Poor runaway Cobra came back to Bronx Zoo

Reuters – A recovered Egyptian cobra is displayed at the Bronx Zoo in this handout photograph taken and released …

 The Headlines read "Bronx Zoo cobra found in its reptile house"

The headlines should have read "In despair the cobra escapee came back to the gloomy corner of its own prison cell at the Bronx Zoo."   This poor creature—intelligent evolved creature–had no other place to go after a week of being on the run from the Bronx Zoo. I can only imagine this cobra searching for its own kind, hiding behind crates, and garbage dumpsters, or coiled atop visible tree branches in parks, and probably having to seek out warmth by snuggling quietly under a sleeping homeless soul who was unaware of the poisonous guest.  I wonder how long it took for the cobra to succumb to delirium after realizing that there were no marshlands beyond the confines of the zoo, or endless streams, or miles and miles of thickets or endless earth tone soil to conceal itself. Only hard terrain made of concrete lay before it, surrounded by human congestion, noise, traffic, and not a morsel of food except chemically laced contaminated rodents, foul to its nostrils. Sadly, this reptile suffered its final blow and forced itself back to the zoo with all instincts of freedom terminated after it discovered that no matter how far it crawled in depths beneath the streets, before it laid only miles and miles of underground toxic sewage in the tunnels-- of which it had not built up an immunity.

Yes the cobra is poisonous, but it belongs on the African continent from where it came. I know that it can be argued "but it's safe in the zoo, safer than in the wild." Nothing that is capable of movement over ground and water or by air wishes to be confined. Not one living creature. Could this be the reason for the many creature escapes from zoos, and cows jumping from trucks in route to the slaughterhouse. We humans have no idea of the depth of wrongs we do to other creatures that cannot speak with vocal chords. And I believe this small impediment to be the only true difference between humans and the creatures we subjugate.

I would rather die or be killed as a free creature than to be imprisoned and die of despair.

People who want to be alone, but in the company of others

Even if we want to be by ourselves, totally alone, often we want that solitude while in the company of strangers. Coffee shops are havens for those who wish to be alone while in the company of others. I imagine, they are the ones with laptops open, newspapers or the utensils of pen and paper seated at a single table or their favorite cushioned corner chair, or simply sitting alone. There they become absorbed while the hours pass, or they rush in with their utensils to be undisturbed briefly while they spend time with their inner selves and a warm or cold coffee beverage.

Late Sunday evening on 4-July, I drove to a coffee shop thinking it might be closed. It is one of those places easily overlooked on a weekend due to the location, large lightly tinted windows and soft lights inside. There was one customer seated with a newspaper, three barista staff and quiet music. I ordered a small coffee quartered with milk and thick foam and chose a seat at a six-chair double table by a window that had a view of the main street. Cars were few--as it were 4-July and late Sunday evening. The coffee shop atmosphere was cozy and I produced pen and paper to paragraph something short. Within a span of no more than fifteen minutes a car slowed and pulled to the curve just outside the window where I sat and a couple came inside. Minutes later another car slowed with five girls inside taking view inside the coffee shop and they parked their car behind the car of the first couple. Next, a man came in through a side entrance with a newspaper under his arm and occupied a cushioned chair. And the visible bodies inside the shop caught the attention of a few other cars that slowed on the street looking inside the shop. Soon the five-chairs at the double table where I sat were politely asked for use at another table.

Whether alone as a group, alone as a couple, or individually alone, there is something fulfilling, shared and ethereal to be in the company of others.

Show a little compasssion for the unemployed -the jobless aid bill DENIED

I was disappointed by the recent filibuster in the U.S. Senate which caused the jobless aid bill to not pass. The bill would have allowed unemployment extensions through November to those unemployed for longer than six months. The irony is that the bill - if it were based on actual votes - did pass in the Senate, but due to an outdated parliamentary procedure--the “filibuster”--Democrats were short of the 60 votes required to overcome the Republican led filibuster. The vote was actually 57-41. Yes—57 votes Democrats, 41 votes Republican. The “filibuster” has long strayed from its intended purpose and its use in this instance did little for those in need.

I realize there are many fortunate Americans who decry "It is so wrong to give federal tax dollars to the unemployed", "what about the deficit, the economy" …and I have heard or read the many arguments against it. But the consequences of having a million or more individuals and families stripped of the temporary financial lifeline for basic survival would cause far more financial devastation to the economy. The economic situation at hand in American was not caused by the average citizen and it will not be solved by simply denying jobless aid funding to the unemployed.

Maybe the Words below Have MEANING For Those who Understand

"I doubt if there is one voice here that knows the nightmare of being without, to lose your job, your home, to be condemned for being long term unemployed. I wonder if there is one voice here that knows what it's like to have to sleep in a car that has run out of gas and to wake up to the nightmare of having that car broken into by someone who feels that you have more than them because you have a car, and to not even have a cell phone to call the police.

Once you lose that wonderful cushion and live the nightmare of being disconnected from this wonderful society and experience just how difficult it truly is to be hired by all those amazing Fast Food jobs and WalMart jobs and any other low paying job simply because you are on foot, without a phone, without a place to stay and you're looked at like garbage --THEN and ONLY THEN will you understand that nearly every voice on here is speaking from their lives IN PARADISE.

Be careful what you deny to others, you may one day need the same kindness, and PLEASE hope that someone, anyone will see you as a human being trying to climb back into the shoes of life, and not a worthless charity case."
(by Sandstorm)

A Lost Hour

There I was typing a few thoughts at 1:30 am. I didn't want to stay up too late so I wouldn't sleep late Sunday morning. I'm trying to start an early rising routine. Then I look at the laptop clock again and it says 3:00 am !!. What happened to 2:00 am. It was eliminated right before my eyes. How can we allow such things. I was pushed one hour ahead without the work to show for it. Now 4:00 am is less than a half hour away. I'm not ready for Daylight Savings Time. The sun is shining longer in the evenings, as the season dictates, must we have daylight until midnight.

the mystery of wonder

WOW!! The universe does have a path, I took a step and it rolled forth. But you must commit to keeping a mental picture in your mind of your goals, as well as the fulfillment of your potential, and your world how you wish for it to be. Use the force of your thoughts wisely and all will be well.

There are things that test your Will, and Try your very endurance. I don't ask myself why anymore when something unpleasant, unexpected, and disruptive happens to me. I know not to ask "why me" even though a part of my brain does ask --why? Being weak to human curiosity cause me to ask, because over a period of time I have noticed a pattern of such things. Surely I am not alone in noticing such things. It's rational not too I know, and peaceful to not notice and it gives a sense of belonging to take side with individuals that only seem to encounter the now-and-then unexplained disruptions. They sum up the occasional run-ins with one phrase--"that's life". I would like to take the same position and say the same "that's life" but often I cannot. Especially when these unexplained things--often unpleasant and disruptive-- return in a cyclical pattern instinctively like seasons of the year. To have to admit that such a pattern takes place in your life, despite all positive efforts is difficult. And it is equally difficult to have to look back over the string of events, retracing each to the point of seeing that a reoccurring pattern was clearly evident. But who wants to admit such a thing. I know there are other innocent individuals whose lives seem to attract unwanted circumstances. Circumstances that serve no other purpose than to rob us of precious time, detain our immediate progress and halt any positive thinking which may have begun our day. I use to react to these events by serving back what had been dealt to me. I thought this was the way to react to vexing unexplained things which made me their target. It took many events such as these for me to see that a pattern was forming. These things had a time, an unknown reason, and a role that caused disorder in my very efforts to avoid disorder. And whenever this disorder occurred, it brought about a reaction in me. A reaction without guidance, a reaction which often caused me to be the loser. I was the loser because nothing was gained by me for throwing a stone, simply because a stone was thrown. But once in a while I have had to throw a stone in the form of a letter, a phone call, an email inquiring as to why, or if a mistake was made.

That was then, now I have grown wiser of my place in the universe, wiser in the art of resisting things disruptive to the calm within me, and with that resistance has come strength and the sight to see clearly.