Pirates Sunken Treasure

     Five pirates from Somalia drowned after they left the ship that they had been holding for ransom for approximately two months.   The pirates small boat capsized and sank along with the money.   The ship that the pirates had captured was the Sirius Star and the ransom was for approximately $3 million dollars.  Three other alleged pirates spent hours swimming to land. 

       The pirates had to have been congratulating themselves about receiving that amount of money.  In Somalia, the people are very poor…most of them are living on humanitarian aid.  Many of these ships that have been targeted, by pirates, have been in this area in the Gulf of Aden.   Somalia is a country that has not had proper governmental leadership since the early 1990’s.  It must be awfully tempting to see all of these ships travel through the area loaded with multi-million dollars of  crude oil and not see it as a way to grab their share of the money for themselves.  Piracy has become a huge problem.

         Just this past week the United States Navy has announced that they will be utilizing an anti-piracy taskforce to combat the issues such as the hostage situations that face the ships that must travel through those international waters.

          Piracy in today’s world is not the piracy of the movies.  It is not some swashbuckling, romantic way to see the world.  It is quickly becoming a form of terrorism that attempts to hold the world of commerce hostage to pay up or be caught in the web of the pirates that feed off of the traffic that must pass through on their way to pick up and deliver merchandise from one nation to another. 

         One has to wonder, do the people who contemplate becoming pirates consider the possibility that they could end up on the bottom of the ocean right along with their stolen treasure?  Maybe some of the area nations could come up with a way to build up the infrastructure of Somalia so that the temptation to take from those who have so much would no longer look like a good way to earn a living to those who have so little!  Stealing is not a good option.  But those nations who are rich in natural resources could invest some of their money into those countries who seem bent on surviving any way that they can.

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Children Dropped Off Like a Litter of Puppies

        Another family has made the news by dropping off their children, 9 of them from ages 1 to 17 at a hospital in Nebraska.  It is in my mind, in cases of abandonment, almost as if the children are treated like a litter of unwanted puppies.  In mid July, Nebraska made its own news headlines by instituting a “safe haven law”. 

         Most states in the US have some sort of a safe haven law which is designed to protect children who are either unwanted; or, in unsafe environments regarding living conditions, or in situations of neglect or abuse.  The safe haven laws are meant to allow a safe place for children to be left such as a hospital or a fire station.  What is unique about the new law in Nebraska is that it doesn’t clarify who has the authority to drop off said children…it could be a baby sitter, grandparent, parent, neighbor or what have you.  Another important point, most of the states that implement safe haven laws usually are set up to protect infants.  Nebraska made headlines by not limiting the reach of the safe haven laws to infant only drop offs…it basically says “minors”…leaving the new law open to interpetation.

         The courts will have to clarify the definition of the safe haven law so that the protection of the children and the people who abandon them is more clear.  At the moment, anyone under the age of 19 is allowed to be dropped off in a safe haven.  There will be no legal repercussions as long as abuse or neglect is not involved.  In some ways, this may help those situations where we read about newborn infants born to teen mothers who are dumped in a garbage can or left outside alone.  Maybe in those cases, some children will be saved…but, this new law opens up a whole new set of issues regarding children and their families.

         I know that the law was set up in good faith…to protect the children.  However, you have to wonder about the psychological damage to those same children who are old enough to understand that they have been abandoned by the people most trusted in their lives.  An infant does not comprehend the abandonment until they are older and the information is presented to them…an older child certainly does understand the idea of abandoment and there certainly will ensue emotional and psychological damage.  However, i will say an infant may not understand the full scope of abandonment; but, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t affected by it; when they are affected, it is often called an attachment disorder…where the baby has trouble bonding with their caregivers, either giving or receiving love…sometimes, it is even turned into a failure to thrive.  All human beings deserve to be loved and wanted.

         Studies have been done on babies or infants who have been abandoned in other countries and left in orphanages…if they do not get enough human interaction that shows love or caring…those children can actually die from the lack of human, loving touch.  Don’t think that when an infant is dropped off, even at a safe haven…that they won’t know the difference between being wanted and unwanted.

         People who find themselves in desperate circumstances may be tempted to go the route of the safe haven in a moment of extreme duress.  However, the long term consequences make me wonder whether this is a viable option.  People who abuse or neglect their children willingly or freely are not going to be so very concerned about making sure that the place they abandon their child is considered a safe place.  It would be better to put into place programs that facilitate helping families who are in danger of imploding. 

         Not to mention, those parents or caregivers who are feeling desperate…say…in a financial crisis…they can’t afford to feed or house their children…may think that this safe haven is an option for them.  The consequences of such an action could be considered permanent…even if their circumstances change in time.  Their custody could be forever impacted by that one moment of temptation to abandon the children in a safe place. 

         I wonder if other options are being given as much media & legal attention, such as making a short term placement with social services; for short term foster care in cases where, say a housing or financial need is threatening the ability to keep a family together? 

          Children aren’t like litters of animals…not that animals should be abandoned either!  Being a pet owner or a parent is a huge responsiblity…the demands are serious.  People should not enter into the role of a pet owner or parenting without alot of thought!  Parents need to take their commitment to parenting seriously. 

          If a parent is considering abandoning their children…wouldn’t it be better to work with an agency and make a permanency plan such as adoption?  Definately, if that were the case, doing it in infancy is better than waiting until a child is old enough to be scarred by an emotional and physical abandonment by their parents or caregivers.  At least by making sure that the child/children were placed in a safe and loving home…a child would have a chance to grow up and to be nutured in a loving environment. 

          No one should ever be made to feel unwanted, unloved or unprotected.  Abandonment leaves permanent scares that impact their young lives and often, other generations of lives as well.  What are your feelings on the safe haven laws?

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Temptations Beyond Your Control

      I am going to attempt to describe for you a temptation that is beyond my control.  Ok…i know i am not supposed to crave this thing…but, what can i say…i have such a wonderful imagination that i can actually see, smell, and actually, almost taste it.  What is this creation of temptation…why, it is cheesecake of course!

        Now, although cheesecake made from a box mixture is good (darn good most of the time); it is nothing compared to the costly, made from scratch with real, fat provoking ingredients.

        When you make cheesecake…you can do the right thing health-wise and use healthier ingredients such as fat free cream cheese and the yolk free eggs; but, really and truly…if you are going to cross the line and have cheesecake anyway…don’t you want to go all of the way and truly indulge in the full out sinfully good dessert?  I know I do.

       Real cheesecake made with the full fat cream cheese is a rich textured dessert.  It is heavy and creamy with just a touch of a tangy taste.  It is sweet; and slowly, melts in your mouth if you take the time to truly savor it’s richness.  I have to admit…there are degrees of goodness when you enjoy the temptation of such a fine dessert.

       I am diplomatic of course…i love them all.  Whether it be a lemon twist, plain cheesecake; or, covering the tartness of that, with a full out sweet fruit glaze such as strawberry or blueberry you can’t go wrong.  However, if you really want to feel guilty; i suggest something more exotic.

         I personally, think you should commit totally to your decision to cross the line of healthy eating and, just go for the gusto.  Choose a decadent chocolate cheesecake on a dark chocolate oreo base. Maybe add some fresh strawberries or cherries.  Add a couple of shaved, chocolate candy curls for decoration purposes only (who are we fooling?).  

        Drizzle some topping, the kind meant for those choosing to wallow in syrupy goodness, such as caramel or a rich, chocolate fudge syrup to form a pool around the base of the wedge of cheesecake; it makes it look like Martha Stewart is serving it.   Don’t cheat yourself and slice a skinny wedge…you KNOW you will just go back and have seconds if you DO; don’t ya?  🙂   That would make you look a little greedy…plus, this way…there is more than enough to leave a small portion on your plate; giving the illusion that you just couldn’t POSSIBLY eat it all….you know like the skinny model type women do when they go out to eat together!  🙂  It’ll be our little secret, LOL

        At this point, you have gone three quarters of the way into your decision to depart from a sensible diet.  If you are going to feel guilty anyway…why not take it to the limit?  Dig out the whipped cream and some cashews or peanuts  (if you want to claim a healthier nut additon…choose almonds or walnuts) and sprinkle them on top of your creation.  Congratulations…you have created a temptation worth diving into!  You might just be willing to give up a meal for this creation, don’t ya think?

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Evil Credit Card Offers

      Stop! make it stop….everytime i go to the mail box…those stupid credit card offers are waiting for me.  The offers get to take a short little trip from the mail box to my garbage can..but first …because they have my name and address on them i must rip them to shreds.

      Give me a break. I have called the number on the back in small print to opt out of the pre-screened offers of credit …but they still find a way back into the mail box.  Ahhhhh…dang it.  I can’t just toss it away…because identity theft is too much of a problem in our world…so once again, rip, rip, shred , shred. 

           Our country has a huge national credit problem and i think it is unethical to send direct mail to people tempting them to wade deeper into the pool of credit card debt.  I don’t want more debt…i am trying to dig my way out of it.

       It just isn’t fair that even though i don’t want these offers…they continue to come.  It isn’t just annoying…it is a credit risk…because of people who have no morals about submitting the offers with a change of address.  Does anyone else out there know what I am talking about??? 

        I received two more today.  Give me a break, I tell ya!!

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Half Day of School

      Remember when you got a snow day off from school or you had only a half day; how it made you feel?  It was always special to have part of the day to feel like you were playing hooky or something right?

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