Susie Duncan Sexton's Blog, page 15

makes me hope there IS a hell

thank goodness for the kind people who try to make up for the evil ones...

Rescuing Hazel Grace from a Torturous Life



I cannot believe the sheer hatefulness and self-centeredness of bad people, and, also, why children are taught to hunt and to abuse animals is more than I shall ever be able to fathom...

and it is everywhere...

our newspaper actually recruits and features children who have shot deer with crossbow arrows and guns...I am absolutely appalled and have no idea how to object...my attempts are always belittled...and the church news on the next page? wow? thus, I post on facebook instead. more people reached.



makes me hope there IS a hell...for those who provide such misery on earth...who provide HELL on earth...

earth could be heaven...heaven on earth...really getting sick and tired of nasty and of apathetic...and of egotistical and clueless humans. arghhhh.

what a sweet face hazel grace has in spite of it all...wondering why humans cannot withstand the pain that animals seem to take for granted?



humans could learn from animals instead of ignoring their wonderfulness. what a world.

if you would like to help sponsor Hazel Grace's medical care, please make a donation at www.trioanimalfoundation.org

________________________

thanks for this feedback!

Dr. Lucie "VeganforLife" Taustine: "There is a special segment of hell reserved for for animal and child abusers. I need to believe that."

Elizabeth Lean: "thank you, Susie, for being such a great animal lover"

Mary Maday: "I also hope there is a hell for people such as this person(s)..."

Deborah Fields Perez: "Shared!"

Kelley Scott Sandusky: "Gut wrenching ..."

Ann Graham: "Did they prosecute them?! Very very sad the abuse that some animals endure is sickening. Please keep posting on her recovery."

Clive Yvonne Karusseit: "Shared with love xxx"

Angel Wings: "Continued Prayers for Hazel Grace."

Ceinwyn Jones: "PEOPLE WHO TORTURE ANIMALS ARE BRAINLESS MORONS WHO SHOULD HAVE THE same done to them; let the punishment fit the crime; animals feel pain and bleed the same as humans and have more compassion AND LOVE THAN ANY HUMAN."

Shyrl Cook: "Amen! while I can't read the actual story of horrors hazel grace went through because i can't bear the details, i am so thankful & grateful for her rescue. sending my love to her. animals are the quality beings we should be. so hard to conceive of a beautiful world, precious animals & what we perpetrate as it's custodians."

Paul Hoofard: "If animals could only speak."

Bobbi Lippe Mallace: "Hazel Grace's story is horrible, but her spirit is stronger. Animals accept pain as a part of life. That is to say, their reaction is not burdened by psychology like 'what am I expected to do?' They don't lie there and feel sorry for themselves like many humans. Also, there is just enough of the wild in them that they must cover up anything that might show vulnerability to others. They don't want to become prey. Humans, on the other hand, know there is something to help them, so pain comes along with many psychological factors. Perhaps, expectation of relief, and/or sympathy. Of course, this is a generalization, not specific to any one case."

Jennifer Heinrich: "What a sad story for that poor innocent pet, I hope she recovers. Thank you for being an advocate for animals."

thanks so much, Jennifer...I need no thanks...since I became a voice for animals, my life has become enriched beyond measure. I highly recommend going to the mat for all living species. you are a doll!

________________________





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

watch this space ... we are forever locked in cowboy land

dammit. how sad and infuriating!

Teen With Asperger’s Loses Therapy Dog After Neighbor Shoots Him




IN GUN TOTIN' AMERICA THE BOYS LIKE TO PLAY WITH THEIR GUNS/PHALLIC SYMBOLS!

it's that season again...costumes, tree stands, weaponry, photo ops and taxidermied heads of animals, hunting accidents in spite of "safety" tips for the great white hunters, and murder and slaughter of other species, including therapy dogs.

we are forever locked in cowboy land just like the crappy tv shows and movies of the 50s! detestable and absolutely wrong-headed on the part of anybody involved in shooting...guns kill...and people are dopes...but always remember the purpose of guns is killing.



no licenses to the mentally ill... which would be any nut that needs to buy guns. and the NRA and the DNR (and capitalist america in all of its forms) are interested in profits...

also, wishing the Indiana DNR would not sanction the killing of otters we imported years ago...phooey on officialdom...they better change their damned minds...if they have minds!



blood money no matter what rationalizations they offer up for slaying games.

thanks to ignatz ziller for this perfect musical accompaniment - baghdad saloon

________________________





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

animals matter, democrats matter, and kind people matter.

[REMINDER: I will be appearing at the Allen County Public Library Author Fair THIS Saturday, November 8 from noon to 3 pm, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN. Hope to see you there!]

i am used to suffering...i have had a steady diet of it since birth...funny though, i managed to see myself, through all the crap, as a human being...though i cry a lot! because i AM a girl...and girls know how to cry when crying is called for.



what doesn't finish us off is supposed to make us stronger...i am so strong now that my teeth hurt...thanks for that, world! ha! and my sh*t list is pretty lengthy...i borrowed that idea from my dad...he treated everybody really nicely regardless, but he did have an ever-present sh*t list of those he knew were hypocritical f**ks and meanies!

i adapt and adopt that moccasin saying....about trying to walk around in somebody else's footwear? problem is I prefer going barefoot? where does that leave me?



at this point, i could go for commune living...because, in a much-needed "THINKING CORRECTLY" commune, we could indeed turn this wobbling world around and achieve PEACE, neighbor!

dear, god! particularly distressed by "governor" rick scott (florida)...arghhh! and the pig castrator joni ernst (iowa)...double arghhhhh. please, god, hear this prayer...let them stumble over their own arrogance every chance they get.

things have got to change by 2016!



animals matter, democrats matter, and kind people matter. we have ALL got to vote in two more years IF there are DEMOCRATS on the ballots. and $$$$$$$$$$$$ thrown at candidates does not buy elections...can that be so hard? god, you ARE a DEMOCRAT, right? and you are just testing us? respectfully submitted...a-men.

(and hopefully some Republicans are real people...that COULD happen? thanks for reading, buddy!)



hoping that the next election brings out the young in droves...the unprogrammed young that is...the "live and let live" type youthful voters. in indiana, we had no choice, the republican tea partiers and pretend-tea-partiers ran mostly unopposed...and the bucks were flowing from out of state camps.



yes, republicans seem to have been advised to hate and devour all animals...animals are democrats evidently...no wonder we love animals!

i am sick of the meanies. they are everywhere...

thanks to wonderful rochelle epstein for the facebook chat that inspired this entry and for her kind and generous spirit and heart.

________________________

thanks for this feedback!

Elizabeth Lean: "fantastic and what a lady she is xx"

Jesse Michaels: "Awesome!"

Annie Gagnon: "Love this, even if we are outnumbered, I care more about our animals!!"





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

an army marching together for peace on earth starting with the smallest ant's welfare

MY STATUS AT THIS POINT IN TIME: hey, pleading with anybody who walks on two feet to do whatever we can to help save an animal's life...if that does not interest you, then perhaps you should move on?



i'll miss you, but we need an army marching together for peace on earth starting with the smallest ant's welfare being of major importance. different strokes for different folks...keystrokes that is...and keystrokes can add up to victory...victory for all living beings!

the first picture below should make us sad...but the second picture beside it should make us glad...and how do we get to "glad"? well, sometimes we have to acknowledge "sad"...we cannot look away...how can we help that way? More info here.

"I will never understand cruelty to dogs. Their loyalty and innocence demands love and kindness. Yet in the Philippines, they are so often repaid with the most terrifying death imaginable. Can you imagine being stolen from your home, bound up painfully, thrown into a cage stuffed full of frightened dogs, and left without food or water until the day that you are violently killed? This is the reality of the Philippine dog meat trade. It is happening today." - www.networkforanimals.org

how can anyone look away...amazing not to care and not to educate and not to help change these tragedies. boggles the mind that anyone can ignore and not extend a helping hand and an understanding heart.



and then there is pippa's story.

i truly hope that these folks keep working with this poor little soul...and do not expect somebody from somewhere or other to pay huge sums for what should be simple human decency in healing this little living being. this world is unpredictable...let us hope for the best...what a patient little one.



can you imagine what such injuries would mean to a human? ...well, this is no different. LIFE matters...all life...and gracious, nurturing hearts need to emerge. thanks to those who qualify as the good ones! you care.

________________________

what neat feedback! thank you!!

Shannon Wright: "Another great one! Susie has a way of inspiring and if one isn't inspired by this piece then maybe one really doesn't have a soul....I appreciate every word you say to get people off their bums! ♥"

Sharon Wardle: "#Inspiring #Heartfelt. X"

Elizabeth Lean: "OMG, Roy, that skinny dog looked beyond help but the second photo was so heart-warming xx"

Kelley Scott Sandusky: "Very real. Very true. I see a lot of this in rescue. You cannot look away."

Victoria Cowdell: "We are their voice!"

Laurice Adams Bray: "This brought tears to my eyes, Roy. How poignantly your Mother writes - she reached right in and pulled out my deepest feelings. Thank you for sharing this!"





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

"Till the world's deaf ear be made to hear" - just reach out and help our animal friends

hey, learn to "sign and share" and adopt and foster and neuter and spay and brush and comb and cuddle and inoculate and feed and take walks and play pitch and catch and eat vegetables and advocate and stand up to bullies who are unkind not only to human beings but also to every species on the planet.



the peaceable kingdom is so close...just reach out and help others and yell at the meanies whichever action is called for!

ALSO, thank you for this honesty -- please watch and listen...maybe we can stop all of the artificial insemination of sweet docile mamas and the slaughtering of calves and premature slaying of poor dairy cows...and the blood money irresponsibly flowing to the humans who keep this horror in play...for $$$$$$$$$$$$ for themselves. (listen for Monsanto's role...wow?)

Christophe Patrick Horner: There is more than enough food in the world to feed the entire human population. So why are more than a billion people still going hungry? Our meat-based diet is largely to blame. We funnel huge amounts of grain, soybeans, and corn through all the animals we use for food instead of feeding starving humans. If we stopped intensively breeding farmed animals and grew crops to feed humans instead, we could easily feed everyone on the planet with healthy and affordable vegan food.

the solution to all of the problems in this world...stop exportation of grains and wheat...to feed our artificially inseminated herds and herds and herds...no ebola anywhere if such were the case. children would not be starving. and eating bat and monkey meat. we are all paying the price for the greed of a few humans who make a big deal about sending money occasionally to third world nations but are robbing these children blind through corporate-ag greed.



AND...my roots are in this state ...and I have tried to reach kin and legislators, etc...they do not care...I am absolutely flabbergasted at that state. they should be so ashamed at their complete (except for those who are working to end this horror) disregard for shelter animals...politics is part of the problem...a very conservative, fundamentalist environment which excludes the perceived "liberal' idea of caring about animal rights...those poor NC dogs and cats...the manufacturer of the gas chamber units sits in the state legislature...can not even fathom how that situation is possible.

thanks so much...I approve of this announcement!



oh, and show up to vote for those who realize our environment and ALL citizens of this planet (all colors and all species) matter more than anything else in this world...

I am the Voice of the Voiceless
Through me the dumb shall speak
Till the world's deaf ear be made to hear
The wrongs of the wordless weak.
Oh shame on the mothers of mortals
Who do not stoop to teach
The sorrow that lies in dear dumb eyes
The sorrow that has no speech.
From street, from cage, from kennel
From stable and from zoo
The wall of my tortured kin proclaims the sin
Of the mighty against the frail.
But I am my brother's keeper
And I shall fight their fight
And speak the word for beast and bird
Till the world shall set things right
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

GOTTA SHARE -- BECAUSE THESE COMPLIMENTS BOOSTED MY MORALE SO VERY MUCH...so pardon me, but we animal (rights) advocates/activists do not often receive accolades -- which doesn't bother us much because we always know that those many other wonderful species on this planet benefit from our bravery in broadcasting the obvious and begging that mercy be extended to them all. We take the punches and are emboldened by them. But WOW is it ever wonderful when a fellow human gives us a shout-out in real time! I LOVE DREX AND SHERYL!

Drex Morton: "Good writing challenges and leaves the conversation with an audience chastened, well informed, inspired, and motivated to work for the betterment of all concerned. That's why I enjoy Susie Sexton's work...And BY the way, she's entertaining, too..."

Sheryl A. Weinstein: "Wow, she is the real deal and clearly a professional writer. She is the BEST! I loved that piece about Jack and Zelda! And, its from just last year! Tell her she has a new fan for her fan club! There is nothing better than really great writing. I value that immensely and SHE has got the gift in spades!"

________________________

thanks, Karen and Nancy! Karen Willis: "Right on, my friend!!!!"

Nancy Becker: "Wonderful!! Each action can resound...."





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

give the consumer what he wants...consuming is where it's at

okay, I am just browsing through an area newspaper, and I glance at a lay-out of wedding anniversaries in the high numbers and a "pets of the week" bulletin plus an ad for Bibles and positioned among all of those pictures is a photo of a daddy cuddling with his 9 year old daughter and they are both dressed in camouflage suits with mud smeared on their smiling faces while a beautiful murdered deer flat on the ground seems to stare into somebody's camera.

the "shot" of parent and child and slain animal is entitled "accomplishments", and the caption reads: "This generation's 'Young Gun _____', nine year old _____ shot her first deer on Sunday." I wish that newspapers would stop publishing such tragedies...and if they cannot stop pandering to these misguided types, just to sell a few more papers, that they disappear altogether. what is deader than that deer is journalism. sensationalism is not journalism.

"When you read in the papers that some front is a sea of mud, it means just that. Miles and miles of trucks stuck off the road etc. The poor infantry live in, eat, and sleep in it. When they take to a hay stack, straw pile, etc. they get fleas and lice which get infected in this dirt. They can't even light a fire at the front day or night, and sometime go for two days on a chocolate (concentrated) bar, because of supplies being unable to move up. Every hill (and this country is all hills) is fought bitterly for, every bridge and every road mined. The tanks can't operate except as support for Infantry, and it is a yard by yard war...It made me want to cry or shout or do something..." ~ Ernie Pyle (now, THAT is journalism)

(Indiana misspelled the information on a new statue or plaque or some such tribute to him in Bloomington...and the unveiling is scheduled in two days I think? this state is something else...my mother just adored ernie pyle!)

we are not alone in thinking these thoughts...I cannot figure out why newspapers cater to the lowest common denominators...all of them do lately...in our state anyway.

the very idea that family newspapers encourage these hunting photo ops I find so distressing...happens every autumn...such a wonderful time of the year and these "rags" ruin it...the DNR ruins it with their announcements of open seasons for mass murder of these and them and those...and then in the summer...auctioning off living beings/farm animals for cash and for slaughter...children are brainwashed and then must pose for the cameras, smiling like nothing is horribly wrong. tears my heart right out of my chest.



why do newspapers not lift people up, instruct, and appreciate really concerned readers who want fair coverage of important issues and yearn for information? I honestly see no point in subscribing to any of them or even visiting them online.

for one thing, procreation just for the sake of it is a sad commentary on our world...and that is precisely what is going on...and the poor animals are artificially inseminated as if there is no tomorrow to be slaughtered for steaks and casseroles and fine dining. but only human babies matter?

and for another, cheese is sprinkled on absolutely every possible food item in restaurants, and it is a major cause of cancer development...please, please become wise about this unnecessary product and the horrific means by which it reaches the clueless consumer. start requesting that cheese not be added to your order...we are paying for murder...it starts with us.



I truly wish that authors, journalists, film-makers would tackle these horrid truths we are all ignoring. the satirists and muck-rakers of yesterday...and the orwells and swifts are long gone...no such talent exists now.

money talks...no sense putting one's neck out and offending a greedy public. give the consumer what he wants...consuming is where it's at.
________________________

thanks for this feedback, folks!

Jo Anne Bellantone Schweiger: "AMEN, Susie. I don't understand what some people consider 'sport.' To take a life of any kind should not be tolerated...then, to teach your children...and some people wonder why the world is in the state it is in...Thank you, Susie. You put such an eloquent voice to all of this. I sincerely believe that people should take an IQ test before they are allowed to procreate. Forgive me if some people find this offensive; but, it's pics like this and parents like that that make me feel this way."

LaDena Manus Davidson: "Double that 'Amen'!"

Drex Morton: "Triple the Amen! Is that akin to 'Triple Dog Dare You'? Lol... Good writing challenges and leaves the conversation with an audience chastened, well informed, inspired, and motivated to work for the betterment of all concerned. That's why I enjoy Susie Sexton's work...And BY the way, she's entertaining, too..."

________________________






Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

like osage county only with males, males, males: Guest review of The Judge (2014)

originally posted by my son roy sexton on his blog www.reelroyreviews.com - enjoy!

I received the following email from my mom Susie Duncan Sexton last night, and I thought it was pretty funny, succinct, and spot on … and definitely worth sharing here (especially since it saves me from having to see this one, which from the trailers looked a bit too Hallmark Hall-of-Fame/Lifetime TV-movie for me). Here comes … The Judge!

_____________

From: Susie Sexton

Sent: Monday, October 13, 2014, 1:14 AM

To: Roy Sexton

Subject: not good

not worth bothering with…like osage county only with males, males, males…and that love interest sure looks like william macy’s wife…thought it was her through entire film…but this girl was in UP IN THE AIR and the stupid PSYCHO series on tv…only went for billy bob who has not much on-screen time.

_____________

postscript (added by my mom in the comments section … )

oddly, today, I began to extol bobby “sarah-palin-loving-conservative-tango-expert” duvall…he avoided SANTINI-esqueness, no doubt so that he can do the santini sequel itself about next. shining through some ooky clichés, like chatting at urinals and in contrived dives and on front porches, appeared some pretty cleverly packaged backstories to bring us up to speed as it were? even 8 MM home-made films to let us better understand a deceased mom’s loving parenting skills? else the film would have required serialization.



I am guessing that reviewers should wait one full day to critique because GONE GIRL I fell out of love with in 24 hours…THE JUDGE I began to reconsider. but where was it filmed???? …not MY Indiana…some other Indiana…the tornado has received disses as a tired metaphor for family strife…but the tornado was maybe the ONLY hoosier touch…or at least that business of retiring to the basement jazz that we still think about doing in hoosier-ville. but the bit-o-honey BIT I myself dissed everytime it showed up! probably have spiked your interest now? c’mon, admit it!

post-postscript

googled, and the danged thing was filmed all over MASSACHUSETTS??????? and I read a review criticizing the backstory provided between dueling pop and sonny boy via the gimmickry of screaming expository material (highlighting past events) at each other every so often...I love that description! yep, no mountains or rolling hills or slick scenery in the whole (hole) of Indiana! told ya!

_____________

So, there you have it, neither Robert Downey, Jr., nor Robert Duvall, and certainly not Vera Farmiga (let alone “Mr. Cellophane” Billy Bob Thornton) can save this train-wreck of a film. (Well, Duvall might have redeemed himself a bit upon reconsideration of the film.)

Skip it, and go see Gone Girl (maybe?) or stay home and watch PBS’ The Roosevelts instead. Or hope that the next Downey film features Felicity Huffman!



________________________





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

we are writing our own demise second by second

in response to this sad story about excalibur, the dog euthanized for potential ebola exposure.



from what I have read, that action was totally unnecessary...isolation and observation would have been wise in terms of knowing more about this plague is the consensus...knee-jerk reaction from clueless humans who are also the very reason for this outbreak...geez almighty!

Michelle Lowe: "This is pulled from a lot of research and reading I've done, to give credit where credit is due. But, it is true that some animals, such as bats and monkeys, can be reservoirs for Ebola. You catch the virus by eating these animals. Dogs can technically have the virus if they eat an animal with Ebola. However, dogs do not get sick from Ebola and they do not transmit the virus to other dogs. Dog/human transmission of diseases is just not something that happens. You might catch something from your pig or from geese flying overhead, but not from your most faithful companion. You would have to work really hard at it and be pretty filthy to catch worms from your dog. That is it as far as transmission from dogs to humans, other than love, and worms are not a disease. No one has or will catch Ebola from a dog unless perhaps they eat the dog. The killing of Excalibur just adds a senseless death to an already tragic situation."

perfectly expressed, michelle! the problem with all of this is: HUMANS SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS AND EATING THEM AS A MATTER OF DAILY ROUTINE...and then we get all skittish when random -- or organized -- death may be headed OUR way???

...humans are such egotistical morons! and we are doomed because we have no hearts...no empathy. we invite our own destruction...we are responsible. I could just scream!



humans just cannot be the ultimate jewels of evolution...we are writing our own demise second by second. we are not the superior species after all. just look around at facebook posts...self-involvement is the prevalent message. I delight when I find somebody like Michelle and happily many others...gives me hope! the egoists drop off my "friends" list to be replaced by those who care and who think.

________________________

on another note entirely ...



my son roy sexton is currently appearing in a production of tom lehrer's satirical musical revue tomfoolery with his theatre group the penny seats. this fun show runs the next three Thursdays (Oct 9, 16, and 23) at conor o'neill's in ann arbor. visit www.pennyseats.org/box-office or call (734) 926-5346!

click here for martin kohn's review of the production!

________________________

thanks for this feedback!

Blake Boadicea Wolfe: "I saw this on the news yesterday, despicable. Poor love should have been quarantined, same as they're doing with the hubby, who if in a usual relationship, would be more likely to be infected. (Guessing bodily fluids = bad - am not going to research ebola)."

Tracey Cooke: "WHO WAS THE WACKJOB THAT MADE THIS DECISION??"

Kim Elizabeth Johnson: "I agree that in the face of their own possible demise, humans will overreact like they did in the case of this poor innocent dog. It's like a way to make the fear stay away by sacrificing animals - AGAIN!"

Nancy McCabe: "Disgraceful ..."

Olga Rodriguez: "Thank you so much!"

Patricia Derling: "So disgusting they killed this dog."

Shannon Basner: "Great article and just heartbreaking... ♥"

Nancy Becker: "Heartily agree - quarantine should have been the answer. Have done some reading on this and some sites talk about dogs having the disease, but it is only temporary. They seem to have the ability to recover due to their immune system. Now that's just preliminary info, but all of this info should prescribe caution, not hysteria."

________________________





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

The Image of Magazine - Novella Series, featuring yours truly!

Check out this feature on yours truly as part of San Diego's The Image Of Magazine's "Novella Series" - thanks to editor Tommy Jennings! What an honor!

Read here: http://www.imagecompaniesenterprises....



Quote: "Always an observer of events and human traits, Susie Duncan Sexton offers without apology her thoughts and observations as they are and once were, and fitting her persona into pigeonholes is impossible. 'I have searched for the ‘We of Me’ since toddler days and have always come up wanting,” she says, “though I trust that in my next life I shall finally have figured out how to make this world a better place full of tolerance and inclusiveness and understanding for all forms of life.'”

Read the rest at the link: http://www.imagecompaniesenterprises....

________________________

thanks for this feedback!

Patty Hunter: "oh, my my.. many thanks for including my show in this article ... just looked at my interview with Susie Duncan Sexton, again... totally awesome and sweet person, Susie is. ... blessings to you, Susie and Roy... many thanks, eh?"

Shannon Wright: "Way to go, Susie!!! Thanks for the tag, Roy."

Beth Kennedy: "How cool!"

Laurie LaRue Bills: "Thank you for including me! Love and hugs to all of you!"

Terry Doran: "Congratulations to you, Roy, and to your wonderfully talented/eccentric mom, and to Patty for having the good sense to have Susie on her show."

Carissa Serino: "pretty awesome! congratulations, guys! thanks for the tag...please feel free to share on my page"

Tom Joyce: "Yaaaay! Gotta Tweet that."

________________________

SAVE THE DATE! I will be participating again this year in Allen County Public Library’s Authors’ Fair on November 8 from Noon to 3 pm – info at www.acpl.info. View video from last year’s event here.

________________________





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't

Old Type Writer - REUNION REVELATIONS

"It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars." ~ Garrison Keillor

(View original post here.)

Dental floss, Vicks Vaporub applied to both flaky ears, Q-tips, copious facial creams, and tweezers rise rapidly to the top of the list of personal beauty products when tempus fugit(s)! Comfortable yet quasi-tailored clothing -- which covers every square inch of liver-spotted, puckered flesh -- ranks high once a person passes the magic freeing age of 60, and such garments will be worn ever onward until we reach some kind of rainbow bridge.

Saturday, September 13, 2014, many of us gathered at the familiar Eagle Glen Events Center for a combined "happy hour"/suppertime on the dot at 6 p.m.-- perhaps with a modicum of trepidation and self-consciousness. Time flies when you're having fun and the class of '64 now qualifies as "grown-ups" -- while just the other day we were manic, ill-at-ease, possibly competitive teenagers living in one building all together five days a week for four bewildering years. Some sailed to the top of the heap while most just watched -- I fall into the "watcher" category and still do. I was and always shall be allergic to "high school" in all of its forms!





Thus, although politely invited via the U. S. postal system and frequently encouraged by friend Cheryl Robbins Wood, I planned to ignore the festivities. What a stand-offish mistake that would have been! (Teddy Roosevelt once declared that President McKinley possessed “the spine of a chocolate éclair” – I thank Ken Burns and his exceptional documentary The Roosevelts for that factoid. I can relate!)

I admit that I was also a bit gun shy about this particular reunion because the last time I cooperatively attended (our 25th!), my door prize was experiencing 68 of my classmates crammed into my living room for a wild impromptu after-party that included smoldering carpets, overcrowded bathrooms, and Judy Johnson Spencer trapped beside my coffeemaker all night. It felt a bit like the manic scene in "Bye Bye Birdie" wherein "Spanish" Rose (the role I played) is chased by (and chases) a herd of frisky Shriners. Our Senior play, BTW! Our first musical ever and directed by Ray Moore. Unforgettable!

Don and I stumbled into sitting at the head table with the senior class president Tony Smith who has succeeded in life beyond any mere mortal's dreams and his spunky wife Marla who sparkled as a nationally renowned award winning baton "twirler" back in the day, Tony's twin Tom who attended West Point, Class of 62's Keith Kleespie whom we successfully smuggled past the ticket takers later in the evening, and Dr. Harry Staley with stunning wife Lisa who are more fun than a barrel of monkeys! All shyness faded away as we chatted about Isis nutsiness, vegetarianism, and gun control. (Tom proclaimed his weapon to be close at hand in his car trunk…in our car trunk we'd placed a stash of my recently published nostalgic paperbacks because I hoped to consider the reunion my own personal book signing event, but I forgot?) Tom Roe, the lanky boy who lived down the street -- with his own backyard basketball court -- in the 50s, hung out with us as did adorable Patti Ward. County Commissioner Tom Rethlake (married to Jeanne) dropped by our little round table to supervise us! We all forgot who we were and where we were and laughed and felt like we were the dearest friends ever -- in the entire universe!





My PLAN for the soiree consisted of converting everyone, inhabiting the room, to a vegan lifestyle and to insist upon the worship of all sentient beings…as far as I got would have been printing the name JANE GOODALL on my name tag which caused great confusion. Unlike Joanne Motz, I look nothing like I once did…she has not changed. (Oddly, Joanne and I can be viewed together in the nine photographs that husband Don and Lisa Staley shot as the entire class bonded on a set of concrete steps outside the clubhouse -- just exactly like Joanne and I posed in 1963 for a group photo on some stairs at the Indiana University Journalism Institute-- rooming together for two summertime weeks…how about that?) As I mingled, impersonating JANE while imitating her prowlings about with the great apes of the Congo, my Sunshine Dance escort Ecuadorian Al Jerves struggled valiantly to recall whom I might be as he hugged me while referring to me sweetly as "JANE Somebody"? (My corsage that long-ago evening included an imitation bumble bee!) His American brother Ken Kauffman (Al lived with the Kauffman family on their farm) mentioned reading ALL of my Talk of the Town "Old Type Writer" columns -- so I asked Ken if he wanted to "go steady"?





Further arthritic "mingling" led me to Sandra Raupfer whom I always adored in grammar school even IF her parents had not owned the delectable five and ten cent store downtown where I bought all of my paper dolls (and hard candy) and to Sharon Dexter whose mom worked with my dad at the Blue Bell factory and to Jeannie Alvarez who joined us in the 6th grade all the way from Texas and to Lois Orcutt with whom I shared a fondness for Siamese cats -- they all looked fabulous and real and happy and beautiful. I bumped into Jeff Ott who owns a gun shop…but I love him anyway…always did! Jack Keiser, my Sunday school pal, is so handsome that I didn't know where to look. Everybody I passed by, during my journeys to the hors d'oeuvres table, impressed me as contented, confident, and friendly and landed and anything but old…still I needed to study nametags to be sure with whom I was chatting. And I decided NOT to convert a roomful of possibly former 4-H participants to vegetarianism nor suggest that we don ski masks and locate some wire-cutters and release all the farm animals from the surrounding townships into the downtown area as our contribution to society. Instead, I just swilled down one gin and tonic after the other, and became more relaxed as the evening progressed. The official program kinda eluded me as I'd achieved "dreamy dreamsville" by the witching hour. The only way to go…to a reunion. Cheers!

Enjoy the pix which might enhance this column for you…they are a hoot! I am still trying to figure out how I missed Charlie Fletcher and Jeannette Smethers…we gotta meet up again and do nothing but…MINGLE. And this we CAN do! From what I understand, the handsome but neglected art deco Blue Bell building is attempting to get itself added to the National Register of Historic Landmarks thanks to an innovative developer, and the 1932 structure just might morph into trendy loft apartments for senior citizens. Don and I are aiming for our apartment's location to be my dad's old front office? And a movie theater is planned…hot damn! I suggest that the class of '64 be allowed first dibs so that we can "all live together in a yellow submarine" on Whitley Street. Maybe a pool and tennis courts might be in the works? I am doing all I can, folks! I've been communicating with a terrific Chicagoan by way of reminiscences, research, and reams of articles that I have collected accidentally since birth. My scanner has begun to moan and groan, but ever onward and upward!

Speaking of which, Richard "Andy" Anderson (married to classmate Peggy Coon) searched for and found me, at the reunion, and related a silly story -- he and I shared one classroom back in the early 50s. He was a 3rd grader while I, a 2nd-grader, admired him from afar at the old West Ward Elementary School. Miss Betty Leffel managed to deal expertly with a split class that year circa 1953 (more tales for another day!) Andy announced that he and Billy Webber (whose mom Mildred was a Blue Bell secretary probably lurking around the corner), wearing cowboy outfits and sporting cap pistols on each hip, with spurs a-jingling strode into Daddy's office as kids and shouted, "Hands Up!" (These days, those two would have been hauled before the Supreme Court and featured on CNN as juvenile terrorists…) My amused dad asked what might their demands be. The result is that the three of them strolled to the bins of blue jeans housed on the second floor, and Andy and Billy walked back home wearing brand new denim WRANGLERS!

I apologize for concentrating on the maiden names of my lady classmates in the above report, but hey, that is who they were and still are to this day, in my heart! Also, while surveying a compilation of favorite memories submitted by classmates to the reunion committee, the first musical ("Bye Bye Birdie'') ever performed at our Columbia City "Joint" High School soared as the most popular, fondest remembrance. I am including a photograph for your viewing pleasure! That successful effort certainly shines forth as the highlight of my high school days…glad to see I am not alone on that. And a shout-out to classmate Lana Kaufman's cute, talented musician husband Paul Cochran seated at a neighboring table -- "Tall Paul" -- whom I worked with for a couple of months at First Presbyterian Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when we performed "Stop the World--I Want to Get Off!" to packed houses in the 70s! We DO recruit outsiders into THE CLASS OF '64…that's the "WAY WE …ARE!" I loved knowing that pianist Paul and I were sitting back to back for three hours, and I had trouble leaving him alone!





"I don't share my thoughts because I think it will change the minds of people who think differently. I share my thoughts to show the people who already think like I do that they are not alone." (A Bit of Wisdom from the Facebook World)

Thanks to organizer Karen Kauffman for a fabulous 50th High School Reunion get-together, and GET WELL WISHES are extended to Sandy Pratt and Joanne Bates. I sincerely appreciate that former cop Larry Benzinger did not arrest me for jumping in front of him in the chow line!

A moment I shall never forget: sweet Carolyn Cleland stopped by our table, before the night concluded, and brought to my attention a hand-written note from my mother Edna who had complimented her for her leadership in the Sunshine Society which math teacher Bernice Carver created for any high school girl who wished to join -- no exclusions! Obviously this note, also part of the display of memorabilia, meant a great deal to Carolyn and spoke volumes to me on this very special occasion 50 years later. I love Carolyn, a gracious and loving person then and now.

________________________

thanks for this feedback!

Suzanne Bologna: "Even though I don't know any of these people, outside of Susie, this was such a fun read."

Nancy Gray: "Roy: Just having spent time at my 40th class reunion, I LOVED reading your mom’s re-cap of her 50th! Reunions are a hoot! I really enjoyed her experience. Thanks for sharing."

Harry Staley: "Thanks, Roy, for your mom's post. She and Don are great fun and it has been a pleasure for me to return to nostalgic times of Columbia City through her writing. I am looking forward to meeting you sometime. Perhaps Lisa and I could see one of your productions in Ann Arbor. Your mother and father were kind enough to give me a copy or your book with movie reviews. Best wishes and carry on."

Claudia Braman: "Wonderful!!! Thanks for sharing, Roy. Your mom is such an amazing person! I love to read her work. Hope you all are happy and well!"

Terry Tatum: "Thank you!"

Betty Buckley: "Thank you for sharing!" (NOTE: Her new album Ghost Light includes the song "Dreamsville" referenced above. Betty, you own the tune...Lola Albright, move over...)

Jo Powers Biddle: "Too much fun!!"

Drex Morton: "I've never attended any class reunion, because we wandered all over the US because of my Dad's wanderlust, to which I ascribed until the beginning of 1991. Nevertheless, I felt like I had attended a reunion with your remarkable account of your incomparable adventure back to the future. I suspect that 'Spanish Rosa' lives on in your heart...I think I've glimpsed her in your spicy, spunky demeanor!"

Jo Bruce: "Thanks!"

Terry Doran: "Wow. I don't go to reunions, only for winners, like everything in America. ... I didn't even open the letter telling me about our reunion this month. My daughter is a freshwoman in h.s. I can only hope her four years are better than mine. ... Your mom had the lead in a school play. She knows all her classmates. She must have been popular since at one reunion they all ended up at her house after. I'm talking about being a nobody, good for nothing, sleepwalking through four years. I don't know anyone in my class, well a couple; good for your mother to capture the reunion in such colorful sparkling prose."

B. Anne Giles Watson: "This post and pics made me cry...I'm such a sentimentalist...you girls were and still are gorgeous! How can you possibly be celebrating a 50th class reunion? We CAN'T be old enough! Can we?"

Cheryl Robbins-Wood: "It was a great evening. I am glad Susie was able to join everyone."

Roquesha O'Neal: "Look at the love!"

Rob Shook: "My mom had her 63rd this weekend. My Comp & Grammar teacher was HER Comp & Grammar teacher - and is still going strong in her 90s."

________________________

SAVE THE DATE! I will be participating again this year in Allen County Public Library’s Authors’ Fair on November 8 from Noon to 3 pm – info at www.acpl.info. View video from last year’s event here.

________________________





Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).

The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language; Columbia City's Memory Lane, North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark.

And you can download from iTunes.

Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page

Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com

Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't