Dancing With The Stars…Who’s Left

        Well, Dancing With The Stars is getting more and more competitive each week.  Everyone is stepping up their game and pushing themselves to the next level.  I am wondering…hmmmm…who is left to leave?

        I know that Kristi Yamaguchi, Christian de la Fuente, Shannon Elizabeth, Mario, Marlee Matland, Jason Taylor, Marissa Janet Winokur are the ones left standing at this point.  Tonight the competitors will attempt their first group dance.  I always like this because it gives them a chance to work as a team instead of just trying to stand out as individual teams.

          Now, it gets really interesting.  Who has the skills to make it another week?  By this stage of each season’s performances, the competitors have invested so much time and effort that you can tell that they really DON’T want to leave.   Tonight’s performances will help to determine who is voted off tomorrow night.  I always feel like i should hold my breath just so that it doesn’t happen to be one of my favorites that has a bad night or a missed step.  Cross your fingers and enjoy the entertainment!

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Hatred Is A Sickness

       Hatred is a sickness…it needs tending.  To maintain a good solid hatred, a person has to work at it.  It needs constant time and attention.  It starts to consume a person’s thoughts day and night.  It is destructive.  Hatred can start from a misunderstanding, from hurtful words or actions, it can start from the simplest thing.  But, to build to a point where it starts to destroy…someone really has to invest themselves into it.

        It is sad…but hatred can actually be contagious.  Hatred has claimed another soul…news reports today tell of a young man consumed with hatred.  He has been nurting a hatred for people different from himself allegedly.  The reasons why are on video…to be learned by the public later.   He lives in Chesterfield, South Carolina.   I don’t want to name him…as i think by doing so, sometimes it encourages others who think that they will become famous by following in the footsteps of others who seek to destroy.  That needs to stop. 

        This young man’s parents turned him in to the police.  That had to be one of the most difficult things they have had to do in their lives.  I admire their courage…we need to pray for them. He is still their son.  As a parent we dont have to understand or agree with the things our children do…but we still have to love them and be there for them.   Unfortunately, their son had ordered some ammonium nitrate (10 lbs of it).   The parents had been notified by the Postal Service of an impending delivery and they called the police when they realized what he had done.

         It was then discovered that the young man had a journal where he documented his hatred of others for the last year.  This young man seemed to perform successfully in school and was one of the school’s top students.  He has not been in serious trouble before.  How could this hatred have been bubbling under the surface, without anyone knowing it existed?  Or is there more to the story?  It will unfold in time.

         It seems the young man may have made maps of his school that he intended to blow up.  The young man made a video to be played after his “death”.  He planned for it to be shown after the destruction of his school by his bomb attack.   It has been reported that he had plans to create several bombs; and, he was planning on styling his “attack” to be modeled somewhat after those who implemented the Columbine High School murders in Colorado nine years ago…the anniversary of that horror will be observed this coming sunday.  How close were we to another such national tramatic school attack?  There was no time frame in the young man’s journal…but the nitrate was being delivered just before the anniverary of Columbine High School shootings.  Coincidence…probably not when he already said in his journal that he admired the shooters from the Columbine attack.

          I think the parents of this young man have potentially saved many lives by doing the right (and difficult) thing by contacting the authorities.  Certainly, all of the details are not yet known…the investigation has just begun. 

          However, I am glad that this time, hatred was stopped in it’s tracks.  I am sorry for the parents of the young man.  I am sad at the waste of this young man’s life…as he will most certainly be spending some time behind bars or institutionalized.  However, I am also glad that there is not another “role model” of hatred to be held up and admired by others who are consumed with the need to hate, to destroy and to grab their 15 minutes of “fame” in the media, by trying to kill as many innocent lives as they can with their violence.

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Robin Roberts Made Me Cry

        Robin Roberts made me cry…again :)!  You know what…she has decided to take off her wig and present herself as she is.  Since the chemo treatments and the radiation, she has been wearing a wig.   She said she now realizes that she was clinging to the Robin of before her diagnosis.  That is ok…the wig helped get her through that time more comfortably. 

         Healing from cancer or any other disease or illness is about more than physical treatments…it is an emotional journey as well.  We would benefit from realizing that treatment should include the whole person…physical, emotional, spiritual,medical, financial and any other way that would help to bring total wellness.

         There were moments where Robin showed us parts of the process that she was going through.  First, she shaved her head on the air during Good Morning America.  Then, she showed us her bald head when she “modeled” a dress for a fashion designer.  Her beauty, both inside and out, has always revealed itself.  Robin has a strong network of support in her family, her friends and her viewers.  At times, she seems almost apologetic about how much love and support she has.  But, I think of it as inspiration for others; because true support is a lifeline when facing health challenges. 

       Today, she peeled away the private side of her struggle with the hair loss. She held hands with her co-worker friends and told it all.   She wasn’t ready to go “au natural” all of the time in public in the beginning.  In private, she did as she pleased…but, i’ll bet she wore the wig not only to feel comfortable herself in public; but also, to make her viewers more comfortable.  She said that she didn’t want to distract from reporting the news, in any way, by doing it bald.

        As always, i thank Robin for showing the world, through example, how to follow your instincts and do what is right for you in your healing process. There is no single ONE answer for everyone…healing is a personal and individual thing.  This is the right time for Robin to give up the wig; as she said…she is ready.

         Robin is going to auction the wig and then use the money to donate to an organization that helps those without insurance.  She hopes the wig and the money will help someone who doesn’t have the means.  She can’t cut her own hair to donate but this is the next best thing to doing so.  There is an organization for those wishing to donate their hair in a gesture of goodwill for those in need of a wig; it is called Locks of Love.  Their website is:  http://locksoflove.org/.

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