Once I was young and sharp I was born in and live in the United States of America.
There are many things about this country that are wonderful, and others things or issues that many people seem to not care for very much.
There is freedom of choice of your manner of worship, of where you live and what you say and think. There are laws which like most in other countries, must be obeyed, or you will be cited and fined, or go to jail, depending of course on the gravity of the infraction, be it a minor traffic violation or something more serious. If you cannot afford an attorney to represent you, one may be provided, free of charge for your defense, in the case of more serious crimes.
You have a choice where you want to live or vacation, whether in the very cold climates,where you can ski, play in the snow, or near more tropical areas where there are swamps with alligators, and poisonous snakes. You may like snorkeling, skin diving, or deep sea fishing, and there are many choices for that, as well.
You can choose to live in one of our large cities, such as New York City, or Los Angeles, or in a town with fewer than one hundred residents. You can live in the mountains or the desert, or near the beaches of the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans.
You also have the option of living in the State of Hawaii, which is comprised of many islands, some very congested tourist attractions, while others are less populated, where most people are either retirees, or run family farms, growing crops such as pineapples, or sugar cane.
You may decide that Alaska is more to your liking. Alaska has millions of square miles of open wilderness, where many people travel by private or rented airplanes, as much of Alaska has no paved roads. Alaska is the only state in the United States that has an area larger than the state of Texas, albeit not nearly as populated due to is more extreme climate.
There are many midwestern states where ranching is the main source of making a living, or you may opt to live in one of their middle-sized cities and possible work in a college, or one of the local stores.
In California, you have practically any of the above choices, as this state begins at the border of Mexico, and has more than a thousand miles of coastline, which runs from Mexico to the border of the of Oregon. You can live near the coast, inland, or in the desert. Whether you prefer mountains with snow in winter or on some of the high desert valleys, where the temperatures range from the teens in winter, to in excess of 115 degrees in the summer.
California also has Death Valley, where temperatures often are in excess of 135 degrees in the shade during summer months. This is one of of the hottest places on earth.
The Mojave Desert in California also has the Salton Sea, an inland saltwater lake which is lower than sea level. You can live within about an hour or so of the beaches, and still live in a semi desert area.
Florida and California both have many amusement parks, such as Disneyland, and Disney World, Knott's Berry Farm, Magic Mountain, and lots of other places of interest for tourists and residents alike.
You may choose to live in the hustle and bustle of the many larger cities, or in a more relaxed area where there are primarily families, strip malls, and nearby lakes to go boating on weekends.
The cost of living varies depending on local prices of real estate and property, state and local taxes, as well as how far you live from your employment.
I've always had an interest in things medical, whether in saving life, or solving reasons for a person's demise.
While Kathy Riechs is a Forensic Pathologist, she is also a very accomplished writer. In 206 Bones, the scenes are always described in just the right amount of detail so you can imagine being there, and feeling everything happening.
In 206 Bones, Dr. Temperance Brennan has been working on a case of someone's death from many years ago, and someone has been attempting to ruin her reputation. She is eventually kidnapped and imprisoned underground in some sort of tunnel. While injured, and in complete darkness, she is in and out of reality.
I won't spoil the story by providing too many more details, but it is a very captivating book.
She is quietly sleeping when "Sequoia Dawn", her six year old Chihuahua/Basenji mix (a rescued dog she's had for two years) begins to snuggle under her chin, while she lies on her left side. The sound of her ever-running radio is tuned to "Handel On The Law" as it usually is on Saturday morning, with Bill Handel making jokes about telling callers that they "have no case."
She slowly begins to turn onto her back, first checking to be sure she doesn't roll onto "Pugsly," her recently rescued five pound Chihuahua puppy that is now ten months old, and Peanut, her other five pound Chihuahua that is now almost eleven.
Snow Bear, her other rescued dog, a mixed Autralian Shepherd decided to sleep on the floor, since it was such a hot night. Snow Bear is now nine years old.
"Buddy Cat," her latest rescued critter is sleeping in the bathroom sink, where it is somewhat cooler, than sharing the bed with all the dogs, and mom, too.
She looks on the ceiling to see what time is it, even though she knows it's after six A.M. as that's when "Handel On The Law" starts every Saturday morning. It's actually already 6:30. She got amore sleep last night. She's been getting by on only four or five hours for weeks now, what with the heat and all. After all, this is sunny Southern California, and this is the Inland Empire, not one of the cooler coastal areas.
Well, it's time to get up and let all the dogs out, so Pugsly doesn't have another accident on the comforter. He is really doing well lately, but still doesn't have the complete bladder control of a more mature dog.
Quietly, she shuffles off to the bathroom, and returns without saying a word. One word from her, and all the critters will be on alert, and ready to go outside to take care of their business.
It's going to be almost 110 today, so she leaves the dogs out while it's still only in the 60s, so they can enjoy the nice cool morning, and returns to her bedroom, and takes a look at Plinky.com, to see what the daily prompt for the day may be. She's really been disappointed with the prompts of the last few days, and it considering possible leaving Plinky if it doesn't come up with more interesting and worthwhile prompts soon.
She puts water in the teapot, adds her usual two Pomegranate Pizzazz tea bags, and heads to the microwave to heat the already hot water, to coax the flavor and color from her tea.
She decides that Plinky apparently has reawakened, and left their recent dumb and useless prompts, and actually has one this morning that she will write to, and possible even use photos of some of her pets.
Ahhh. Teas ready, and she's about ready to begin her daily Plinky prompt response.
She begins looking for a picture of at least some of the dogs, all in one photo...
Another reason I always keep my vehicle locked, whether alone or with passengers.
I was inspecting one of our firm's landscaping projects, just checking thing out to be sure everything was alive, and getting sufficient water. I had actually worn levi jeans and a blouse that day, nothing special, and was taking one last pass along the sidewalk in front of the property.
A car pulled to the curb, and the driver said something I couldn't quite make out. Without getting too close, I sort of approached, and asked if he needed something.
The man then said a bit louder, "Do you wan tot take a little ride with me?" I looked at him like he was nuts, of course, and just said, "No thanks, I don't think my husband would like that very much."
I didn't get a chance to get his car's license number, but who knows? Maybe he was looking for a "hooker," or looking for a victim he could kill.
In any case, I left as soon as I could get back to my vehicle, and get back to the office. I also watched my rear view mirror, just in case.
In North Eastern San Diego County of California, lies Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, which is a place to relax and get back to nature, and breathe air not so polluted by smog. I just love this place.
This is a favorite camp site for horse lovers, as well as those who use Motor Homes, or camping trailers.
No personally, it's my favorite place to get away for a weekend, or a week, if possible. Sleep either in my tent, or under the stars. I love the night sounds from owls, raccoons, and coyotes that live in these mountains.
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is close enough to travel to within a few hours, and far enough from city sights and sounds. I love listening to wonderful relaxing music while sitting around the campfire sharing stories, and singing with friends who are also come along, with their horses.
There is a lake for anyone who cares to fish, and nice large pastureland for the grazing deer that come every morning and evening to quietly graze on green pastures of grasses, flowers, and plenty of fresh water for them to drink from the lake, too.
I loved riding my horse to the peak of the tallest mountain there, which by mountain standards hardly qualifies as a mountain. However, it is tall enough to collect a good amount to snow in the winter, and have pine trees providing shelter and shading riding paths that take you to the top, where you can see practically all of Southern California in the distance from each side.
If you ride to the east side, you will see the Salton Sea in the distance. Riding to the south, you will see over into Mexico, or more correctly, Baja California. Continue to the north side, and you will see the layers of smog which blanket Orange and Los Angeles, and Riverside Counties. Then, if you ride to the west, you will see the Pacific Ocean.
If you ever get to take a vacation there, be sure you don't forget to walk among the Native American corn grinding areas. There are huge boulders with hundreds of deep holes that were used by the women to grind their corn for mash for cooking.
It is a lovely, and refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle of living practically anywhere there days, and allows you to recharge your batteries.
This movie really touched me, to see a young person who worked so hard, to attain his dream of having two such fine hunting dogs. Then, to watch as one was killed, and the other one pines, and just grieves herself do death.
There was a very good story between the really sad parts, but I really react the same, every time I watch "Where The Red Fern Grows."
There was another version of this movie where they used two Irish Setters, instead of Red Bone Coon Hounds, and that movie also stayed with me, as those two dogs also died.
Originally "Where The Red Fern Grows," was a book, and it has been made into at least two, if not three movies.
The story takes place in hill-country, during nineteen thirties, or forties, and things were hard in those days, especially for a family living in the back hills of the southern portion of the country.
Families just didn't have the where-with-all to spend hard earned money on dogs, even to help hunt meat and skins to help support their family. Things were pretty much hand to mouth, and just getting cloth to make your own clothes was tough enough.
While I loved this movie, I also hated it, as that kid put heart and soul into those two dogs, as well as trying to help save another dog that belonged to a hardened neighbor who only fed his dogs if they hunted for him, and stuck around no matter how badly they were treated.
