Heaven...Parallel Universe?!

Parallel universes. There's an idea that I can't get my mind around. John and I watched the movie "The Source Code" tonight. It was good...and made me pause for a moment to think about alternate worlds, other mes doing different things, married to someone else or not married at all...knowing different things, being talented in different areas...not liking coffee... (ha ha) Anyway, it's funny to think about those things, I think any alternate mes would still have to be outspoken...just can't imagine it any other way. But then, that's the beauty of the alternate, parallel universe...we CAN'T imagine it and so it exists safely tucked away right beside us, around us- so close, yet undetectable to us. Right now I imagine one of my alternate mes as getting ready as her butler tells her that her driver has pulled the car around and that her private jet to her private tropical island is fueled and ready to wisk her away. Bitch. 

There's kind of a sense of comfort thinking about that other place...whether it exists or not...it's fun to think about all of the possibilities within our world and within the realm of an existence we can't comprehend, at least not in its entirety. Actually, it sounds like heaven to me. Literally...that's how I think about heaven...all of the possibilities, comfortable thoughts and things I can't comprehend. Maybe heaven is the parallel universe. Maybe, just maybe...happiness, kindness, caring and love are all that exist there. For me, I'm going to picture heaven as being on a sun-drenched beach, laying in a lounge chair, the warm, soft sand between my toes, the blue, clear water lapping at the shore just a few feet away from me and I'm holding an ice cold drink in my hand and there's no one around. Seagulls are calling, the waves are breaking and I am closing my eyes as the cool breeze brushes over me. Ahhhhh. My little slice of heaven. Wait...there's one person besides me around...I need a cabana boy to refresh my drink once in a while!

Coffee, The Ultimate Comfort.

I haven't blogged in a few weeks. I've been gone, busy or just not motivated to write. But today is a great day for putting words on paper, or in this case, sending words through satellites!

First, I want to talk about coffee. Let me put it into perspective for you.

You wake up, you're still tired, but you don't have to go anywhere or do anything this particular morning. You slowly work your way to the kitchen in your baggy pajama pants and an old concert t-shirt that has holes in the armpits, and has seen better days, but you just can't stand to part with it. That shirt magically holds memories of youth, happiness and health. You step up to the coffee maker with the anticipation of being engulfed by the aroma that is only present when opening a fresh bag of roasted coffee beans. You slowly fill the coffee pot with water and let it drizzle into the maker. In goes the coffee filter and then...you carefully scoop the desired amount of beans into the grinder. You press the button and all of a sudden there is this vicious assault on all of your senses... but mostly on your hearing. However, you endure it because you know...that in just a few short minutes, after the vibrating grinder stops under your fingers, that the steeping, hot, wet, dark liquid will soon pass your lips and teeth, and bathe the sensitive taste buds of your tongue only to ever so gently pass down your throat and esophagus. At this point, there is a comfort level that no words can express. That first sip of the rich warmth is always the best. At this point, your hands curl around the mug, you lean against the counter and pledge to make the day ahead of you a positive one for those who surround you.

Okay, that was number one...but I really don't have a number two right now...I've got to go make a pot o' joe. 

Sparky Snickers

We didn't make any special plans for the 4th of July this year. In fact, we didn't make any plans at all! John ended up falling asleep and I went over to Michele and Daron's to watch the fireworks wars with Michele, Kendrick and Camille that their neighborhood has every year. The big city sponsored firework displays were all done on Saturday night for some odd reason this year, and the 4th was on Monday...oh well, missed it. After I got home around 10:30pm that night, John woke up and we were sitting in the living room talking and watching tv. I kept hearing what I thought was a strange noise from outside...stranger than all of the crazy loud fireworks going off! John got up and there was a little black and gray striped kitten on our deck looking in our back door and meowing, terrified out of his mind. Of course, my heart sank, and instantly John opened the door and the kitten came scampering in. When he ran in, it was obvious he was scared and confused. He didn't realize he was at the wrong house until he came inside, I think. John gently picked him up and we both went out on the deck with him. We knew he had to be someone's pet even though he didn't have a collar. He was de-clawed and acted like he'd been around people by how loving and trusting he was.

John got the kitty a bowl of milk and we sat out on the deck with him. He jumped up on my lap and I held him and scratched his ears. He'd go back and forth between John and myself getting as much loving and scratching as he could!  He'd get up in my lap, cuddle up as closely as he could get to me and tucked his little face under my arm to hide from the loud explosions. He started purring and fell asleep for just a couple of minutes. The fireworks died down the later it became and he perked up. He jumped down off of my lap and started batting at and pouncing on the Junebugs that were flying around the window of our back door. After about an hour and a half, John and I went inside to go to bed and he started pawing at the window for us to let him in. We said our goodnights to him and went to bed thoroughly expecting him to be gone by morning, hopefully having found his people.

The next morning, John got up around 6a.m. and came in to wake me up to tell me the kitten was still on the deck. John had cut up a piece of salami for him...he ate most of it! As the morning went on the sun was beating down on the deck and it was so hot, the little thing was just laying there in the shade of the table, panting like you see lions do. I felt so sorry for him. I picked him up and put him on our front porch where it was much cooler and out of the streaming sun. I gave him cold water and knew I had to do something for him before the sun reached the front of the house in the afternoon, so I called our neighbor just to see if they had lost their pet. We found out that the kitten had adopted them just a few days before and their little girl had fallen in love with it. She's about 8 or 9 and had named him "Snickers". I had been calling him Sparky since he'd shown up on the 4th of July. The neighbors had taken him in, bought food for him and were keeping him.

Relieved to know that he was going to have a family to care for him, I went out to sit with him until the neighbor girl came to get him. He was rolling around on the cool concrete and jumping on my lap and rubbing my feet and hands trying to get every possible loving stroke he could from me. After about five minutes, the neighbor girl came trekking across the yard and came around the corner. She smiled really big when she saw him and said with delight, "SNICKERS!" The kitty jumped up off of my feet and galloped to his girl. She picked him up and said "I was so worried about you!" He loved on her, obviously glad to see her. He ventured back and forth between the two of us and loved on us both  as we talked. When it was time for her to go, we said our goodbyes and she turned to walk across the yards. She turned back and said "Come on, Snickers!" The sweet, green-eyed kitten took a couple of romps toward the direction she was traveling then...he stopped. He turned his little head around and looked at me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I said "It's okay, buddy...go with your girl." With that, he was on her heels, chasing her across the lawn.

I love animals of all kinds, but I think "Sparky Snickers", the scared kitten that ran out of the neighbor's house on July 4th, 2011 between fireworks explosions, will have a special place in my heart for a long time to come.

Reasonable Doubt Being Doubted

The verdict on the State of Florida vs. Caylee Anthony case was read today. Many people were shocked that she was found NOT GUILTY on the following charges.
First Degree Murder
Manslaughter
Child Abuse
She WAS convicted of lying to law enforcement. As much as this has enraged people, the fact is - that in a court of law in the United States of America, if Reasonable Doubt can be established, then a conviction, by law....can not be imparted by the jury. 

Just because we know Casey is a pathological liar and her parents obviously share the same problem, and the pieces of this crazy, disgusting, convoluted puzzle which not only resulted in the death of a beautiful child, but also disrespected and disgraced her small body after her untimely, sad death - does not mean that the jury can convict Casey.


The prosecution obviously thought that the media had won this case for them over the past 3 years. They had to know that there was reasonable doubt....the "facts" were too fucked up from the continuous lies and findings from Casey, her parents, her brother, to the meter reader that "found" little Caylee's remains. When the prosecution threw First Degree Murder AND Manslaughter AND Child Abuse along with the lesser charges at Casey- thinking they'd get one of them to stick, they should have known that there was going to be REASONABLE DOUBT and that she wouldn't be convicted. If they wanted to make sure she was convicted, the prosecution should have charged her with 2nd Degree Murder (which is not pre-meditated) and that jury would have convicted her. But, because Prosecutor Ashton wanted the death penalty - and was more than likely thinking he was going to become famous - and his cockiness got the best of him during the trial, he blew it.


John and I talked about this at length this afternoon. He should have been a lawyer...he loves it and he's good at it. When he was accepted into Wesleyan Law School in Fort Worth a few years back, I just couldn't see how we could make it work being an hour away...maybe he'll get another shot someday...he needs to be a lawyer. He still studies it and his knowledge of criminal law is amazing. Of course, John being John is brilliant at whatever he chooses to do...his mind is incredible.


Back to the Anthony family...wow. Those people...those horrible people...I hope they get help and look at this day as a precious gift. Whether they like each other or not, whether they have anything to do with each other or not...divorce or not....they ALL need serious mental health help. 


The fact is...I'm thankful for Reasonable Doubt. Too many people have been convicted and put to death in this country only to find out afterward that the evidence proved they were innocent. This is the crux of my own dilemma. I've always thought that if someone were to hurt or kill someone that I love, I wouldn't have a problem with that individual being put to death. Now, after years of studying it and re-thinking it...I guess I just don't know. 

If you want information on wrongful convictions there is plenty out there for your perusal. I personally appreciate all that our police, detectives and other law enforcement do to get at the truth...even when the truth is not the truth.