Davey's Lamentation

Fini and Davey

Nineteen years ago I took a series of pictures of a bright and beautiful baby boy, my second nephew, David. He was adorable and very sweet natured and we called him Davey. Over the years he went through a lot of trauma, caused mostly by his parents and their drug habits. Although is father eventually found sobriety, he still struggles with his demons. Davey's mother is still in deep into her addiction. By the time he was eight he was found passed out in his grandmother's garage after huffing gasoline from the lawn mower. As time passed, he stopped smiling and grew to be a very quiet, withdrawn adolescent. His own drug habit grew out of control. His addiction to drugs fueled his negative behavior, and his behavior has landed him in prison after many months of running. His crimes did not physically hurt anyone, but he came so close to doing greivous injury, I know it was equal parts of luck and ineptitude that kept him from being in prison for murder instead of aggravated robbery. My relief to know his running has ended is tempered by the knowledge that he has been sentenced to 14 years, and he is bound to serve a minimum of ten. He will be at least 31 years old when he emerges back into the world as a convicted felon, and he will have spent a third of his life in prison. I can't begin to describe the sense of loss and hopelessness that comes with knowing that he has no one to help him where he is going, and he is ill equipped to help himself. I know his father will do what he can for him while he is in prison. David will also have a job with his father's company when he comes out, as long as he can stay sober. I know he has more to look foward to now than he did while he was out on the street using; it just seems like holding out any hope for him is almost futile, because he is facing such long and precarious journey.

Davey and Grandma Kate

Christmas Day Triumphant

Connor Plays PSP by Nana

Christmas was spent with Mom and Dad at their house. Unfortunately, they were both sick, so I don't think it was very enjoyable for them. Connor had a wonderful Christmas morning, because his hard work in school paid off for him. He kept his end of the bargain by keeping his grades up, so we came through with his heart's desire, a Sony PSP and some games.

Connor's First Watch by Nana

He also got his first grown up watch, which turned out to be poorly designed, so it actually hurts him to wear it. We will will come up with a suitable replacement as soon as possible. This was the first year he expressed excitement at getting clothing, especially the "cool" clothes he gets from Caryn. He is really growing up.

We got word that Steve asked his wonderful girlfriend, Gina, to marry him. She said yes, so we are going to be aunts-in-law. In spite of illness, Christmas was quite lovely this year. Thank you to Mom, Dad, Marilyn and Connor, I enjoy you all.

Hitting My Stride

Jazz Hot Babee by Noelle Hunt

I placed two of my clients this week. They both start their new jobs next week, and it will mark the first time in many years that either of them have held competitive employment. If the momentum continues I will have another two vets working right after the first of the year. I finally feel like I am making progress in my job. Merry Christmas to me and to them!

The Fiend in Human

The Fiend in Human

I finished reading The Fiend in Human by John MacLachlan Gray. This Victorian thriller tells the story of a serial killer who preys upon prostitutes and a jaded and self-indulgent newspaper correspondent, Edmund Whitty, who dubs the killer, "Chokee Bill, the fiend in human form." As the story unfolds, more young women are found murdered, and Whitty starts to suspect that the wrong man is in prison facing the gallows for the grisly murders. The correspondent's quest to uncover the truth leads him into the underbelly of London known as The Holy Land, and introduces him to people he would never have deigned to talk to prior to his new experience. The Fiend in Human starts slowly with elaborate descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of the era, which makes for a fascinating read, but doesn't help move the plot along. As soon as Gray gets the story moving, the plot is riveting and the story turns into a real nail biter. I enjoyed his use of the vernacular of the period. I had to keep a dictionary on hand while reading this novel so I could look up the words I had never heard before, like: costermonger (one who sells vegetables and fruits), peeler (a policeman), ratter (a dog that catches rats, in this case a man who fights dogs and rats), and judy (a prostitute). The vocabulary in this book is so rich and archaic; Gray probably should have included a glossary. I enjoyed The Fiend in Human and recommend that anyone reading the book not let the plodding start put them off the book, the pay off is at the end.

Christmas Card Extremes

This Christmas I received the widest variety of Christmas cards. Every one of them reflects the personality of the sender perfectly.

This one is from Ang and Eric and features their daughters' extreme Christmas cuteness.

Mike and Bill sent this example of extreme Christmas understatement.

My friend Kelly sent out her extreme vacation Christmas Card - she went to Peru this year.

The Chronicles of Narnia

We saw The Chronicles of Narnia over the weekend and really enjoyed it. All of the kids in the film did a great job. I have to say that I didn't care for any of the characters the children played, except for the youngest girl. The movie was beautifully filmed and the talking animals were incredibly realistic. The only part of the film that bothered me was when the Lion was bound by the Witch for sacrifice. I guess I have become a softy as I've aged, because I was mortified by the sight of it. I think that scene will be too much for a lot of children who want to see the film, it's so intense that it raised my heart rate.

Annie Oakley of the Wild West

Annie Oakley

I just finished reading Annie Oakley of the Wild West by Walter Havighurst. Havinghurst actually wrote this book in 1954, but it has been re-released several times over since the first edition. My reading taste has leaned toward books about the 1800's for some time now and Annie Oakley of the Wild West tied into so much of what I have been reading through her travels around the world during that period. The book starts out like a novel, telling the story of her childhood that began as Phoebe Ann Mosley on August 13, 1860, in Darke County, Ohio. I was surprised to learn that through a series of unfortunate incidents, she spent some time in an orphanage, and was "lent out" as a servant to a family who she reported both physically and mentally abused her. She was eventually reunited with her mother and a new stepfather and her life improved from that point on. Needless to say, her time in the orphanage colored the rest of her life, and made her particularly sensitive to children in less fortunate circumstances.

Annie helped to support her family by shooting quail, pheasant and other game birds and her prowess was such that she always shot the birds in the head, so that there was no shot to pick out while eating the bird. This might not have made much of an impression on me, but I ate game bird that was shot by a friend's uncle a few years back and it is very difficult to eat when the shot is peppered through the bird. Chomping down on shot is incredibly unpleasant and can break your teeth. Her talent allowed her to sell her birds to the finest restaurants and earned her a good reputation. Her reputation was so good in fact, that upon realizing that she was the "sure shot" that supplied his restaurant; a restaurateur paired her with Frank Butler, a professional target shooter for an exhibition. She won the exhibition, so impressing Mr. Butler that he became her manager and took her on tour. Their chance meeting would lead her into the world of the exhibition shooting, her marriage to Frank Butler, and into international travel touring with the Wild West Show with Buffalo Bill Cody. She transformed herself into Annie Oakley, the world famous markswoman that every American child learns of in elementary school.

Annie’s 46-year marriage to Frank Butler endured world tours with the Wild West Show and life threatening accidents. The couple met and formed relationships with fascinating people along the way including Sitting Bull, Queen Victoria, and countless European heads of state. She participated in Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and in the Columbian World Exhibition in 1893 in Chicago. Her life was full of adventure, but she never had children. She had quite a few nieces and nephews and she spent time and money helping orphans around the world. She became a role model for women and taught women how to shoot and she even taught gun safety classes to soldiers during WWI. I enjoyed Havinghurst's book and getting to know more about Annie Oakley, who has become more than just a fascinating historical figure, she's an American icon.

Light and Dark

Shadows in the Light by Sammi Martin

I really like this painting and feel it is pretty appropriate since I have been doing a bit of a balancing act between the shadows and light lately. I think the light has won out - as much as it can in my case, and I am going to try to get back to the business of writing again. My new job is more draining than I anticipated it would be, and working with a case load comprised solely of people who are struggling with severe mental illness has left me a little empty at the end of the day. I have always worked with this population on a more limited basis, but now every person I am dealing with is coming from a pretty dark place and that can invade you if you aren't prepared. I don't think I was really prepared, but next week will mark my third month on the job and I think I am finally able to get back into some of my old routines. Blogging will be a nice release of tension, now that my energy level is getting back to normal.

A Flag and a Purple Heart

Robert E. Ringleben

My grandmother wrote this poem after her brother was killed in action in WWII. She had it published a couple of times. It has been running through my head a lot lately, so I thought I would share it, and in doing so, relieve myself of the perseveration.

A FLAG AND A PURPLE HEART

They sent a flag and a Purple Heart--
You were killed in action, they say.
But I can see you more clearly than when
You were only a week away.

You walk at evening along the lane,
Your handsome dark head bare.
When the baby runs to you, laughing,
You swing her in the air.
She rides, high on your shoulder, and twines
Her fingers in your hair.
She isn't a baby, but a big girl now. You'd be
So proud of her.

You stop and kneel beside the boy
When he asks you to string his bow.
Careful and patient, saying, "Son,
I'd better show you how,"
You teach him what you could quickly do:
You wanted him to know.
Ah, he needs you so. You wouldn't know him.
He's grown so tall.

You will never be broken and old,
Bowed with sorrow or pain,
But forever laughing and young,
You walk along the lane.
The children run to meet you, happy
That you are home again.
But they say you were killed in action and sent
A flag and a Purple Heart.

Harold Pinter's Nobel Lecture

Death of a Hero by Richard Serros

British playwrite, Harold Pinter, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature this week. Pinter's acceptance speech centered around his scorn for American foreign policy. It begins:

In 1958 I wrote the following:

'There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.'

I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false?

I blanched as I listened to his voice deliver the scathing indictment, because his words were so very damning and so very true. As a playwrite, Pinter vividly illustrates his message with words, heaping a shameful scorn on the American government and by default the American people for allowing the government to run roughshod over the rest of the world in the name of Democracy. We, as freedom-loving Americans, have a lot to answer for. The exposure of the United States' duplicitous human rights policy has diminished our credibility and our stature on the world stage. Continuing to perpetrate the fraud leaves us at the mercy of terrorists and endangers any of our soldiers who are captured. We know better and we simply must do better.

Magna-Dreidel

Magna Dreidel by Finijo

Connor is ready for the holidays (yeah, I said HOLIDAYS, not Christmas- get over it!). He made a dreidel out of his magnet set. The cool thing is that is actually spins, both in the air and on the ground. Too bad it doesn't show up well in the photo. Very cool toy - good job, Con!

Mirror Mask and Serenity

The last two movies I have seen in the theater were GREAT!

MIRROR MASK

Mirror Mask is a fantasy film told as the dream of Helena, a teenage girl. Her mother and father run a small, debt ridden circus while Helena draws incessantly and dreams of leaving circus life behind her. After arguing with her mother about her desire to leave the circus, Helena's mother is hospitalized in grave condition. The night before her mother is to have surgery, Helena dreams the most fantastic fable. The movie is unique because the story is told through live action, computer imagaing and the artwork of David McKean. Mirror Mask is an fun story, artfully told and I think it is great for families or anyone interested in something off the beaten path.

SERENITY

Serenity is the brain/love child of Joss Whedon, and the best sci-fi film I have seen in a very long time. Out of the ashes of the cancelled television series Firefly, the characters in Serenity were resurrected by Joss Whedon and the loyal fans who refused to take the cancellation of the series lying down. Serenity tells the tale of Captain Malcom Reynolds, his loyal crew, and the mysterious passengers on his ship. The film has the sensibility of the first Star Wars film, and Nathan Fillion brings to mind a young Harrison Ford in the role of Hans Solo. There are bad guys in the form of Alliance soldiers, a brutal assassin, and the gruesome and frightening Reevers. Whedon fuses the Old West and Asian themes into futuristic worlds, and it all works perfectly. The audience roots for the good guys, gets the jokes and enjoys the soundtrack. In short, Serenity is what a film is supposed to be - entertaining from beginning to end.

Office Decorating

File Cabinets Covered by Finijo

In my never ending quest to turn my office into something I can live with (see post dated 09/12/05), I took two hideous, putty gray filing cabinets and turned them into visions in rose.


File Cabinets Side View by Finijo

Eight bucks worth of contact paper combined with about 90 minutes worth of work, and the rusting hulks became quite feminine.


File Cabinet Mardi Gras by Finijo

I bought a plant and a runner to break up the rose pattern, and tonight I found a great orange ceramic pot for the plant. I still have some work to do, but I am closer to feeling like my office is worthy of 40 hours of my week. Mundane, to be sure, but the view from my desk is more pleasant, and that makes me content.


Office View by Finijo

I've started on the back of the office, but I need to finish up the wall behind me. If I'm lucky, I can scavenge a coat rack and a small book case in the coming weeks, and I have my eye on a newer chair, too ; )

Halloween 2005

Connor and Alex by Finijo

Halloween was a little bit different this year. It's the first year we didn't take Connor trick or treating. He got a better offer from his friend Alex and his mother. So we me Mom and Dad for a great Chinese dinner at Hunan's and the boys came back with a major haul of candy and loot. This is the first Halloween that I have seen money taped to candy. I've known people to throw change in a baggy and tie it off with some black and orange ribbon, but Connor actually had a $1.25 attached to one candy bar, $00.35 attached to another candy bar, and $00.15 attached to yet a third candy bar. It was nice, but it made me suspect the candy as being tainted. Free candy is one thing, but free candy with cash included is just too good to be true!

Clear Lake Chess Tournament and Kemah

Clear Lake Tournament Skittles by Finijo

Connor had his second chess tournament today. This tournament was in Clear Lake, Texas. If you recall, he won only one of five rounds in his first tournament, and his win was due to forfeit by the player who did not show up to play him. He was quite discouraged, but his Coach Nguyen gave him words of encouragement and he edged closer to a win today with another win by forfeit and a draw at 120 moves. Connor wasn't happy, but he understands that a draw is better than losing. At this rate he could win one in the next few tournaments.


Morning Sun on the Gulf by Finijo

Marilyn and I learned during Connor's first tournament that it does not pay for us to be there for a couple of reasons. The first is that Connor is extremely self conscious and our being present while he plays throws his concentration off - a lot! The other reason it does not pay for us to stay at his tournament is that they run about 8 - 9 hours long and it is incredibly dull and irritating to sit and wait for that long in a noisy room full of kids who alternate between focusing on practicing chess and running around like wild banshees. So we went a few exits down the freeway to Kemah to hang out at the Kemah Boardwalk for the day.


Mini Boat Races by Finijo

Coming into the Kemah Boardwalk we passed the mini boat races. There is a statue of liberty in the background.


Boat Trouble by Finijo

This little boat was having a rough time of it trying to get out of the inlet and into the gulf. The waves were choppy and they were having some engine difficulty so they couldn't stay on course very well.


Big Boat Trouble by Finijo

They narrowly escaped running into this larger boat. It was a little intense until they finally got their engine going properly.


Gulls Making a Pass by Finijo

Marilyn fed the ducks and other birds with kibble you can purchase from machines on the Boardwalk. As soon as the gulls realize you are feeding the ducks they decide to get in on the action.


Seagull Curiosity by Finijo

We didn't notice the "Do Not Feed Gulls" sign until after we were done feeding the gulls. We ate lunch at the Flying Dutchman and talked about it with the waitress there. She said the gulls get aggressive when they are fed kibble, so they start diving on the tourists and the waitresses when they are serving food on the Boardwalk. She told us of when she was attacked and everyone just laughed at her. We apologized for feeding the gulls that morning and cited our excuse of ignorance. I did get some pretty good shots of the gulls, though.

Kibble Gull by Finijo

Proof of our guilty deed - this gull actually has the offending kibble in its mouth.