MAYMONT BEARS

Okay....first we "offed" the poor Ginter Park beaver...and now the Maymont bears have been assassinated. Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, and Benji should count their lucky stars that they never lived in Richmond!

Unfortunately, the enterprising beaver migrated into Ginter Park thinking he had discovered Shangri-la. I know he was busy destroying expensive trees and that was a definite "no-no", but I never understood the logic that it was inhumane to try and relocate him because his chances of survival were slim. Uh....well...I don't think those chances were improved much by a well-aimed bullet. Duh! Who makes these decisions anyway?!

And...as for the bears....there they were, busy being "bears". They were lumbering along quietly within their confined area in Maymont Park - just as they had done for over ten years. The bears were the best part of Maymont and countless people have enjoyed watching them without incident. Along comes some kid, with a parent who is obviously mentally impaired, who scales the outer wooden fence, and sticks his hand through the holes in the 10 foot chain link fence to feed the bear an apple. What a surprise! The bear bit him! Sounds like rabid behavior to me! Please note: one of the synonyms for "rabid" is "insane" therefore I am referring to the KID and his parent- not the bear!

Of course - after they killed BOTH bears(they are nothing if they are not thorough!), then they discover they were rabies-free!!! Oh my gosh! What a surprise!!!!

So, the bears are dead...and the kid and his goofy parent are still alive - free to procreate. Now, there is a scary thought. More morons. Just what this world needs.

Sigh.

WRITER'S BLOCK - NOT!!!!

If any of you are wondering why I have been neglecting this little space on the good old world wide web - it is simply because I have had a case of the mid-winter blahs. I keep waiting for it to pass - agonizing because I am not writing anything. But, I read something the other day by Elizabeth Berg that made me feel better. She described the exact way I have been feeling...like I will never have another creative thought again...and she said it happens all the time to writers, and they tend to agonize over it, making themselves feel worse. (No kidding!) She suggested that instead of "beating myself up" over NOT writing, that I should consider it a vacation. It will be over when it is over - and in the meantime, catch up on my reading, and just enjoy the break.

So...I guess I have been on vacation. Still am. But, at least I felt motivated to let you know where I've been. That's a good sign that the end may be in sight. Of course, now that I KNOW I am on vacation, I am not all that anxious for it to end. We humans are an interesting species, don't you think?

SO, THIS IS WHY I HAVE INSURANCE!!!

I am a good driver. I really am. Honest. Still - I had a minor fender/bender this past Sunday and it has turned into a real headache. I was in the parking lot of Barnes and Noble, looking for a parking space (amazingly all the handicapped spots were taken, but I was the only one in a wheelchair - sigh - I digress...) when a women backed out of her space into my car. We were both traveling 2 miles an hour - tops. Hence the emphasis on MINOR accident. She jumped out of her car - apologized for not seeing me - we exchanged insurance info. It was all very civil...friendly, even. Her car had a little scratch on the back bumper - my front fender was bashed in a bit. I got home, called my insurance company - made my appointment to get the bodywork done. That should have been it.

But, it wasn't.

My car will be in the shop for several days. My insurance called again and I had to give an indepth taped interview. Seemed strange to me, until the agent told me that the other driver was claiming injury.

INJURY!!!

Dear Lord! I just can't get over it! Why is it that some people are always looking for an angle to get something for nothing! There is absolutely no way she could have been injured...and this obvious ploy to attempt to defraud the insurance company is aggravating, to say the least.

I stewed over this all afternoon yesterday - and it was one of the first things on my mind when I woke up this morning. Then...sometime later it hit me that this was simply a little blip on the radar screen of life and I was letting it deprive me of enjoying the "now". Stewing about it was not going to change the outcome - but it was certainly going to affect my out look on things.

So - I have made a conscious decision to let it go. (Even if I have to make that decision every hour - I will be persistant!) I will not let a few moments in a parking lot control another minute of my life.

Sounds good.

(ARRGHH....still ticks me off!)