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I can just picture that hill in my mind. LOL! I think [2008-11-20]
I am going to try that this year. Great idea.
I had a similar experience [2008-11-17]
I divorced my first husband in 1972 and it didn You will feel SO much better after you do it!
Diabetes is what jumped to my mind as well - sm [2008-11-16]
I would definitely get a checkup and make sure it is not a symptom of something.
I have no experience but my DH has. He is 50 and [2008-11-07]
and just got out of them about 2 years ago. He looks fabulous! The only trouble he had was at first, his mouth was sore for several days, liquid/smooth diet, but after that everything went great. His were on for about 2.5 years and we could see the change after only 3 or 4 months. He is fastidious about his teeth (really always has been) always wears his retainer at night (a very small one inside the mouth at night only). Make sure you wear the retainer after they are off (assuming they give you one). You will be so happy with your results and the time will fly by. My DH was the ortho's oldest patient he had ever had!
Actually I have the opposite experience. Everyone [2008-11-03]
I know seems to think I am a doctor and can answer all their questions concerning their medical symptoms and those of their family. I have had people call me asking me about meds and what I think they should do.
Anyone have any experience with CareCredit, sm [2008-10-30]
the credit payment plan for medical treatment for pets as well ashumans?
Never mind, saw the post below with link. [2008-10-28]
x
That thought crossed my mind too [2008-10-22]
I am set up to see a chiropractor this week. I am willing to try anything! I have had Charlie Horses a couple times in my life but nothing like this before. I have been reading that they get worse as you go and I'm only half way! I'm willing to try just about anything. My leg is still sore from a Charlie Horse 2 days ago - that's how bad they are.
Not everyone's experience will be the same as yours. sm [2008-10-19]
Not every teenager who smokes pot ends up like your son. I am sorry you had to go through so much, but as far the OP's son I think you are totally overreacting. When you consider how many teenagers try pot or smoke pot, your son is definitely the exception to the rule.
Sheclean up their act they need trust and encouragement.
Some advice from experience [2008-10-15]
If you dongood daughter, all my other siblings quit speaking to my father years ago, I should have joined them! Good luck.
Any advice and/or experience with teeth whitening? [2008-10-11]
NM
Sorry you had this experience with a pit...sm [2008-10-06]
But I don't believe it is a breed thing. I believe you were unfortunate to have happened to get a pitbull who did this. If your dog hadn't been raised with the cat I would say well that is just a dog being a dog but to be raised together and get along that is weird. But there are other dogs who are capable of attacking. I had a stray mix breed medium size dog. It didn't have any pit in it. I saw it kill a cat in my mother's yard. Brutally killed it. But it wasn't a mean dog to us. It also would try to attack our bealge pups. So I know other dogs are capable of killing animals. The pitbull can do more damage though than most dogs. But I have seen pictures of lab attacks on owners, Dalmation attacks on a child, many others. Any dog can do this. Personally I have a neighbor who had a little chihuahua and it was there little doll. They adored this little dog. Well someone who lives a mile to a mile and a half down the road has a Dalmation. It climbed the fence in its yard and went a mile or more down the road where the little chihuahua was outside peeing and mauled it to death with its owners watching. I mean they said the dalmation just attacked when it seen the little dog no provacation. So I know what other dogs can do too. But most won't. I hope you never have this problem again with any of your dogs. You had a most unfortunate incident with your pitbull and I believe this has rightfully left a bad taste in your mouth for the breed. But try to think of it like this. There are good people and bad people. There are good dogs and bad dogs. We have serial killers and rapists but we also have good people out there. Dogs are not different. Don't look down on the whole breed because of one bad experience. There are so many kind pits out there who have never hurt a living thing. Really.
College search - For those of you who have had experience - [2008-10-06]
In your opinion, is it more fruitful to go on an open house when all the departments are out there with handouts and such, or on individual or small group appointments with maybe a little more one-on-one?
I'm overwhelmed already, and we've only been to two colleges!
My experience....... [2008-09-25]
Vista requires a lot of memory (RAM)to run, so I wouldn't have anything less than 4 GB of ram, in order to make sure it doesn't freeze up all the time, which is a big complaint.
My daughter has a new Dell with Vista, 4 gb ram, and says it works great, really fast.
Otherwise, you can order online and get a computer with XP on it, with an upgrade to Vista later. Newegg.com, Tigerdirect.com, Dell..... all these have XP on their computers/laptops.
my experience... [2008-09-25]
I have a new Dell with Vista and my old computer with XP sitting side by side. I really do not see much difference, except of course my new computer is way faster.
All the accounts I work on support Vista also and I've not had a problem.
i have not experience in a situation like this, but sm [2008-09-11]
he as i was growing up, i saw my dad control my mom, he abused her (i didn i wished for years that my parents would divorce. they never did. they he she can i felt so sorry for my mom all those years and i still do. i love both my parents, but sometimes i don i they are in their 50s and he needs to grow up.
i guess i and today, i often doubt myself and hope i don i felt like a little slave sometimes.
you need to do yourself and the kids a favor and leave. i think you when he you have to stand up for yourself and your kids. you don he he my self esteem is really low. my dad told me as i was growing up i was always too fat. he is much better with me today, but i still worry i many times i think i need to go to a counselor.
anyway, please, if you can build up the courage to leave, you need to. if you have any family or friends you can discuss this issue with and get support from them, do it. i have a friend who was in a loveless marriage for about 10 years. they got a divorce. she didn the dad doesn but she is strong and you can be strong too.
keep up posted on what happens. also turn to God. he we all go through struggles in life so that we can turn to Him for comfort and to also make us stronger.
From personal experience, do not stay [2008-09-11]
for the kids. They really do pick up on this. My oldest (she was 5 at the time) witnessed a lot of fights and other things that really upset her. Also, life is too short to be miserable in any relationship--especially if it has been going on for 3 years. If you have tried counseling and that did not work, then think at least about a separation.
My family told me, after the fact, about how down and depressed I was before I left my ex, and the 100% turn around after I left. It does no one any good to stay when you both are miserable.
Don't mind really [2008-09-02]
You know..It
Never mind - found their website [2008-09-01]
nm
What if it is on her mind? [2008-08-20]
I think about ice cream all the time! Although, I suppose it is a problem. :)
Tell your roommate to mind her own business [2008-08-20]
is your choice. Kick the BEOTCH out and enjoy your glass(es) of wine or wine coolers.
my experience [2008-08-05]
As I stated above, I was in the Army for quite a few years. I had soldiers under me who would have issues now and then. I knew the routes to go and the ropes so to speak of how to get them what they needed. I am sorry but you are not totally correct. Working on an Army base as a civilian is most assuredly not the same thing as being in the Army.
No, I am just stating my experience [2008-08-05]
What I have said is not made up, just MY experience! You need to present all sides here, not just there are options. You say that like the soldier has the option of staying here or not. No, she has to go through the proper channels, and REQUEST, not tell them what she wants to do. They can then say yay or nay!
Here is what comes to my mind after reading your post. [2008-07-28]
Are you sure you are not favoring one child over another and he senses this or is imaging it - that would be difficult to articulate for a child. Being a first born, he may have been center of attention for a while and then had to share it to his siblings - always hard on a child. If he does not have a disorder that is chemically induced, I would consider that as tantrums are an attempt for attention. Communication is the answer. I'd suggest one on one events with this child alone on a regular basis. You will gain his trust so that he can express what is making him so frustrated. I feel for you. I watch the nanny shows and am always amazed at how difficult life is in a house when the family is unable to live in harmony due to out of control children. You'll have to not stop until to find a solution, for everyone's sake. Good luck to you, mom.
No experience with the program but definitely experience with the symptoms! nm [2008-07-14]
x
Everyone seems [2008-11-22]
pretty happy. It doesn't seem prurient. I've been in favor of other situations in which people are free to develop on an internal time clock rather than one imposed externally & in that regard there's probably something to this, but the siblings following the first probably got the idea to continue for a long time from watching, so there's definitely a bias there.
Would be interesting for someone to design a study comparing long-time thumb-suckers with children weaned at a later age. This woman would probably say that the experience of breastfeeding can't be duplicated or substituted with a bottle or a plastic nipple because the emotional part of it would be lost. I don't know. I guess it depends on the family involved. I remember on Six Feet Under, how Lisa & Nate were letting Maya sleep in their bed until she decided she didn't want to any more. I think there's just a whole movement out there comprised of people with similar ideas, & until someone does a long-term study, I guess I'd have to say any suggestion that it's out-&-out wrong is just conjecture or has a cultural bias.
Whatever sale item is most important to you [2008-11-21]
start there...early. Sale ads from Wednesday night's or Thursday morning's newspapers should tell you the store hours and sale hours. Many end at 11am. My dd and I like to go about an hour after stores open, though it's still dark outside. The crowds that were waiting in line overnight for the big ticket items are gone by then, and most everyone else avoids the stores until the afternoon hours, thinking they will be less crowded. Wrong they are though. There are more employees on duty early rather than later, so things move more quickly in the morning hours. We've also found the earlier crowds to be friendlier. DD starts singing Christmas carols while standing in line and soon lots of others join in. She's a blast to shop with. Then we go to a late breakfast and go home before the unfriendly crowds show up. Hope your experience is an enjoyable one.
Has our country taken a turn for the ... [2008-11-21]
Our once great country, I afraid, has just turned a corner for the worse. I have watched as the mentality of our country has gone from setting your mind to something, working hard, and you can accomplish it to giving up, sitting back, and letting somebody else take care of them.
I was brought up, as many were, with a good work ethic that was instilled in us by our parents. With the idea that if you want something you had to work for it, and by working for something you learned quickly the difference between wants and needs.
There were always incentives for a person to strive to better themselves. Whether it were financial incentives, or just the pride you gained in knowing that you did something yourself, it didn’t matter.
I wasn’t long ago that people had that “small town” mentality, and everybody knew their neighbors. And those neighbors helped each other out, in any situation, it was just what you did. And people were so proud that some times help would have to be disguised, you remember the lines like..”Mom made more stew than we could eat, could you help us out by taking it so that it doesn’t go to waste?”
But, somewhere along the line those thoughts of some (I guess now the majority) have changed. Some how, if somebody works hard to gain something others feel entitled to have the same things, even if they didn’t have to go through the struggle to earn it. Some how, things like big screen TVs, cell phones, and shiny new cars have wrongly slipped from the “wants” list to the “needs” list.
Somewhere the incentives to strive for betterment have been replaced by incentives to be lazy. The easy way out and hand outs are now the norm. The feeling of pride about being self sufficient is supposed to be replaced by guilt for having more than others.
The “small town” mentality is gone and our neighbors have turned into strangers. People no longer help out their neighbors or even themselves, instead they sit and wait for the government to come solve things for them. And when help does come they complain that the help wasn’t good enough or didn’t come fast enough, the pride is gone.
Well, I refuse to think that way, my small town roots and work ethic runs to deep. I refuse to let somebody take care of me while I am willing and able to take care of myself. I will continue to meet and know my neighbors and help them out when they need it. I will continue to work hard to take care of my needs and by doing so, my wants will take care of themselves. I will continue to volunteer for things and give to charities of my choice regardless of what the government wants to take away from me and give to the undeserving.
My hope is to change the thinking back to the way it was. The sun will rise again tomorrow, I’ll keep doing what I do, and this country can be great again….at least in my little corner of it…
it never really goes away, you just have to chalk it up [2008-11-21]
as a lesson learned. this is amazing, cuz the same thing just happened to me this week. been helping someone for ages, then they turn on me !! blew my mind and i we can only learn to surround ourselves with the loved ones around us. you can I and go down the long list of things that you know you are blessed with.
this is the worst: youall the people who have done me wrong. so much for getting back to sleep once that list starts creeping into your consciousness.
forgive yourself, realize it and remember, no good deed goes unpunished. -- sorry.
OK, I am a 46DD (if the guys only [2008-11-20]
knew it would be like them hauling around 2 watermelons)and I have had better luck and durability with a minimizing bra, but they are expensive. Everyone below is right about being fitted properly. There just was something on the news about women complaining about rashes they are receiving wearing their victoria secret bras for more than a few hours and there has been the suggestion of formaldehyde on the fabric which the company denies. So, I don't know where they are made, but I would keep that in mind, especially anything out of China. I have noticed their new bra currently being advertized is not up to par in the area of supporting the underarm tissue.
I don't think I understand [2008-11-20]
so just let him do whatever, support his decisions, and hope for the best?
He has a good job it is just that so much of it is eaten by the attorneys, support, transportation, and crazy things the ex dreams up that the child must have and we are told we just have to pay it. It costs more than what I make to cover the mandatory expenses of my step-child.
I gave up our finances about a year ago to give him a taste of what it was like. Stupidly thinking this would help. Obviously it hasn't but has made things worse. I always reassure him and tell him we will get through it, etc. but when he asks me to make a decision I tell him honestly.
Recently asking if I mind if his teenage nephews come stay for the weekend I ask where is the extra money going to come from to feed them and get them to/from work as its an hour round trip. I offer maybe just one night instead of the entire weekend. Automatically thatthey asked for the weekend. He says he doesn't know where the money will come from and he won't ask the his brother either and asks me to call and tell them no. Of course when I refuse I can tell he gets upset although he won't say it.
We don't argue about stuff its just more of one of us getting pi$$ed off until it blows over and then starting again the following week when another circumstance comes up. Honestly, I'm just getting tired of putting up. It has been nearly 10 years now but only 4 since our finances went together.
We are also expecting a child, which we could afford before the last 6 months came crashing down on us. Of course this is part of my anxiety over finances but being a man and his usual self he wants to live in la-la land until we don't have money to buy diapers.
I'm just so frustrated. Thanks for listening and letting me know that there is hope things will change. Atleast I know when the step-child becomes an adult it will be like winning the lottery!
My husband can't say no to people either...sm [2008-11-20]
Unless he gets mad about something. We don't really work it out. I am usually just stuck as you say being the bad guy or give in.
Find comfort in the fact that you aren't the only one who struggles with bills. I bought my son a Playstation 3 for X-mas this year for $400 but the only way I was able to do that was to put back money all year and hide it.
It seems just typical man, most anyway, that you tell them and tell them but they don't pay you any mind or they don't want to hear it.
Just sit him down and talk and tell him it isnno. Throw in some tears, which shouldn't be hard to do, for more effect. Maybe he will feel bad.
Please know you are definitely NOT alone! [2008-11-20]
Lots of us are struggling these days. Times are touch all over. Can you look into getting a second job to help with expenses? That's what I do, just to make ends meet. I'm alone too but don't mind that - I have pets to keep me company. The best thing you can do is not sit around doing nothing. Make a plan, set yourself some goals and KNOW you can get through this. Just take it one day at a time and/or knock off one goal at a time and you'll persevere.
bought/sold couple hundred items [2008-11-19]
i've had a good experience both ways. it is time consuming, communicating with customer/feedback/packaging items/mailing, etc. Like you, i thought of doing same. but you really have to have something special/in demand to market, or maybe do the drop-ship method where you don't even keep the inventory yourself to make a real business venture. I don't think it's any more of a golden goose than other business ventures however.
Amazing [2008-11-19]
I was around 10 years old when this happened, and to this day, in my mind I can see I dove repeatedly...
I was just a kid then, but he sounded completely fake to me. Just...creepy. Amazing how clear that image is, for some reason; my first memorable experience of someone famous getting away with it. I think my little psyche was just completely blown away. Little did I know then that this is just the way of the world.
My mom had a similar problem with [2008-11-19]
Ambrielle. She also bought several and took the tags off to wear them, but they still left her return them. She did save her receipt, though. JCP has always stood behind their products. I have bought and returned numerous things over the years and never had a problem.
One time in particular comes to mind. I had purchased a Worthington purse for $40. A year later, I was still using it and it broke on me in the middle of the mall. I didn The clasp on the side just came apart. I took to the JCP in the mall and they allowed me to exchange it for a similar purse in the same price range. No receipt, no tags, and a year old. Can't beat that!
Just curious...sm [2008-11-17]
as to why you have a deadline for putting up your decorations. We put ours up here and there AFTER Thanksgiving and enjoy the whole experience. Deadline just sounds like it would take the pleasure out it. Honestly not trying to start anything, Just sayin'.
Any chance you could visit family or a friend... [2008-11-16]
for a few days when he leaves the dogs? Or simply tell DH that you will only take care of your guys? Let hubby experience what a job it is. I have a cat and a large black lab and those two alone can keep me pretty busy. Can I believe in karma, and you have a giant reward coming your way one of these days, as domany of you other kind-hearted posters.
Eeew. This just popped into my head [2008-11-15]
If this she/he can claim to be a man, then when are they going to do the first female organ transplant into a man who wishes to experience the pain of pregnancy without becoming a full blown woman?
Just the reverse of what this she/hedid. It would probably take as long to change, but how many real men would think about it if they could make all this money?
Can you imagine the confusion? I thinkcloning is just as bad. Weoriginal not a manufactured person.
Not sure about that, but I grew up on scrapple [2008-11-15]
Scrapple contains basically what you mentioned and it's pretty darn good. It's all good meat, but it's basically scraps, hence the name.
I don't mind Spam either, at least when it's fried.
My son won't even try Spam, but not because of Monty Python. He won't eat it because of the movie Waterworld where they were throwing it out to the masses of people on the boat and the cans were marked Smeat! LOL!
I am so fustrated I am in tears...sm [2008-11-15]
Ok here goes...My husband has hunting beagles. He has about 5 of them. I love dogs and I love beagles. Well he drives an 18-wheeler and is gone a majority of the time. I take care of the dogs daily, i.e. feed them, clean their kennels, and put fresh water. It is a chore, but I love the dogs so I do it. It is for my husband anyway, and we are supposed to help each other. When he is home it is his chore. Well he has a buddy down the road who lives about 10 minutes away. They take their beagles out together and let them run rabbits. Well his buddy is bad about leaving his beagles over here and not coming to get them in a timely manner, and I have to take care of 5 more dogs. Food isn Well you have to make him come get them. A couple of weeks ago his buddy went on a hunting trip in Tennessee and needed someone to care for his beagles. Well I didn I was fustrated to learn though he brought them and left them in the kennels and left no food for them. I had to feed these dogs of his out of our food and there was 5 of them. I mentioned to my husband that I thought that was rude. I was nice enough to care for his beagles while he went away. He should have brought food for them. I felt taken advantage of. Well he came over last weekend and I thought good he has come for his dogs. Well he leaves without them. I said oh here we go again. I had forgotten to mention anything to my husband because I got busy working among other things. Well today when I went to feed the beagles I got really fustrated because he STILL has not come and got his dogs. So got downrightticked and called my husband. I said you call your buddy and tell him I am not in the kennel business. He can come get his dogs. I said first of all he is back in town and has been a week. Why hasn I said you should have made him before now. I said I was not asked do you mind taking care of these dogs for weeks. I said you should not allow your friend to take advantage of my niceness. He said well I just figure that if you are taking care of our beagles then why can What difference does it make? You are already taking care of these so what is so hard about putting a little more food out. I said I will tell you. It is twice the dogs to feed. I said he did not bring any food. It is twice thesh** to clean out the kennels, which is done, by the way, by spraying it off the concrete floors with a hose with a spray nozel. I feel like I am being taken advantage of and I think my DH should stick up for me to his friend.
very displeased with 2 of my friends right now [2008-11-15]
We all work for the same company. Our employer offers three types of employment: Full-time, part-time and on-call. Well, work has been low and the on-call gals have been asked to halt production and allow those of us full and part-timers to meet our quota. They know I work full time, as I must, being the sole-provider for my family. They both have husbands and only work on-call for spending money. So, of course, I ran out of work today.
Friend number one calls and tells me she I don I asked her why she was working, knowing work was low, and she stated to me that with the holidays coming up she needs a much larger paycheck this next time around. ARRGHH!
I already talked to our supervisor about the two of them. I feel that since we are friends, I should not have to be the one to tell them that they are taking food off my plate. I I know there Thanks.
Eeew - even after all these responses sm [2008-11-15]
It still tempts me, but then again, so does corned beef hash! Oh well, we all have to go from something! I think Imodified stuff tastes so good! Modified what?? Who knows - there are only so many body parts, after all! Keep laughing, we need some fun in our lives - gosh all mighty, we need a laugh on here!!!
Eeew - even after all these responses sm [2008-11-15]
It still tempts me, but then again, so does corned beef hash! Oh well, we all have to go from something! I think Imodified stuff tastes so good! Modified what?? Who knows - there are only so many body parts, after all! Keep laughing, we need some fun in our lives - gosh all mighty, we need a laugh on here!!!
Before you push the panic button sm [2008-11-14]
This is a recession, quite possibly the mother of all recessions. It may turn into a depression, but it will run a very distant second to the Great Depression, IF it does.
Pre the GP (Great Depression) you several things going on that are NOT true today. We had come out of WWI not that long before. It had been a very bloody war, the first war with mechanized destruction. What the Doughboys witnessed was for them what we saw on 09/11...unimaginable death and destruction. It changed how they viewed America.
When these boys came home from the war, they came back to the farm, by and large. We were an agrarian country and with the exception of east coast, there were hardly any factory jobs and most people worked the land. Plenty of places all over the country people worked on shares and they were not all in the deep south and they were not all black. There was not nearly the land/home ownership that there is today. Most of these dirt farmers lived in poverty and barely scraped by enough to eat twice a day. When the great Dust Bowl came through Oklahoma, it took the enormous clouds of dust eastward and dumped it into the Atlantic Ocean. This was a man-made disaster and the story of the Joads in the Grapes of Wrath centers on the Dust Bowl and the farming habits of families, like the Joads caused them problems. It was their fault that the top soil blew across FDR's desk in the Oval Office.
There was no infrastructure to speak of, in those days. There were roadways, but not the spider web of paved roads there are today. Goods were carried on the rails, not over the roads. You didnin town and the Sears-Roebuck catalog. If you couldn't find it there or could not afford it you either cobbled something together or did without. You can look the Coal Miner's Daughter about being so low-down dirt poor it is unbelievable. That movie is quite cleaned up and Hollywood presentable. You could look at the sparse surroundings of the ranch house in Broke Back Mountain where Ennis goes after Jack dies, and while the time frame is more modern, the very plain, only the very basics of life appear in that ranch house. They are both a bit sanitized, but reasonably realistic.
Today, Americans live extraordinarily different lives than we did 80 years ago. Most people have a vehicle. Most people have more than a dirt floor shack to live in. We, have thanks to the Great Depression and FDR's recovery plan, electricity, roads, water, sewage and other sanitation. We take these things for granted, but we should not. The GP did bring some food shortages, not because of the depression, but because of the lack of infrastructure combined with people on the move to find work to subsist. The food shortages you are thinking of came with WWII and rationing...another problem secondary to lack of infrastructure and subsistence farming where there was not enough food produced to meet the need.
If you are going to stock up on food, let be for more common sense reasons. If you put your money in the bank, you will make 2% or 3% return on $500. If you put that same amount into nonperishable food (think canned goods), you make a better return on an investment. You don't earn 2% or 3%, but you can end up leveraging against future price increases that will meet and exceed what interest you make from a bank, which is nothing right now. You will need food whether you buy it now or buy it later. Squirreling away extra under the bed or whatever place you can find room, is a wise investment...financially and in peace of mind.
I agree, trust your pets [2008-11-13]
Dogs or cats for that matter. Whether they sense trouble or they sense the personality, it doesn they just know something isn't right.
I have had this experience with several pets, including my cat. Yes, I said my cat. lol She is like a dog in a lot of ways. They just know when something is off and they will tell you the best way they can. I never tell them a person is okay or to stop barking. If things are okay or the person is okay they will stop on their own without me saying a word. Somehow they just know.
Wow, Perfect example. [2008-11-13]
That should have never happened. It was malicious or intended but things happen through carelessness. I don't think teenagers or young adults really get that until they either experience something like this or close to it first hand or have children who depend on them. It puts life in a completely different perspective. What a shame.
My most memorable Christmas - [2008-11-12]
Well, actually I have two -
When I was younger (back during the last recession in the 80s), we had moved to Texas for my dad to find work in construction. My family was really homesick and wanted to come back where we were from and decided to move right around Christmas time. Therefore, we were told there would be no Christmas at your house that year. However, on Christmas morning we got up and all had a present that we had really wanted - mind you it was only 1 present, but that was the best present!!!
The next one was when I had first married and my husband was a soldier and we moved away from our family the first week of December. At Christmas, there was no money for presents (not even cards), barely any food to eat, and we had a daughter who was 1. Well, on Christmas morning, the neighbor we had never even spoken to, came over and invited us to dinner with her family and she had bought us a present. I will never forget it. She got us a salt and pepper shaker set and had bought a doll for my baby girl.
Loved the clown-box story! AND.... - sm [2008-11-11]
there are ways to regift that can actually make you totally grateful that you got that gift in the first place!
One year my brother (whose heart is in the right place, but who always finds the most notoriously bizarre and useless gifts) gave me a bright red, fuzzy laughing Elmo toy. (Tickle-Me-Elmo?) Anyway, it had this really annoying, creepy laugh. I only tickled him once, heard that laughing banshee-shriek come out of him, and nearly threw him in the dumpster, I hated that sound so much.
Well, later on Christmas day, I saw a little 5-year-old boy that lived in my apartment complex. The kid was a real cutie, but I couldn't stand his mom. Then, an evil, Grinch-like thought came to mind....
I told the kid to wait a minute before going upstairs, because 'I had something that I thought Santa had delivered to my house by mistake'. Then I
ran into my apartment, grabbed the offensive Elmo, and asked the boy if that was something Santa should have brought to him (giving him the option to say 'heck no!')... but he said yes, he was hoping he would get an Elmo, and Santa hadn't brought him one! So, I said, 'Well then, here ya go - this must have been in Santa's bag for you.'
Heh heh.... It did my heart good later that evening, when I went outside and could hear that evil 'Hahahahahahahahahaha' coming from the apartment of that lady I didn't like.
I'm a dog lover, and most dogs love me. - sm [2008-11-10]
I can be walking down the street, simply make eye contact with one and smile without saying a word, and the dog will usually rush up to me, wagging his tail like crazy and acting all silly and lovey-dovey.
In the past, some of the absolute sweetest dogs I'd ever known were pits & rotties. But that was in the ྌs, before the big 'gangsta-dog' thing became popular. Then people started breeding these dogs more for a surly attitude than for good temperament, and it seems to be a dominant trait that's getting passed forward, even when unintended.
So fast-forard to 2 weeks ago. I was out walking in my neighborhood, and was coming up a long flight of sidewalk stairs that go up the steep hill I live on. Halfway up, I saw a big brown pit bull standing there looking at me. I had seen him running loose on my street earlier in the day, and wondered whose he was, but then forgot about him.
He had an aggressive body-language that I didn't like. But I'm not afraid of dogs, and continuned on up the steps, and talked to him nicely as I reached the top. But then the dog totally went off, and began barking, growling, and making charges at me.
I knew to stand my ground, and first tried sweet-talking him. Didn't work. If I tried to slowly move away from him in any direction, he'd come around and try to come in at me from behind. There wasn't a soul around.
I tried scaring him off, but that only exacerbated the problem, so I decided to just stand there and let him do his thing. 20 minutes later, he was just as aggressive as ever, maybe worse, because his charges were coming closer and closer. The only 'weapon' in my possession was a single can of cat food in a plastic bag, that I'd walked down the hill to the market to buy. Considered whacking him with it, but didn't want to be in that close to him.
Turns out the owners were in an apartment right across the street. A couple finally came out and called off the dog, stating Oh, we didn (I doubt that - the dog had been out all afternoon.)
Anyway, I told them I'd call the sheriff and/or animal control if I ever saw him out again. When I got home, I called animal control anyway, and filed a formal complaint, so that if he bit anyone in the future, there would already be a complaint against him, and he likely would not be released from the shelter. Animal control said they'd follow up with the owner, which hopefully they did.
In the meantime, I did 2 things: I programmed the sheriff's phone numberinto my cellphone, which I now slip into my pocket whenever I go out for a walk. Good thing to do, anyway. The other thing is I went to Army-Navy Surplus, and bought a cannister of professional-grade pepper spray. Not the wimpy, .02% 'dog-repellent'. I doubt that would stop a pitbull. I got the 15% stuff that will bring a 200-pound, raging crack-addict to his knees and keep him there for more than an hour. That goes into my pocket, as well. Now I can walk & bike with peace of mind.
Meanwhile, those pitbull owners should consider themselves very lucky that their dog went after someone who knows dogs, is not afraid, and didn't RUN. If a timid woman, or worse, a child, had come up those steps that afternoon, the resulting attack might have made the 6 o'clock news that night.
There are probably still some gentle pits left out there, but I think their numbers are declining because of the current fashion statement of being a 'big bad gangsta, with my big, bad gansta-dog'. They want their dogs to intimidate people, and then they wonder why they can't rent an apartment or get homeowners insurance to cover dog bites. In some cities you have to post a $30,000 bond in order to keep one. It's little wonder that unwanted pits and pit-mixes are clogging up our animal shelters. I feel sorry for the animals, but if I were adopting, I wouldn't want the financial liability of owning one.
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