I Am Sick of the Death

I am sick of my Facebook newsfeed being filled with appeals to save this dog with only one day to live before it is killed. 

I am sick of posts about some poor dog that has been confined to a kennel run in an animal shelter for the past two or three years. I am sick of people refusing to have their dogs and cats spayed or neutered, thus contributing to the millions -- yes, millions -- of pet animals killed each year because there is no room, and there are no homes, for them.

I worked in a large California humane society for 8 years in the 1980s. Sadly, the past 35 years have seen little improvement in the number of animals killed each year for lack of space. Some 3 to 4 million companion animals are killed in this country every year.

I have adopted 15 dogs over the years, some from humane societies, some from rescue groups, and some directly from their previous families. All were spayed or neutered except one. He, sadly, died before he could be neutered. But he never added to the surplus pet problem.

The problem of too many dogs and cats is one that can be, and should be, corrected. 

I cannot solve the overpopulation problem on my own.

Whenever a post appears in my newsfeed about a dog in urgent need of adoption or rescue, I block that organization so I don't see any more of its pleasing posts. This is particularly true of animal shelters in other states. 

I cannot adopt the millions of dogs in need of new homes. I cannot donate enough money to fix this problem. It is a problem of human making. Humans have allowed this problem to continue for many decades. Only humans, collectively, can solve this problem.

I cannot continue to be besieged by stories of dogs needing urgent rescue. These stories hurt my soul, and my soul has been hurt far too much. I do what I can to help, but besieging me with more sad dog stories isn't the answer. 

I am currently looking for another dog to adopt. That is all I can do.

What Has Happened to Us?

On this 23rd anniversary of this nation's worst terror attack in American history, I believe that Sept. 11 should be a national holiday. 

It should be a day to remember all those who died that day while going about their daily lives. September 11 should join other days of remembrance such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day. We should cancel Columbus Day, which is a minor holiday celebrated by the federal government, but not by anyone else. And it is an insult to Native Americans who resent having to honor a man who enslaved and killed so many of their ancestors.

Let us instead honor the nearly 3,000 innocent people who died on that beautiful September day in 2001. Let us also honor those first responders -- police, firefighters and paramedics -- who rushed in to help the victims. Sone 343 New York firefighters and paramedics died that day. An equal number later died of 911-related illnesses.  

Seventy two peace officers died in the line of duty on September 11, with an additional 229 who died of related illnesses.

These attacks killed people of all ages, from young children to senior citizens. They killed US citizens and immigrants. They killed men and women, people of all races, ethnicities and religions. 

And let us honor the survivors who will forever carry the physical and emotional scars of that day. Let us honor all who were forever scarred by the memories of Sept. 11, 2001. 

Let us remember how Americans came together in the aftermath of that terrible day, in love and support of each other and of this great nation. It didn't matter the gender or nationality or economic status of the victims. We cam together as one nation, united in grief. Whatever our race, whatever our political beliefs, it didn't matter. What did matter was that our country had been viciously attacked, and our fellow Americans had died.

Let us work to regain the sense of a common humanity, a nation united, that we experienced in the aftermath of this horrible day. Wei need to work on rekindling that sense of unity, that sense of togetherness.

As NBC News anchor Lester Holt commented at the conclusion of a story looking back on the aftermath of 9/11, "What has happened to us?"

Above all, let us never forget.

One of These Days

How often have we made this statement: One of these days I'm going to ...?

For me, the best day to do these 'one of these days; things will be a cold, cloudy winter day, a day that is perfect for staying indoors. 

One of these days I won't take my dog for her expected morning walk.

One of these days I will skip walking 10,000 steps (usually more).

One of these days I will stay in my cozy, warm pajamas all day.

One of the days I will spend the day writing or reading, things I really enjoy.

One of these days I will cook comfort food or soup that will fill my house with wonderful aromas.

One of these I will finally tackle PhotoShop.

One of these days may be too late.

The problem in waiting for 'one of these days' to arrive is that too many 'one of these days' comments may find us wasting our days, our lives, with  postponing things that might be just what we need. So skip walking the dog once. Stay in your comfy pajamas. Cook that comfort food. Don't exercise once in a while.

Make one of these days today!

Do. Create. Be.

 Do. Create. Be.

I did not create this chain of words. I ran across them on a Facebook page where people share their photos of Yellowstone National Park. But I like what these words prompt me to do. Do what I love. Do something to help others. Do something to make this cruel, often hate-filled world a better, friendlier place.

Create pushes me to indulge in my creative pursuits of photography and writing. I don't write music or screenplays. I can't draw or paint. I don't have the imagination to write poetry or fiction. But I can write about things I love, about my travels and about my experiences. I can create beautiful photos and share them with my friends. I can use my photos to create wall calendars and I can give the money from sales of my calendars to one of my favorite charities.

Be is a more difficult word to put into practice. Be brave. Be kind. Be strong. Be helpful. Be my own person. Be helpful. Be generous with my time and resources. Be my best self. Be an example to others. Be authentic.

Thank you to the couple who created this 3-word expression. As a writer, I love seeing the power of words and the impact, both good and bad, they can have.

So get out there and do. Create. Be.