Wild Horses

Wild HorsesWild Horses

“My face up against the glass. I’m looking out. Is this my life I’m wondering. It happened so fast. How do I turn this thing around. Is this the bed I chose to make. Its greener pastures I’m thinking about. Wide open spaces far away. All I want is the wind in my hair to face the fear but, not feel scared. Wild horses I wanna be like you. Throwing caution to the wind. I’ll run free too. Wish I could recklessly love, like I’m longing to. I want to run with the wild horses, run with the wild horses!

I see the girl I wanna be. Riding bare back, care free along the shore If only that someone was me. Jumping head first head long without a thought. To act and damn the consequence. How I wish it could be that easy. But fear surrounds me like a fence. I wanna break free. All I want is the wind in my hair. To face the fear but, not feel scared.

Wild horses I wanna be like you. Throwing caution to the wind, I’ll run free too. Wish I could recklessly love, like I’m longing to. I wanna run with the wild horses, run with the wild horses!

I wanna run too. Breathlessly abandoning my self before you. I wanna open up my heart tell him how I feel. Wild horses I wanna be like you
Throwing caution to the wind. I’ll run free too. Wish I could recklessly love, like I’m longing to. I wanna run with the wild horses, run with the wild horses!

I wanna run with the wild horses.”

– Natasha Bedingfield Lyrics


Ineffable Hunger: Starving for Purpose

There is an ineffable hunger in each of us that food just doesn’t reach. Yet we keep stuffing ourselves: we live in a nation of obesity; 32% of United States children are overweight; 60% of the Australia population is overweight; making the Aussies the number one obese country and the U.S. a close second.

Starving for Purpose

Why do we eat and eat and never seem to fill our hunger? My answer may be a bit hard to swallow. I believe the human species, with our ability to think, has an inexplicable purpose. How can the unexplainable be explained? How can the indescribable be described? What does purpose have to do with starving?

Wolves On The Run

I believe we are ‘Starving for Purpose’; looking for any and all morsels of food to fill this emptiness. The answer to this ‘ineffable hunger’, came to me in the early morning hours. I lay unable to sleep; images of wolves running through the tundra of Alaska to escape aerial hunters kept filling my mind. How can I stop the images? The cruelty?How can a woman, the Governor of Alaska, condemn these angel beasts to die?

Then my mind is filled with images of wild horses being killed and slaughtered to make room for more beef cattle; the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) believes this is necessary; as if we need more burgers!

Continue reading Ineffable Hunger: Starving for Purpose

Winter, Water and our Animal Friends

Winter Hiking
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The winter season in Colorado can be dry and brittle…thirst is always a factor. Moisture evaporates fast. I’m so grateful for indoor plumbing…turning on the faucet and having clear, clean and cool water fill a glass is wonderful! When I fill my glass, I’ve made a habit of checking my furry friend’s water dish

Animals can loose all of their fat and half of their protein and survive. However, if they loose only 10 % of body water, serious illness can occur. If you can feel a dryness in your mouth, dehydration has begun. Our animal friends get just as thirsty as we do. A dog or cat can become dehydrated in only a few hours if fresh water is not present. I keep three dishes of water in my house and two outside.

I recently learned something from my vet. If I feel the inside of my Pieper’s gums are dry, it’s a clue that she is dehydrated; if moist she is fine.

How Much Water?

Water constitutes 84% of a newborn puppy and 60% of an adult dog. Water is necessary for almost every function in an animals body. Hot temperatures and exercise or nursing will also increase the needed amount of water two or three times above normal. Don’t take water for granted, provide access to water at all times! Also, considering the huge quantity and importance of water consumed in a lifetime it is important that the quality of the water is the best possible. I have a water filter on my faucet; Peiper drinks filtered water at home.

Animals need to consume 2.5 times the amount of water, as its daily intake of food. If an animal eats 2 lbs. of dry food it should consume 5 lbs. of water. (There are 8 lbs. in a gallon.) If he eats 4 oz. of dry food, he should drink 10 ounces of water (11/4 cup). Continue reading Winter, Water and our Animal Friends

Open Letter: Obama-Biden Economic Team Members

Dear Obama-Biden Economic Team Members:

Much of our foundation for health as a nation lies with the food we consume?

It does not take a rocket scientist to see the connection between the cancer that is so prevalent in our society and the food we eat.

The health care industry is the largest industry in the United States. It has 14 million jobs, with about 13.6 million jobs for wage and salary workers. Is this a good thing? Well, it does tell a story. There’s job security. We have a nation of sick people. Certainly the industry provides a needed service; however, there is a huge difference in treatment and prevention of a disease.

An important question for the citizens of the United States to ask; Why is the health care industry our largest industry? What is it we do that we all have in common? The food we eat? The water we drink? The air we breath? Should we consider what’s in the air we breath, the food we eat and the water we drink? We’re not stupid. Lazy maybe, but not stupid. When I hear people say “well, somethings going to kill me, what difference does it make which poison I choose?” People have already accepted the fact that they are going to die and it doesn’t matter what they do. So, it’s okay if they choose to keep poisoning the air, water and food we consume. What they fail to do is understand the ‘pain, suffering and expense’ they may go through before they die!

  • Chronic pain is major epidemic. Approximately 48 million people (there’s a little over 308 million population in the US) in the United States suffer from some form of chronic pain, pain lasting longer than six months, and Americans spend literally billions on medication to combat it.
  • WASHINGTON, July 7, 2005 — The pharmaceutical and health products industry has spent more than $800 million in federal lobbying and campaign donations at the federal and state levels in the past seven years, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found. Its lobbying operation, on which it reports spending more than $675 million, is the biggest in the nation. No other industry has spent more money to sway public policy in that period. Its combined political outlays on lobbying and campaign contributions is topped only by the insurance industry.

Take a look at what the pharmaceutical and health products industry GOT for the more than $800 million in federal lobbying and campaign donations. With money like that being thrown to our federal representatives, is it no wonder they do not want to pass legislation that would take away these dollars!

With this said, I urge the new Economic team to look at creating jobs within the rendering plant industry. Then create jobs that monitor jobs within rendering plants. Rendering plants manufacture protein and nutrients (food enhancers) fed to livestock and poultry industries and the ‘pet’ food industry.

What are ‘food enhancers’ made from? They start with ‘raw products’: thousands of dead dogs and cats (many still wearing flea collars); heads and hooves from cattle, sheep, pigs and horses; whole skunks; rats and raccoons –all waiting to be processed.

“Every day, hundreds of rendering plants across the United States truck millions of tons of this “food enhancer” to poultry ranches, cattle feed-lots, dairy and hog farms, fish-feed plants and pet-food manufacturers where it is mixed with other ingredients to feed the billions of animals that meat-eating humans, in turn, will eat.” Continue reading Open Letter: Obama-Biden Economic Team Members

Education: Where Every Trail Begins

Where Every Trail Begins

Responsibility to our Community

is my ‘civic duty’; your ‘civic duty’. It is each person’s responsibility to understand the social, economic, cultural and environmental issues which face their community; and be involved at some level to meet those responsibilities. Casting a vote, is one single act of this responsibility…however, it must not end there! Government creates a foundation for our communities; people build the rest.

In the words of Anna Lord,  2008 candidate for Colorado State Representative.

“Colorado’s children need a first class higher education system. For many years, Colorado’s higher education system has been strip-mined of resources, leading to higher tuition rates and decreased financial aid. I will support the investment in our higher education system not only to protect the future of our children, but also to ensure the future prosperity of our economy.”

Unfortunately, Anna did not win the election.  I hope she will run again. She is an individual who will work towards putting Education in it’s proper priority!  And I promise to participate on some level to make sure I do my share in this enormous responsibility to our community.

Clear Direction

I like the direction Anna wants to take Colorado. Putting education at the forefront shows she understands the proper priority for our community and society as a whole.  All governments’ need to invest in the highest level of education for every individual. We need to shift our priorities; placing education at the top! Continue reading Education: Where Every Trail Begins

Marie Antoinette: First Class All The Way

marieantoinette1No industry or government should be built by coning its citizens. And yet, we let banks, industry and government squelch our ineffable spirit; succumb to their marketing and entertainment; buy whatever they’re selling to feel good about ourselves…thinking we have choices.

It’s not a matter of turning a blind eye to truth; but our trying to do differently is like climbing Mount Everest! We don’t just put off our dreams, we don’t recognize them. And, Industry and financial institutions wants to keep it that way!

Who Deserves a Bail Out?

Industry and financial institutions expects government to continually bail them out. Why? Does it have anything to do with their poor choices? What about the workers trying to pay for their home, feed and send their kids to school. The injustice is all around! The CEO’s want to go ‘First Class All The Way‘; like checking into a $14,000-a-night hotel; the Marie Antoinette for instance. Well, hey, why not?

CBS News

On Sunday, October 12, 2008, in the last five minutes of a CBS News, Face the Nation broadcast, Bob Schieffer talked about Edward Bernays. I was shocked to see the story aired on prime time television.The coincidence amazed me; as I was writing about the same story for this post.

Womens’ Emancipation

It was March 1929. Women had just won the right to vote: Governors who died in office were succeeded by their wives in such states as Texas and Wyoming. More women were attending college and entering the workforce; women were making great head way in certain areas of society. However, socially women were not treated equally. For instance, it was taboo for women to smoke in public, if they smoked socially, they were considered to be harlots and loose. Women were permitted to smoke in their homes behind closed doors, but if caught in public, they were arrested. Legislation did not permit women to have this same freedom as their male counterpart. Continue reading Marie Antoinette: First Class All The Way

Food: A Dark and Dangerous Place

Last week I attempted to do an update with regard to the Pet Food Recall and got side tracked: Pet Food Recall: Trail of Tears, which gives a heart wrenching account of the loss of my Golden Retriever, Annie Oakley. Today, I wanted to get an update on China’s baby milk poisoning and landed on ‘Police arrest underground gang ‘poisoning baby milk for profit’. The contamination has led to China’s worst food safety crisis.

This week, I’m taking a long look into centuries of food industry practices. Practices which began innocently enough, but, in many instances have developed into a dark and dangerous business; bringing disease and death to the planets inhabitants!

The Truth Will Sit You Free!

There are hundreds of reports and stories about the ongoing Pet Food Recall and its continued impact to our pets. What seems most important after reading these reports is to pass on what I’ve learned and to keep linking together with others who have similar concerns; doing so gives more credibility and a more effective means of convincing people to change what they and their furry friends eat!

The sense to be made of the Pet Food Recall and the ongoing tragedy is not something most people want to know. Knowing means you find a truth. What you do with the truth is what counts. My advise is to take a journey. Take time to take a deep look into the Pet Food Recall before you make any decision. For me, the journey has taken some horrific and outrageous trails. Continue reading Food: A Dark and Dangerous Place

911: Canine Leads Man to Safety

Dorado was lying under his blind master’s desk on the 71st floor of the World Trade Center’s north tower when the plane hit. Glass and flying debre was everywhere. Chaos surrounded them. Omar Eduardo Rivera knew he was doomed. There is know way he could manuver through the chaos. The kindest thing he thought was to free Dorado. He released Dorado from his harness. Minutes later he felt a fuzzy brush on his leg and Dorado nudged him and lead Eduardo to the hall and stairwell.

In the stairwell Eduardo found a co-worker and together the three journeded for over an hour down the stairwell.

Faithful Dog Leads Blind Man 70 Floors Down WTC Just Before Tower Collapses!

Photo Credit:

Mr. Rivera and a little hero.
(Photo: REUTERS / Caracol Tv)

Aphrodite: Feline Extraordinare

She lived dispite a hole in her heart!When I first met Aphrodite she was up for grabs; a ‘Nine Lives Rescue’ service feline. She was scrawny and lanky; where did she get such a big name, as clearly she was not the pick of the litter. She was maybe a year or so old. As I had no specific breed of cat in mind; just that it  had to be a female and have short hair.  Not yet aware of her extraordinary nature, I took her home without having the appropriate appreciation.

My veterinarian discovered a fairly large hole in Aphrodite’s heart and proclaimed she may not live long. I accepted this news with mixed emotions and understood I would place no demands on her and take on the daunting responsibility of a life.

Given her heart diagnosis, Aphrodite’s tenacity came as a surprise: she made it immediately clear that she was queen! Who could argue! So I waited on her hand and foot; cleaned her toilet as if it were my own. Her independent nature was also a miraculous marvel; aloft on her throne (cat tree) she would observe her queendom. All but me and a few close human friends were kept at bay. Those who challenged her rule were met with swift and sometimes sharp reprimand.

During her seven years, the first six, she was the only feline in the house. Recently, sincing her time was near, I attempted to introduce two other cats; one at a time into our household. Of this, she was none too happy. My timing sucked in this regard. Aphrodite needed more, not less of my attention. I needed to be more attentive and affectionate; not less. I keep thinking Pieper needs more than my company…someone to play with…as I said, my timing was all wrong. Continue reading Aphrodite: Feline Extraordinare

Great Big Love: Sweeping Across the Sky

straton Open Space

“I like my life just fine.” I definitely agree. This is a line from Bruce Cockburn’s Great Big Love Sweeping Across the Sky.

I spent the day, about five hours, helping my friends get their garage organized for a ‘moving sale’. While Pieper (my Golden Retriever) couldn’t quite grasp the whole idea and was none to happy as I was not devoting every other minute to throwing a ball for her to fetch. She finally gave up and laid in the car.

After musky hours in the garage we headed to the wilderness for a luxurious hike. Drizzling rain drapes the forest and sounds of trickling creeks and chirping birds are music in my ears; wings flapping heavy, could have been a hawk. The reservoir is like a mirror. Pieper dives in and waves ripple across the glass. I met Dorothy, Bette, Dragor and Brody, new friends on the trail. Tails waged and words were spoken softly. Ions lay heavy and I lap them up.

Homeward bound I tread, too tired to stand long enough to cook: Papa Murphies pizza, chocolate almond coffee ice cream, preheat the oven, wash dishes and hang upside down (I have an inversion table for my compressed Intervertebral discs). Woah! I’m ready for a hot soak and some Bruce Cockburn and Nothing But A Burning Light.

Before my soak, I decide to do a little house cleaning, empty the two litter boxes and vacuum the area. While emptying a paper sack a zeroxed copy of a page falls to the floor: ‘firday, august 1, 2008’ a prayer of the heart– How wonderful! I decide to read it before I hop in for a soak.

Continue reading Great Big Love: Sweeping Across the Sky