Good

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)—The owner of a minor league football team that offered Michael Vick a contract told a newspaper he didn’t know about the publicity stunt and would not have approved it.
“I’m a dog lover and I don’t want anything to do with (Vick),” Albany Firebirds owner Walter Robb told The Times Union.

Earlier in the day, the team an arenafootball2 franchise, announced it had offered the 28-year-old quarterback a one-year contract at the league standard: $200 a week plus a $50 bonus for a win.

“That’s a joke,” Robb said. “Can you imagine him playing for $200 a week? I think (the offer) was a big mistake.”

The announcement was later pulled from the team’s Web site.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has not said if he will lift Vick’s suspension after he completes a 23-month prison sentence. Vick goes from federal prison to home confinement next month.

The Firebirds’ contract offer also required Vick donate $100,000 to a local humane society.

I think that this may be what Vick runs into quite a bit. He will be the butt of bad jokes and continue to be portrayed as the idiot he is. Part of the problem is his publicity team and his own attitude. He has never shown genuine remorse or complete understanding of his actions, therefore, forgiveness is a challenge for many people who love animals. If he is genuinely remorseful, it will take some serious effort on his part for people to believe him. Just as a recovering alcoholic must make amends, so must a criminal, especially for a crime that tugs at the heart strings of America the way this one has. People who breed dogs for fighting are fortunately in the minority, but they are out there, Vick is only the most notable offender of this behavior and because of that, he has the biggest burden to attempt to make right all of his wrongs.

Callie got stuck on a cliff today

Well, sort of. We went out to Devil's Canyon today because I don't have to work until later and it's just the easiest way to wear her out...endless energy, that dog!! We went into the top entrance of the canyon and climbed down in, instead walking in from the bottom (confusing, but there are two ways into the hike). Even as cool as it was this morning, she got pretty warm out there. The desert, even the high desert is hard on little black dogs because the sun is so brutal, so quickly in the morning. I wanted to climb down to the arroyo because it had rained, and she was hot, and it would let her play in the very muddy water and cool off. We came back out the bottom side and I was on one side of the arroyo, Callie was on the other. Besides being a water dog and a stick dog, she fancies herself a rock climber, and climbed herself into a corner. I was busy getting myself down a rock and not watching her. Pretty soon I heard this whimper and looked across the arroyo. Callie had climbed onto a cliff and couldn't figure out how to get back down...dork! So I had to climb back up my rock and guide her back down her rock, and then get her to climb with me back down my rock...it was quite funny. Please don't misunderstand, these are not big rocks, but there are a couple I have to sit down to reach the floor of the canyon. I think she would have figured out how to get down eventually, but why bother when you mom is right there and can save the day for you! That little girl!

Phony illness

Something popped into my head while I'm sitting here sick and feeling sorry for myself. This has gone on for a couple of weeks and I'm on Amoxicillin to kill the sinus infection I have, which has left me exhausted. I was thinking about when I was little and didn't want to go to school just because...A friend told me to take the thermometer and stick it under a light to heat it up and then put it under my tongue and I would have a temperature so Mom would have to let me stay home. I put the thermometer under the light and broke the mercury all over my bed...so I got up and went to school...sometimes I wish I were still faking being sick so I could have a day off to do something fun...instead of really being sick and stuck in the house with nothing to do but feel sorry for myself!

Puerto Vallarta

I just checked the temperature in Puerto Vallarta...75 degrees and balmy. I loved it there. We were there for about a month on the boat, and spent a few days south in Yelapa. When I was there in 1996 the only way to get to Yelapa still was by boat. I heard they have since built a road from Puerto Vallarta to Yelapa. Yelapa had incredible hiking that led to magnificent waterfalls, and then back to the beach for a taco at one of the shacks. Some people were brave enough to parasail into the cove. When we were there in 1973, there was no one else around, now it's a hot tourist spot. The spot I stayed in 1996 is probably still there, but under a different name. It was the Camino Real at the time and sat in South Vallarta in another cove. All beaches in Mexico are public, but the way the hotel sat, it seemed private because you had to walk through the hotel to get to the beach. I remember watching sting rays play in waves in the mornings all along the stretch of the hotel. I'd walk up the driveway of the hotel and catch a public bus for a peso and go to downtown Vallarta and wander the flea market on Wednesday and sit at small taco stands along the street and eat till I thought I'd explode. I have a friend who knows some people who live there. Sometimes I think that would be just grand, but I know the problems of Mexico are large and it is so far away from home, but I would love to visit again.

Dangerous Drugs

There is a new drug being that is supposed to cure alcoholics of the obsession to drink. I have included my opinion on this...it is only my opinion, but I feel strongly. Following is a very small part of the article that is on CNN.com

Addiction is a brain disease (Duh!), not just a failure of willpower. Naltrexone and topiramate have slightly different mechanisms, but both seem to block the release of brain chemicals that are linked to pleasure and excitement. Unlike earlier drugs used to treat alcoholics, neither is addictive or carries significant side effects. It does appear that each might work better in certain subgroups -- topiramate for repeat relapsers, and naltrexone in people with a strong family history of alcoholism.

Maybe they will work, don't let me be a nay sayer, however, this is dangerous territory. An alcoholic who desperately wants to quit drinking and has gone to any lengths and still failed, may benefit, if they are constitutionally capable of being honest with themselves and they work a program along with them. There are those, however, and they are many, who will use this as a free pass. Alcoholism is but a symptom of my problem. Yes, I am hard wired no doubt, and my family history made it difficult for me to escape as a "moderate drinker" among drunks. However, what I have found is that staying sober and working a 12-step program is exactly what I need to create a life worth living. I don't need another drug to medicate myself and avoid my problems all over again.

The Writing Life

For most writers, me included, we dream of the good life that writing affords the few wildly successful authors such as Stephen King, Danielle Steel, and Tom Clancy to name a few. Many other writers struggle to get near to published, or even read by friends. I have given much lip service to my writing life. I always will write something and tell myself it's not bad, but it certainly isn't publishable and set it aside. I have several projects started, none close to completion and if I were to complete them, they'd probably go in a box. I used to think that I wrote because that's how I wanted to make a living. I still think that sometimes, but my thoughts are more tempered because of the reality of the business and of who I am. Frankly, I'm too chicken still to put my work out there for critique, I like food on the table too much to quit my day job and make a solid go of it. I have a story that I would love to share with the world, but it's not beating me to get on the page.

It hasn't helped that I've been reading Charles Sasser's book "Magic Steps to Writing Success". He has been seriously successful as a freelance writer, has shown no fear in taking on any task that may be fodder for a writing project. He seems to exhibit boundless energy and passion for life and knows above all else that he HAS to write. He has sacrificed everything to make the writing life a reality for himself and his persistence has paid off. The problem is that when I read that, I know in my heart I'm not willing to do all that he has done. I'm not that passionate. I like writing and I would love to push past my fear and let others read my work, but I'm not willing to live in a house with no electricity or heat, or even wonder if I will get a check so I can eat tomorrow. Simply put, I'm not willing to go to any lengths to be a writer. I was willing to do that for my sobriety, but not for my writing. All I guess I can do with that new revelation is keep writing for the sheer joy of it and live the life that's working for me knowing that writing keeps me centered and balanced and whole.

Aliens among us

From the Roswell Daily Record:



Stanton Friedman does not just believe aliens have landed on Earth - he believes they've never left."



Alien life forms have been coming here steadily, probably for thousands of years, but at least for 60 years," he said. "They're here. They're being seen all the time, lots of them in Texas, and so forth."

Frideman's new book addresses many questions that people have about aliens. He's probably just asked them personally. I have. I know an alien who lived in Texas for many years, mainly around Odessa and Houston. I can tell you he has a very big head and no hair. Extremely intelligent and thinks we humans are an interesting study. You would recognize him if you saw him. He has a constant tick that looks like he's shaking his head in amazement, especially when he's talking to me.

Detroit police halt pillow fight

DETROIT—Police in Detroit have ruffled some feathers after they cracked down on an organized pillow fight at a downtown park.

The Detroit News reports that police at Campus Martius Park prevented the feathery fight Saturday by disarming pillow-toting participants. The bout was part of a worldwide event organized on social networking Web sites.

Michael Davis of Hamtramck says police confiscated the 32-year-old man's pillows but returned their cases. He says he was told that he needed a permit.

Scott Harris of Ferndale told the News that it's "not illegal to own a pillow."

Detroit police spokesman James Tate says cleanup was the issue.

I like the part where the police officer told the man he needed a permit. I wonder if there is a five day waiting period. Made me chuckle.

I wonder...

In reading the sports articles today, I keep reading that the Bears may be interested in Michael Vick. I wonder if now that they have Cutler, if that makes interest in Vick null and void. Hard to say. The bankruptcy judge has declined Vick's plan to emerge, and I wonder if Vick is now getting a serious dose of reality about the consequences of his actions. He claims to be truly remorseful. I hope that is the case. I still believe that he can actually be a spokesman for organizations that support kindness to animals (I don't use animal rights wording because it is too broad for this example). I have been known to say that dogs in particular have been at our pleasure for centuries, and as a modern society we owe them the responsibility to provide them the love and respect that they give us without question. Over population continues to be a daunting problem. Dog fighting, especially street level fighting is a constant issue, and I believe that's where Vick could make a difference. Animal cruelty is prevalent and at some point we need to look at ourselves and ask the hard questions about what kind of human beings we are that would allow all of this to continue as we float in our own little worlds of denial.