Dear Reader,
Since I was neglected and abused as a child, I get really angry when I read about a child or animal being neglected or harmed. And I just read an item from the NY Daily News which hit two of my hot spots: a child being neglected and the media manipulating the reader for monetary gain.
The story is about a woman in South Austin who let her son play outside and had a neighbor call Child Services on her because of it. Evil neighbor! Evil Child Protective Services! Only, here's the problem with that little scenario. The child wasn't playing opinion the front yard, or even on the block! The SIX-YEAR-OLD was playing in a deserted park area one hundred and fifty yards from the house. Quick calculation: how long is a football field?? Oh, yeah, 100 yards! So this child was playing ALONE the length of one and a half FOOTBALL FIELDS from home, unsupervised by his mother who was inside her house with the door closed! In factor she didn't see this man approach her son, talk to him, or lead him away from there. He took the little boy to her, but he could have just as well taken him to a parked car! This is how kids get kidnapped and found dead later! What brings this home even more for me is that I used to live in South Austin 25 years ago and had a little boy there. South Austin wasn't safe then, and it's not safe now. My son could play in the back yard without me being with him with our dog with him, and the back door open so I could hear him at all times and watch him from windows as I did housework. He couldn't play in the front yard even then, unless I stayed right there with him. I used to pay a neighborhood girl to come play with him in the front yard while I got dinner ready because it wasn't safe for him to be out there alone. There is even a walking path in this big deserted green space so strangers can come and go without raising suspicions. Her child could have been long gone before she even knew it. There are other dangers than people, too. There are rattlesnakes everywhere there, fire ants, hornets, and wild dogs. Mountain lions have been verified in the neighboring county. But she and the media are playing this up so manipulatively. I just checked and 46,000 children are abducted in Texas alone EACH YEAR! The Daily News is playing it this way because she has a blog and that's how she wrote about it in their blog. They are also playing it this way because they want more traffic on their website to get more advertising dollars, so the more inflammatory they can make this, the better off their bottom line is. No one has talked to the neighbor who is being roundly criticized by everyone. I wonder if he saw this child alone so far from the houses and called the police just to ask them what he should do? Poor guy. No good deed goes unpunished, right?
I had a very hard time waking up again this morning. Especially frustrating since I read a good amount in a book called How to Wake Up Before You Have To, or something like that, before I went to bed. I also felt really, really tired today. I got some grocery shopping done today, but was so tired afterwards that I had to ask my sweet husband to take us out for dinner. At least I have everything I need to make a nice dinner tomorrow.
So ... let's see if I can get my blood pressure back down now.
While I was busy at home today, I suddenly realized that I felt a sense of ease I haven't known in forever. I haven't started the klonopin yet, so it's just the beginning of the effect of this new life on me. Yay!
And now. Shall I tell you something embarrassing? I mean, really, really embarrassing? Oh, why not! I've been reading a lot by this woman in South Carolina who has a big program about ... oh, there is no way to not sound trite so I'll just go ahead: how to become a better you. It's way more than that, of course. And I came across her about three months ago and have been reading her emails and posts and articles and I really like a lot of what she says. So ... I signed up today for her 10 week immersion program. Okay, once you have finished mocking me (!) let me tell you that I am really excited about it! It starts October 6 and I actually can't wait!
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