwill wasn't having any.

So I thought and thought, and Googled and Googled.

I re-boxed all my porn, spent nearly $250 shipping it, but I feel all warm and tingly (like when you make the right decision?) about my ultimate choice.

I finally shipped all my porn to the following:

Mormon Temple Square
15 East South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84150

And so can you.

One conveys one's gifts where the need is greatest.

My thinking? Since less than one-half of one penny per dollar is spent by the Mormon Church on humanitarian projects by monies donated to the Church by members, perhaps our porn donations -- mine, yours, America's -- will relieve a certain niche so the Church of the LDS can bump up its humanitarian efforts to, oh . . .

. . . a penny on the dollar?

Can't help it. I'm just that kind of gal.

1) Hugh, so sorry about your dog. That's a tough thing to have to do. I had to put down my dog and it was tough to sit there and hold her and look into her eyes at the vet gave her the shot. Still makes me cry and it was several years ago.

2) Rod, thanks for the interesting F.E.A.R. link. That record store experience stays with you, doesn't it? The fear thing applies directly to churches/denominations.

Christians who are afraid do the most un-Christian things. If they would only read 1 John 4:18 - "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

French and I having a knock down drag out fight.....someone call 911............

he said he heard on his t.v. that Paul Harvey died,,,,I told him he was full of caca...merde.

I told him it didn't matter,,,,,,,,,one more repub gone.

Can't find anything about his death.

I'm bad,,,,yeah I'm bad.

"Life [has] taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love." - Butch Hancock

Jazzy:

I think it's true. Do the clicky.

Hugh,
I am so sorry about your dog. We rescued our girl from the pound days before she was to be put down, and she is a joy to us.

Hugh --

Just read about your loss and second everybody else's comments.

Deaths are each in their own categories, I think, and hurt in different ways.

But there's something about the loss of a pet who's been with you for so many years, who can't speak but through barks and meows and body-language, whose deep connection with you is solely emotional and seemingly telepathic . . . that's uniquely devastating.

At least with me.

There's no other relationship in life like that with a pet. Maybe the ONLY truly unconditional Love any of us ever get. And maybe the only time we learn to give it back, if we're lucky -- give it TRULY without condition.

So when that dies, it's different from other deaths. NOBODY ever knew or understood that pet like you. A lot of people knew your parents, your friends, who've died. Those are lives that're shared.

Your life with your pet, as long as it lasts, is yours alone. So private that nobody else can truly enter.

You'll never "replace" it. You CAN'T! You've spent too many years loving it and being loved back and maybe you don't have that many years left for another such lengthy tie!

What you CAN do is realize there are a lot more young and old pets out there, hoping and waiting for a home lest they be euthanized.

You can ask yourself what your deceased pet would want you to do.

You can't "replace" it.

But you can ADD to it. You can listen to that old, gone, pet in your heart and maybe hear, "C'mon. Take another one. You're great to live with. Don't stop with me."

Thanx Cammack..........have to go give him a hug 'n kiss and sorry I thot you were

WRONG again............if it had been Ed McMann can't spell it, wouldn't have been

surprised,,,,,he is in ICU............

have not heard/read one thing about Paul Harvey being in poor health.

Ah, cato...you NEVER fail to put a smile on my face...just the opposite of what listening to that big fat drug-addled Rush does. I've spent too much time explaining to folks how Rush's mythical popularity is all a ruse. Republicans learned years ago that money spent propping up their hate-radio goobers was better than all their TV ads/campaign contributions. There are NO REAL radio ratings that parallel TV's Nielson system. Rush's popularity (outside neocon land) is a bought myth.

Any gang who places Limbaugh/Colter as their chosen darlings...deserves more laughter than pity. A more pathetic group of folk I can't imagine.

Oh, hugh...my Lucky is still my computer's screen saver and is the first thing I see when I turn on my cell phone; even though our little stray terrier mix has been with us almost two years. I love ALL dogs, but have a special love for terriers. They're such spunky feisty dogs. If I had one selfish wish it'd be to see ALL my dogs one day. All the treasure on earth can't compare with the love a dog gives.

But your bad is sooo good, jazzy!!

MY son made it to Athens Georgia tonight...with three dogs, a beautiful wife and a truck full of belongings. I'm still sad...even though he's alive/healthy I miss his presence in the state. Oh well...as always, time will heal. Him and his wife are working hard to climb their career ladders...which made leaving Arkansas pretty much a given. So sad...for me and the state. I know I'm supposed to be proud that outsiders sought him out and offered him big bucks. But there's a 'bad' part of me that wishes we hadn't done such a good job...wishes that we'd made him less educated/independent. I know, I know...

Lots of snow in Conway. Now I'm gonna go hug my little terrier in memory of hugh's beloved dog.

Cammack...firefox is the ONLY way we're able to access the Times' blog.

Clicky for link to Paul Harvey website--Just his photo and his birth and death dates.

Hugh--sorry to hear about your beloved pet.

Lovely to see the snow and know that it won't be much and not stick to the streets--at least here in LR.

I'm so sorry, Hugh. Norma, that was lovely. Here's to good pets and the good people who love them.

Norma, that post is positively beautiful. Thank you for writing it.

Oh, well. The former was a sad, but ultimately happy topic.

On to shocking political ploys, Razorbabies!

Yes, a former R-Assemblyman in California, Mill Maze, is proposing to divide California DOWN the middle. Well, not the middle, exactly. Just the entire Coast. San Francisco down through Los Angeles and San Diego.

You know. The "liberal" part.

The rest of Inland California (conservative, Republican) would become a separate State and give the R-Party more votes and stuff.

Maze wants California's 45 inland counties to break away from the 13 coastal counties and create the 51st state in the U.S.

His proposal is touted as an "economic" proposal. What it REALLY is is another Republican Party attempt to further divide and polarize America over "San Francisco Values."

Which is to say, racial-religious-and-economic diversity and same-sex Americans.

Assembyman Mill Maze: "I want to create a State just for US! Keep all of THEM out! THAT'S my vision for America."

Another social BONDING opportunity with prospective friends or employers, as you ask: "HOW is it you're supporting ANY Republican, again?"

I must be off!

Norma, good for you!

Hugh, I am so sorry. But I know you and your family gave that little dog a wonderful life.

I thought the opposite of love was indifference. I read that somewhere. Now I have to go find my New Yorker issue that has the naughty cartoon in it and see if I can find that. either I havent finished the magazine yet or it somehow escaped my attention, and we can't have that.

I was going to post here to ask if y'all knew that the QB from Utah who made it big in the NFL, Steve Young?? well anyway he wore his mormon underwear underneath his football uniform. I had good intentions of sharing that information with you until I forgot it. anyway someone is sure to konw what Im talking about. and yes i do know that there's been more than one famous pro football QB from utah. I wish someone would find my memory and return it to me.

I have NEVER been able to log onto my ISP's websites to look at or pay my bill -- gone through 2 or 3 of them trying. Of all places that wont let you in to pay your bill. its like they tease you into thinking you can pay online when they are actually gleefully planning to torment you with the same HOLD music and the same damn 3 movie previews for 20 minutes if you should try to pay it online.

They got in trouble several years back for charging every single customer in town a $5 late fee every single month because it just so happened that the bill was due the day after everyone received it, so they quit that, but still they have to torture us somehow. thats my theory. But you'd think you would be more likely to have the ability to log onto your ISP's website to do whatever the devil you want to do than any other website. Sometimes if things dont work for me on foxfire, i am forced to go to IE and try that.

my kids told me this was gonna happen when they grew up and left home - my computer ignorance was going to hurt me big-time -- but unfortunately they didnt consider me teachable before they left, and they were right.

hugh, again, I am so sorry. we will all give our pets an extra hug tonight in memory of yours.
there's nothing like unconditional love. Im sure your dog had a wonderful life.

How interesting how our posts crossed, so to speak. I was referring to your wonderful note to Hugh about his dog and my note didn't get up before your note about the Republican wacko. So it looks as if I'm glad you "must be off." Whatever you want, I'm glad for it....

Good evening all. I too want to offer condolences to hugh on the death of his good dog. But be of good cheer, today it's far easier to find a good dog than it is to find a good human. Ask Obama as he tries his best just to fill his cabinet. The main problem with America is a near total lack of honesty by anyone aspiring to rise above the position of janitor. Add greed, then add crazy Christian stuff so much like water in a crack as the temperature drops below freezing, splitting us apart, stir it all up and you have America 2009.

I met a bunch of you at the election party and when I got home I still had my wallet. So I know not everyone is dishonest. But apparently it's the people working 24-7 to get their own place in a gated community whose gone off the deep end. Modern ambition seems to come with the ability to cheat and steal and fool yourself on Sunday by lumping all the lousy things you did this week under the heading, "just business." Eat a wafer and gear up for Monday! I guess I don't need a new white Tahoe bad enough, or maybe I'm too lazy to be dishonest?

Norma's porn isn't hurting America. My 2 boxes of carefully labeled porn on Beta tapes aren't either. Since I have no sons, I don't have to worry about warping them should they find those 2 boxes. I'd hate for boys to see my antique porn. They might get the idea that all breasts are real and there are not any people who have sex without condoms. shivvvvvver.....

This week we learned that not only do a lot of Arkansans like to hide guns under their clothes, but some of them are also hiding constant erections while walking around with their little secret. When Max threw out that link to the public record with their names on it....they're dicks drooped...no more fun....their secret was out. They aren't worried about someone coming after them....they're dashed because their fantasy spy vs spy world has been exposed. Here's a little tip....you can always start wearing women's underwear under your business suit.....you can have another less deadly little secret and your life will be complete again.

Paul Harvey is a perfect example of youth vs old age. For a period of 15 years probably no one tuned into Paul Harvey more than I did. He was my hero....he was my Rush Limbaugh. For reasons I can't remember, probably a job, I quit listening to Paul each and everyday at noon. I took it up again 10 or 15 years later and it was like Bactine on a bee sting for a little while. Until I notice far more skillfully than Fox will ever manage, Paul was trying to shape my way of thinking. I must have thought like that when I was young, but age and experience caused me to quit wanting to be told how to think.

Maybe it's a church thing where you go 2 or 3 times a week to listen to a "special" man tell you how he thinks you should think. I remember the evangelists that would come to our church. The ones I liked best were the ones who supposedly could translate the Bible from the original language. I thought they were the smartest men on earth and I hung on their every word. It shows I was seeking the unvarnished facts, even then.

Their wise words never turned out to be anything I could make much out of, it always wound up with them telling me how I should think. My deal now is...you give me the facts and then I'll think about what they mean. Very rarely do I want the filter of another human.....maybe that makes me a snob? Or maybe I just don't trust others to do my thinking for me.

So I'm sorry hugh's dog died and I'm sorry Paul Harvey died. I don't have mixed feelings about hugh's dog, but thinking about Paul Harvey makes me feel sad and a little soiled. If I hadn't had that break from him, today I might be a disappointed McCain supporter double sure Jesus is coming to smite America. I'd be blind to the fact that Cheney-Bush done smote us a million mighty licks. I wonder if Paul's last words were.....the bullet is in her yet......

I know people on this blog have pointed out ted.com before, but here is link to an interesting video on new technology for a cold Saturday night.

Ed Ulbrich: How Benjamin Button got his face--Ed Ulbrich, the digital-effects guru from Digital Domain, explains the Oscar-winning technology that allowed his team to digitally create the older versions of Brad Pitt's face for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. (18 minutes)

Clicky

When dealing with unknown computer problems I go back to basics (rule 1 is KISS). A quick search reveals users with IE & Firefox browsers were having pop-ups blocked. Check your browser's settings to see if it allows pop-ups, cookies, Java, ActiveX, scripts, etc. Sometimes odd TCP port calls can be problematic. (See Wikipedia explanation of Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS) A normal webpage (HTTP) is typically on port 80. A secure webpage (HTTPS) uses port 443 unless otherwise specified. Most security applications monitor port calls for signs of suspicious activity, so you may need to adjust their settings accordingly. Many network routers have security settings that block certain ports so these may also need adjusting or you could temporarily bypass your router. If the simple stuff fails, try black box troubleshooting. Monitor your computers' inputs & outputs over the network with a network sniffer or analyzer (there are several good ones available for free). You should see the same port calls on your computer as on another computer during the secure login process. If you are not getting the port call, then the problem is somewhere before it gets to you. If you get the port call but don't make the responding port call out, then the problem is your computer. Note: never use a network sniffer on some else's network without permission.

An actual tip from page 16 of the HP "Environmental, Health & Safety Handbook for Employees":
"Blink your eyelids periodically to lubricate your eyes."

What a lovely outpouring of sympathy. Thanks to all of you--it really is sweet and it means a great deal to me. I've known this day was coming and have been preparing myself for it, but it's hard to do that for a 5 year-old little boy. When we woke up this morning and discovered that one of her front legs wouldn't work, I knew that today would be the day.

We lost our other dog--a wonderful Golden Retriever--a couple summers ago when junior was 3. He handled that extremely well, and I was not surprised that he responded by really bonding with the other one. So when I realized her days were numbered, and that the death of a pet would likely be a little more concrete this time around, I was really worried.

My parents took him to breakfast this morning, and I took the dog to the vet. When we got home I occupied him with TV while I picked up things like her blanket and water bowl. After a little while he asked where she was. I told him that the vet said that her heart was really weak, that she wouldn't be able to get around anymore, and that she wouldn't get better--only worse. And we didn't want for her to suffer. I told him that I asked the vet to give her a shot that would make her go to sleep and not wake up again, because we don't want her to live in pain. And that now she is dead.

He looked at me with very sad eyes and said, simply, "I wish she could have given her a shot that would make her go to sleep, but then wake up again." And that was that. No tears. No agony.

The big surprise was my wife, who is not at all a pet person and who understandably didn't appreciate the effects that canine diuretic drugs have on area rugs. She curled up and cried, for just a bit.

Thanks again for all the nice words. I really appreciate the kindness of this community.

TED Talks sound pretty good right about now. I believe I will.

Hugh, I know how much it must hurt to lose your sweet little terrier. Knowing it was the best thing to do doesn't even begin to take the hurt away. Hug Mrs. Hugh. She's probably feeling pretty rotten. too.

Hugn, So very sorry about you dog, I've been through that experience a time or two and it never gets easier...but I always get another furry friend, my sweet Trix is in her bed in my room and Buddy the huge, gentle lab who is visiting will sleep by the bed tonight.

Someone on the blog printed "Raimbow Ridge" recently...lets see it again for Hugh.

It's never easy Hugh. But let Jr. help with the process of finding a new dog. That will warm your heart.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

Here are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing --- they each miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body quivers.

Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.

The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.

(Author unknown)

I'm so very touched by all of the post about the deaths of pets, I hardly know how to add to the wonderful expressions of love I've read. I have always been somewhat ashamed that when my last mutt ( I LOVE MUTTS) passed, I balled like a man is supposed to be ashamed of... and openly. My Gracie looked at me as we put her in an oxygen tent for her heart failure, and then looked away as if to say... its my time. I didn't realize it at the time, as I had given the vet the go ahead for any and all measures, but when I was told she passed later than night, I could only wonder how in the world I could replace her... that unconditional love and devotion.... so I cried uncontrollably. Not for her life lost, but for my loss of her, which only made me feel selfish in light of her utter unselfish life. But then I was reminded by a caring friend that she knew she was loved and that I had given her a life many could only hope for... I say that not to brag, but to comfort all those who have lost a loved pet, so they know the pet must have known it too.
Norma's words so touched me I have saved them to pass on others. She is right about our pets wanting us to move on... It took a few years, but a little Border Collie/German Shepherd mix puppy we named Lucy has stolen my heart... a wiser and larger heart. My Gracie didn't take parts of my heart with her... she opened parts I didn't know I had.
If I could only bottle that bond between me and my dog......

You know...and I say this tenderly...it looks to me we need to replace Pryor and Lincoln with a couple dogs from that dog rescue outfit. I don't know how they'd manage to get their paw up there to push the button to vote, but you know they'd be a whole lot smarter and a whole lot more loyal to Arkansas than those 2 humans we got up there now. Maybe we'd be a lot better off if America DID go to the dogs. Sure as shootin, the humans aren't doing much of a job at the moment. Ren Tin Tin for Senate '10!

Hard hitting poignant essay Roderick. I'll be sending it out.

I was too occupied with basket ball play-offs to pay attention to the AM dopehead. What time was he ranting, lying and making a fool of himself RicK?

Hugh,
It's so hard to say goodbye to a beloved pet. Feel the loss and pain and be thankful for the playfulness, the companionship that only a terrier can give. A closure ritual usually helps the children.....and adults.

NormaB raises our ? with one more whamo at a misguided woman who chose to be a baby factory. I listened to an interview with the octo-mom. Little self identity ...inasmuch as she seemed so vacant.

.

Forest City named after first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

FORREST CITY -- A solitary sign recounts how workers led by the namesake of this Arkansas Delta town, Nathan Bedford Forrest, laid the final leg of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad over Crowley's Ridge, a hilly stretch of windblown soil running through the Arkansas Delta.

The marker stops there in describing the man whose name adorns parks and college campuses across the South, a Confederate raider and slave trader whose troops massacred black Union soldiers and who served as the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Nearly a century and a half later, many here in this majority black town that Forrest helped create know nothing of the connection.

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The Paul Harvey story reminded me of another recent death, one that made me very sad. Click the blue name to see.

Got an old, blind, deaf Clumber Spaniel. Lookin' to put him down soon. Break my heart into tiny pieces. Norma, as always, you rock. Jake, quote us more Butch Hancock, more often.

It is my theory that Rush Limpbaugh got 3 women to marry him because of the OTHER bulge in his pants ............ you know, the one in the back pockets where he carries his wallet.

looks like

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