A Gift from God

Be sure and read my column about Marley and Me from The Western Tribune, which follows this post.

This is how I have felt since coming out. It was a spiritual experience for me. From time to time I have tried to convey this through my writings. But there it was on Oprah! , as part of her Best Life Series...yesterday.



Sedrick, the guy they are speaking with, is from rural Alabama, although he lives in Georgia now. Reverend Ed Bacon from All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena, and Reverend Michael Beckwith (author of Spiritual Liberation) explain it. Sedrick gets it. Oprah is getting it. There is nothing more I need to say.

Western Tribune Column January 7 2009

One of the things about posting these column online is that I can add pictures or links, which I can't do in the paper.

Picture from Colbertnation.com

Marley and Me

In need of levity after all the gunfire that welcomed the New Year in Bessemer, we went to see a movie, Marley and Me, that we thought would be funny. Part of the humor in this is that Marley is supposedly the world’s worst dog, when many in Bessemer know that the title is currently held by my daughter’s dog. Or dogs. Sometimes they team up; it seems, to do their mischief.

That’s not the only similarity, however, as Marley’s owner is a newspaper columnist.

But I had an even greater interest in seeing the film. As a retired veterinarian I was interested in a story that explores the human – animal bond, which for many, is as strong as other family ties.

Whereas dogs and cats used to be thought of as disposable, to use a crude term, now most pet owners see these pets as irreplaceable. And we have learned in recent years that pet ownership has health benefits, especially for those who live alone, or are elderly.

Pets (with the exception of a couple) have a calming effect, and studies have shown that petting your dog or cat can actually cause a reduction in blood pressure and that ownership reduces cholesterol and risk of cardiovascular disease.

We are also learning that pet ownership can improve mental health and that symptoms of depression and other diseases can be reduced by owning and caring for a pet.

There are, of course, responsibilities that come with owning a pet. In the movie the owners, while being somewhat negligent where early training is concerned, remained responsible as their family grew with the birth of their three children, and the family benefited from having him.

There is a major difference between the dog in the movie and the dogs in this house. Marley provided enough material for his real life owner, John Grogan, to write years of columns and eventually the memoir that the movie is based on.

In other words, Marley brought big bucks to his owner. I’m fairly confident these dogs won’t bring in any money; in fact just the opposite seems to the case.

But it could be worse.

You might have to see the movie or read the book to understand, but at least we don’t have mangos growing in the yard.

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The Crisis in Gaza

David Gespass, an attorney in Birmingham, who many of us know, had an editorial printed in Sunday's Birmingham News titled Factor Human Rights into Gaza Crisis.

David, of course is Jewish and has a good understanding of Jewish and Israeli history. So he is correct when he says "What is happening today is that Israel is engaged in a brutal and illegal assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza."

David's article was written before Israel bombed (near) a U. N. school in Gaza which was being used to shelter hundreds of Palestinians who had already been displaced by Israel's bombings. The assault killed at least 30 Palestinians, "tearing bodies apart and staining streets with blood."

Israel has also bombed two other schools and a health center for refugees.

15,000 Palestinians are sheltering in U. N. schools, and the U. N. has provided GPS coordinates for the schools to the Israeli military.

The bombing of the school has led to outcries from across the world against Israel's actions, and hopefully the 3 hour truce which Israel said they would allow will provide an opportunity for supplies and medical care to get to those who need it. But three hours is not enough. Not when your very actions are violating human rights.

David points out two violations by Israel of fundamental principles of international law.

• It is illegal to impose collective punishment on an entire population for the acts of a few.

• Any military attack must be in reasonable proportion to the provocation. Few Israelis have died from the Hamas rockets, yet Israel has killed hundred of Palestinian civilians.

David also points out that the United States is the principle enabler of Israel and suggests that the American people protest. But I doubt protests will do any good as long as W is still hanging around the White House. At least Obama has broken his silence on the issue.

Can we wait two weeks? Can Gaza wait two weeks?

Scientology, the Real Culprit

It's bad when one, through their religion, attempts to control the lives of others. A recent example could be the numerous Mormons (and Southern Baptists, I'm sure) who supported Prop 8 and sent money to California to help pass the measure that took away established rights of others.

But to allow one's religion to affect the way you treat your own family, in particular, in the realm of health care for one's children, is beyond my understanding.

From time to time we hear about members of a particular sect refusing to allow their child to have a blood transfusion or chemotherapy, and sometimes there are lawsuits about such incidences.

But now we have 16 year old Jett Travolta who was found unconscious in a bathroom on Friday, and who died, after suffering from a seizure and falling and hitting his head on the bathtub. I have all the sympathy and compassion for his parents and sister regarding the loss of their child, but their wacky statements about his condition in the past leave them and their religion open to criticism.

Before I even go there...the story in yesterday's Birmingham News said:

"Police Superintendent Basil Rahming has said a caretaker found Jett Travolta unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning and he was later pronounced dead at a Freeport hospital. The youth was last seen entering the bathroom on Thursday, according to Rahming's police statement.

Thursday to late Friday. The same story reported:

"The police left the impression that the boy was unsupervised. No. There were two nannies with him for the entire evening," McDermott told The Associated Press. "They made it seem like he was sent to the condo and nobody checked in on him until the next morning.",

and

""(Jett) was spectacularly supervised," said McDermott...".

Spectacular.

Let's hope that in reality, one person told the police they he or she last saw Jett on Thursday, but that one or both of the nannies had seen him.

Anyway, the parents are blaming his death, in effect, on carpet cleaner, and it seems, blaming his seizures on a disorder for which seizures are not a symptom, Kawasaki Disease . And carpet cleaners are not even proven to cause it.

I saw an interview in which his mother, Kelly Preston said that Jett had symptoms of a rash and high fever as a child, which are symptoms of Kawasaki disease (along with a boatload of other childhood diseases) and only after finding the right doctor were they able to diagnose it. But, most children recover with treatment, and although some develop complications involving the heart, none of those would result in seizures.

All the cable networks have had their experts on, and it seems their is agreement that Jett had some kind of developmental disorder, and autism was mentioned in almost every report.

Jett certainly could have had Kawasaki disease as a child, gotten over it, but unrelated to that, also be autistic. In this case, there would not have been a diagnosis, because Scientologists do not believe in the diagnosis. That is where I have a problem. Kelly Preston once compared treating a kid with autism to treating a kid with chemotherapy without having a diagnosis of cancer.

If they did not accept the diagnosis of autism, they would not learn that children who are autistic are at greater risk for developing a seizure disorder. So they may (or may not) have been treating the seizures, but not with all the tools available. Different meds and other strategies taking autism into account might have done a better job.

I am not picking on John Travolta or Kelly Preston, rather I am picking on their religion. they are under the control of a big ole cult , and were doing what they thought was right.

From the Wikipedia article of Scientology:

Scientologists believe that psychology and psychiatry are destructive and abusive fields and should be abolished.

Scientology believes that we are "thetans" and have extraterrestrial roots but are trapped in our earthly bodies.

Scientology has attempted to legally force search engines such as Google and Yahoo to omit any webpages critical of Scientology from their search engines.

A group called "Anonymous" has protested at Scientology Centers around the world, wearing masks suggestive of "V for Vendetta."



Ok, I'm going to stop here. You get the picture. The more I read the weirder it gets. If I offended anyone, so be it. Maybe it will help them recognize their folly.

Secretary of Navy

Some progress has been made on locating family members of Andrew Barfield, the WWII veteran whose sweetheart bracelet was found in a forest in Belgium. I spoke with a 93 year old woman who says she is his third cousin, and is going to provide me with closer relative's contact info this week. I will keep you posted.

While on the subject of the military, this old news (anything over 48 hours ago is "old news" these days) is interesting. There has been a suggestion that William White be appointed Secretary of the Navy.

White is the chief operating officer of the Intrepid Museum Foundation. He's also openly gay, in fact, his bio on the web site indicates such, as it mentions his partner's name. White has a lot of support from retired members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and from members of congress.

Appointing White would send the right signal, that gays and lesbians (who already play an important role in our nation's military, although hampered by the antiquated and discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy) are a vibrant part or the fabric that makes up our country.

And before anyone brings up DADT as a reason not to appoint him, the Secretary is a civilian position, so White's appointment would not violate the policy. But it would be a big step in getting the policy overturned.

And before anyone jumps to the conclusion that White is not qualified because he does not have navy experience, Donald Winter, the current secretary, appointed by W, does not either. Nor did Gordon England, who preceded Winter. Remember, it's a civilian position.

All that being said, I will believe it when I see it. Plus, I have overcome my temptation to paste a video of the Village People's "In the Navy" here. Besides, I already used that video here, in June.

World War II Bracelet

A man in Belgium has found a sweetheart bracelet in the Belgian forest near the German border, belonging to an American soldier who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. The soldier lived in Bessemer after World War II. He wants to return the bracelet to the man's family.

He did some research, and found that the man, named Andrew J. Barfield, was born in Randolph County, Alabama, on August 15, 1925, and died here in Jefferson County November 1982.

He says that Barfield fought in the Battle of the Ardennes of World War II, more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge (there was a Battle of the Ardennes in WW I also).

Photo Credit Wiki Commons

We are hoping that Barfield still has relatives in the Bessemer area, or that friends of the family will recognize his name and can contact surviving family. Please spread this request to people in the Bessemer area that may know.

If you are familiar with this family please contact me...my email contact is over to the left.

Bessemer Survives

Bessemer is still here.

Some thought that the city was under attack when the gunfire began as we welcomed the New Year. Where the police were, who knows.

Oh wait, here's a quote from a message I received, from a neighbor who was coming through town at midnight:

"As the light turns green and I pull away I notice, to my left about8-9 Bessemer police cars sitting in the Alley between the Regions bank and the Bright Star building. There were a few officers standing outside talking and a few of the cars were idling. (I could see the exhaust in the cold night air.) This of course infuriated me! How can the Police, who are expected to protect and serve the citizens of Bessemer be huddled up with their heads in the sand and not even respond to all the gunfire! It is illegal to discharge a firearm in the city of Bessemer."


This year, a child was injured in Mobile when she was hit by a stray bullet. Who knows how much property damage is done by these fools. Not to mention the danger every one of us is put in, and the anguish it creates.

There has got to be an answer. this problem plagues communities across the state and nation.

For us more peaceful folk, we rang our bell.



This is an old locomotive bell that has been in the family for I don't know how long. Maybe a relative who reads this knows more.

It's loud. And heavy.

Then I came back inside and watched a little more of Dick Clark's New Year, and saw this.





Did somebody squirt the mustard at her when they were dressing their hot dog? I guess that's the new thing.

I don't even know her name, but she sings well.

We had a grilled ham roast, collards with a touch of heat, black eyed peas with salt meat, and fresh pecan pie made with family pecans. Yum. What did you have for New Year's Dinner?