Susie Duncan Sexton's Blog, page 25
January 30, 2013
...still no good deed goes unpunished
hey, it's indiana! and america? we have become quite fiendish!embarrassing... humiliating! we should be very ashamed! we are the nation where there are more guns than human beings and animals are in deep trouble alllll of the time! [read the article "Indiana Couple Faces Jail Time For Nursing Deer Back To Health" by clicking here.]
i am a dismayed hoosier due to our culling of deer EVERY november in our state parks believe it or not! have tried to reason with the DNR concerning geese and deer...they care not! indiana's record on caring about wildlife is pretty horrid.
bless these two humane human beings...almost forgot humans could be kind until someone brought my attention to this story. [click here to join their facebook page]
how great that indiana is getting national recognition for being out of step with kindness. about time! time for hoosiers to get on board with evolution. maybe this will help us start to care and to progress into the 21st century! this little deer could lead the way to our state becoming humane and civilized!
shameful and horrid...i am frightened for this entire globe...brutish behavior under the guise of religion way too often as well...not MY religion...My religion involves LIVE AND LET LIVE.
british facebook pal Elizabeth Lean responded, "getting the same here, though, Susie, but not on such a big scale...so scary...we do not permit the ordinary person to have guns though except by license but with gangs now cropping up afraid illegally they are on the increase - never was like this even 20 years ago. So Sad."
totally agree...piers morgan is impressing us greatly with his tv show bringing this american thuggishness to the forefront. he is absolutely correct...he is from your neck of the woods, elizabeth!
and omigod, this quote is beautiful and absolutely TRUE: Ann Vanderlaan observed,
"As when I unfortunately lived in Indiana, still no good deed goes unpunished."
about time that love and kindness wins the day...what have deer ever done to deserve their purposeful over-reproduction so that thugs can play cowboy? the other day i COULD have posted 4 swaggering laughing twits standing over 8 beheaded deer at the edge of a forest...sportsmen? conservative conscious hunters culling the herds? F%&$ them all for perpetrating a terroristic hoax and for murdering and for being certifiably MEANtally ill! sick unto death of the attempts to justify evil.
____________________
love this feedback!
Carol Baker: "Susie makes some very good points here. We've got our values pretty screwed, kids. Thank goodness the Bible thumpers are here to tell the world how dangerous people like ME are. (My solemn apologies to those Christian friends who actually, you know, follow the teachings of Christ - not just the ones that fit in nicely with their political views)....We live in a nation where kindness is weakness and cowardice at the end of a gun is defined as 'freedom'. I weep for my country. Thanks, as always for your spot on perspective, Susie."
Shannon Wright: "Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! Great comments!!!"
Shannon Basner: "It is our empathy that keeps us driving towards change. These innocents need that from all of us. If we shut down then more injustice will occur. Our hearts are huge and each step we take makes a difference. Keep doing what you do, even though it challenges us daily. ❤"
David Rat: "yeah, I was just beat up for posting for charity in a town 10 miles away from where I grew up...I´m on the same album as the Beatles...if that doesn´t make me legitimate what does? Small towns, small minds? I know it´s not true.(Susie herself is proof positive of that)..but sometimes you people make it hard not to generalize.."
IF THEY ASKED ME...I COULD WRITE A BOOK...on this topic, david...i have lived with this brand of bias since before i was born and until this day! i am an expert in fighting back when i get the nerve to do so!
(and the little boy in that sepia toned photograph had the very same challenge both from his southern family and hoosierville...he prevailed in spite of it all...my role model!)
Julie Dulak: "Susie Duncan Sexton rocks! Wherever we find a need is where we have to address it. NEED knows no borders, no Politics, no Religion. Humans construct obstacles for themselves and people line up in opposition on either side of these and square-off against each other. If WE could just get out of our own way for a minute, imagine what could be accomplished!"
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
i am a dismayed hoosier due to our culling of deer EVERY november in our state parks believe it or not! have tried to reason with the DNR concerning geese and deer...they care not! indiana's record on caring about wildlife is pretty horrid.
bless these two humane human beings...almost forgot humans could be kind until someone brought my attention to this story. [click here to join their facebook page]
how great that indiana is getting national recognition for being out of step with kindness. about time! time for hoosiers to get on board with evolution. maybe this will help us start to care and to progress into the 21st century! this little deer could lead the way to our state becoming humane and civilized!
shameful and horrid...i am frightened for this entire globe...brutish behavior under the guise of religion way too often as well...not MY religion...My religion involves LIVE AND LET LIVE.
british facebook pal Elizabeth Lean responded, "getting the same here, though, Susie, but not on such a big scale...so scary...we do not permit the ordinary person to have guns though except by license but with gangs now cropping up afraid illegally they are on the increase - never was like this even 20 years ago. So Sad."
totally agree...piers morgan is impressing us greatly with his tv show bringing this american thuggishness to the forefront. he is absolutely correct...he is from your neck of the woods, elizabeth!
and omigod, this quote is beautiful and absolutely TRUE: Ann Vanderlaan observed,
"As when I unfortunately lived in Indiana, still no good deed goes unpunished."
about time that love and kindness wins the day...what have deer ever done to deserve their purposeful over-reproduction so that thugs can play cowboy? the other day i COULD have posted 4 swaggering laughing twits standing over 8 beheaded deer at the edge of a forest...sportsmen? conservative conscious hunters culling the herds? F%&$ them all for perpetrating a terroristic hoax and for murdering and for being certifiably MEANtally ill! sick unto death of the attempts to justify evil.
____________________
love this feedback!
Carol Baker: "Susie makes some very good points here. We've got our values pretty screwed, kids. Thank goodness the Bible thumpers are here to tell the world how dangerous people like ME are. (My solemn apologies to those Christian friends who actually, you know, follow the teachings of Christ - not just the ones that fit in nicely with their political views)....We live in a nation where kindness is weakness and cowardice at the end of a gun is defined as 'freedom'. I weep for my country. Thanks, as always for your spot on perspective, Susie."
Shannon Wright: "Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! Great comments!!!"
Shannon Basner: "It is our empathy that keeps us driving towards change. These innocents need that from all of us. If we shut down then more injustice will occur. Our hearts are huge and each step we take makes a difference. Keep doing what you do, even though it challenges us daily. ❤"
David Rat: "yeah, I was just beat up for posting for charity in a town 10 miles away from where I grew up...I´m on the same album as the Beatles...if that doesn´t make me legitimate what does? Small towns, small minds? I know it´s not true.(Susie herself is proof positive of that)..but sometimes you people make it hard not to generalize.."
IF THEY ASKED ME...I COULD WRITE A BOOK...on this topic, david...i have lived with this brand of bias since before i was born and until this day! i am an expert in fighting back when i get the nerve to do so!
(and the little boy in that sepia toned photograph had the very same challenge both from his southern family and hoosierville...he prevailed in spite of it all...my role model!)
Julie Dulak: "Susie Duncan Sexton rocks! Wherever we find a need is where we have to address it. NEED knows no borders, no Politics, no Religion. Humans construct obstacles for themselves and people line up in opposition on either side of these and square-off against each other. If WE could just get out of our own way for a minute, imagine what could be accomplished!"
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 28, 2013
"ROBERT FULGHUM WITH A KNIFE IN HER BOOT"
i love David Rat. you can read his original post by clicking here.
what a thrill! check out this review of Secrets of an Old Typewriter by talented author and musician David Rat...
and this feedback on David's review...mercy!!!
Gregory Heath: "You're most welcome. I look forward to reading it myself!"
Lotta Stenfelt: "He is right!"
Adam Kobiela: "That’s a hell of a nice review. And you get a name-drop for being 'higher evolved.'"
Bev Sexton: "You can't do any better than that!"
Barbara Nicholson: "You have every right to brag! This is a great, honest and true review! Brag away!!!!"
Mary Shaull: "An AMAZING review!!!! The BEST! I must reread Mom's book now, with even more insight. Susie is going to really SKIP all over the house and down the brick sidewalks and around the courthouse! Don close behind and even beside her! Mama was born and raised in Columbia City, so we often visited the 'Indiana Folks'. I was born and raised in Hastings, Michigan, a similar small town, so could relate to so much of what Susie related. Golly I am so PROUD of you all! Bless you, and bless David Rat for his words. LOVE the title!"
Pamela Simmons: "WOW…That is beautiful!"
Neil J. Simon: "GREAT! Glad she is getting the recognition she deserves!"
David Rat: "woot! I am so happy you are happy Susie...but there is no need to thank me for simply speaking the truth..."
david, have you any idea how thrilled i am reading these supportive words of yours? wow, we should write another book ... together! i am copying and framing this glowing tribute which is so beautifully expressed! oh, my! what a love you are, sir. and thanks, roy, for posting this! i nearly fainted reading this...GOOD fainting! yep, i love you both! and to be understood is worth more than gold! and that you do...i feel UNDERSTOOD! ;)
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
what a thrill! check out this review of Secrets of an Old Typewriter by talented author and musician David Rat...
"ROBERT FULGHUM WITH A KNIFE IN HER BOOT"
My fix in all things art is CONTRAST..dark and light, sun and moon, life and death..I search for flowers among the garbage and garbage among the flowers....there is no beauty without ugliness and no joy without suffering.. and somewhere in the middle is the truth..encompassing all of these elements..."Secrets of an old Typewriter" by Susie Duncan Sexton is TRUTH...the essence of High Art....
Raised in a small town, in the Midwest, Ms. Sexton was set up for what one would call.."an unremarkable life".. But this twisting telling work is the story of one woman who sought and fought to be better than the often stoic and narrow-minded white bread bastion of freedomless thinkers...chock full of romantic reminders of a time I long for...when my parents were young...soda fountains and knee socks...howdy doody, innocence, and truly legendary icons of our former culture. It is vastly entertaining, I savored every word like a delicious meal...entranced...transported...
But nostalgia is only one element, a devout Vegan (believe me it's not easy to get your heart and stomach in the same place) A christian with a seeking and questioning nature (the only true christians in my mind)...and (closest to my heart)...a tireless freedom fighter for animal rights...Ms. Sexton is a prime example of The most successful type of human being...a teacher, the noblest of all professions, a Mother, (raising a Son who has followed in her footsteps and is leading a higher evolved existence), and now an exemplary and enlightened author..
I'm only a few decades younger...but I am a Rock and Roll musician and it is my job to maintain a youthful perspective...and I do not believe this is a book whose demographic is only grandmas and baby boomers...I would like to see this work of art be embraced by today's youth...as it is basically a guide to living a good and meaningful life..
Do not expect to be coddled..Susie could give a damn if you agree with her unique and sometimes abstract vision...she writes from the heart...from her gloriously beautiful soul..and that to me...is a rare quality these days...
Reading this book was a life changing experience for me...given the chance...regardless of age, creed or political views...It is my belief you will reap the same reward..
DAVID RAT, author of...
HAPPY ENDING
and this feedback on David's review...mercy!!!
Gregory Heath: "You're most welcome. I look forward to reading it myself!"
Lotta Stenfelt: "He is right!"
Adam Kobiela: "That’s a hell of a nice review. And you get a name-drop for being 'higher evolved.'"
Bev Sexton: "You can't do any better than that!"
Barbara Nicholson: "You have every right to brag! This is a great, honest and true review! Brag away!!!!"
Mary Shaull: "An AMAZING review!!!! The BEST! I must reread Mom's book now, with even more insight. Susie is going to really SKIP all over the house and down the brick sidewalks and around the courthouse! Don close behind and even beside her! Mama was born and raised in Columbia City, so we often visited the 'Indiana Folks'. I was born and raised in Hastings, Michigan, a similar small town, so could relate to so much of what Susie related. Golly I am so PROUD of you all! Bless you, and bless David Rat for his words. LOVE the title!"
Pamela Simmons: "WOW…That is beautiful!"
Neil J. Simon: "GREAT! Glad she is getting the recognition she deserves!"
David Rat: "woot! I am so happy you are happy Susie...but there is no need to thank me for simply speaking the truth..."
david, have you any idea how thrilled i am reading these supportive words of yours? wow, we should write another book ... together! i am copying and framing this glowing tribute which is so beautifully expressed! oh, my! what a love you are, sir. and thanks, roy, for posting this! i nearly fainted reading this...GOOD fainting! yep, i love you both! and to be understood is worth more than gold! and that you do...i feel UNDERSTOOD! ;)
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 25, 2013
Glo Magazine reviews Secrets of an Old Typewriter
Check out Glo Magazine’s review of Secrets of an Old Typewriter at this link (page 24) - click here.
This is really thrilling! Find out more at www.susieduncansexton.com
Drex Morton: "Brava once again, Susie."
Mary Shaull: "Congratulations to Mom, Roy! Proud of her."
Neil Simon: "It is thrilling! Congratulations!"
Michelle C.: "I adore your relationship with your mom. It's wonderful, Roy."
Sabra Thurber: "Is Susie your mum? The book sounds good! I'll have to check it out!"
Shannon Wright: "Right on, Ms. Susie!"
Bev Sexton: "I am impressed and not at all surprised that her book is such a success. What a woman!!!!!"
wow...don even skipped around the house reading this review to me! he is very much onboard after this past busy year and a half giving birth to a...book! THIS got him giddy at last!
____________________
other thoughts...
where to begin? enforce and educate that kindness to all beings is a must in a civilized and cultured and inclusive society. violence breeds violence.
in North Carolina, purebred animals die every day...gassed...all over that state. please help to stop this practice...all animals matter, purebred or not. please encourage others to spay, to neuter, to stop artificially inseminating.
respect for all LIFE -- sentient beings as well because caring breeds empathy-- begins at home...our present descent into violence and hatefulness and fear is frightening and stupid. pull us out of this hell by whatever means possible. go, team, go!
Irmgard Guters: "I think puppy mills are the major cause for the overpopulation of pets. They should all get closed!"
Annie Gagnon: "Couldn't agree more; ignorance breeds ignorance as well!!! I am so tired of the abuse of animals, who can't talk back! They didn't ask to be here in the first place; these people are bullies of the worst kind, and I truly believe that society is seeing where these bullies are headed now that there is shooting after shooting, and it all seems to escalate from our dear beloved animals first!! We are not, and should not, be at war at home in the United States of America; however, from my readings of news, and media, it certainly seems we are! Stronger laws, and time for a 'Look out for one another, and our blessed furry friends out there' are needed! I salute you, Susie and Roy, for all you do, to help support all animals on the face of this troubled earth! God bless you both!!!!!! ♥ ♥"
Bob Carlson: "i sweated my hindquarters off knocking on doors and posting flyers a few summers ago to get Proposition B passed, to regulate puppy mills here in Missouri, the puppy mill capital. it passed, and the ag-funded legislature raised such a stink that the governor, a Democrat in name only, signed a 'compromise' version which hamstrung it. the whores in the legislature tried to say that the voters were misinformed and didn't realize what they were voting for. like hell! so the voters passed a ballot initiative by a decent margin, and the clowns in Jefferson City changed it anyway. it was a typical vote split: St. Louis and Kansas City vs. the rural rest of the state. arrgghh."
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
Review by Davina Black:
“Local author alert! Susie Duncan Sexton of Columbia City writes about animal rights and being raised as a Hoosier, among other things. Her sweet stories refer to some of our favorite Indiana hotspots and her characters remind us of our own small town friends. Sexton is a natural storyteller, flowing in her narrative, and the reader ends her book feeling like she has finished tea with an old friend. There is honesty and courage in her writing and it boasts an experienced baby boomer perspective on religion, media, and politics. Find it on Amazon.com as a print copy or e-book.”
This is really thrilling! Find out more at www.susieduncansexton.com
Drex Morton: "Brava once again, Susie."
Mary Shaull: "Congratulations to Mom, Roy! Proud of her."
Neil Simon: "It is thrilling! Congratulations!"
Michelle C.: "I adore your relationship with your mom. It's wonderful, Roy."
Sabra Thurber: "Is Susie your mum? The book sounds good! I'll have to check it out!"
Shannon Wright: "Right on, Ms. Susie!"
Bev Sexton: "I am impressed and not at all surprised that her book is such a success. What a woman!!!!!"
wow...don even skipped around the house reading this review to me! he is very much onboard after this past busy year and a half giving birth to a...book! THIS got him giddy at last!
____________________
other thoughts...
where to begin? enforce and educate that kindness to all beings is a must in a civilized and cultured and inclusive society. violence breeds violence.
in North Carolina, purebred animals die every day...gassed...all over that state. please help to stop this practice...all animals matter, purebred or not. please encourage others to spay, to neuter, to stop artificially inseminating.
respect for all LIFE -- sentient beings as well because caring breeds empathy-- begins at home...our present descent into violence and hatefulness and fear is frightening and stupid. pull us out of this hell by whatever means possible. go, team, go!
Irmgard Guters: "I think puppy mills are the major cause for the overpopulation of pets. They should all get closed!"
Annie Gagnon: "Couldn't agree more; ignorance breeds ignorance as well!!! I am so tired of the abuse of animals, who can't talk back! They didn't ask to be here in the first place; these people are bullies of the worst kind, and I truly believe that society is seeing where these bullies are headed now that there is shooting after shooting, and it all seems to escalate from our dear beloved animals first!! We are not, and should not, be at war at home in the United States of America; however, from my readings of news, and media, it certainly seems we are! Stronger laws, and time for a 'Look out for one another, and our blessed furry friends out there' are needed! I salute you, Susie and Roy, for all you do, to help support all animals on the face of this troubled earth! God bless you both!!!!!! ♥ ♥"
Bob Carlson: "i sweated my hindquarters off knocking on doors and posting flyers a few summers ago to get Proposition B passed, to regulate puppy mills here in Missouri, the puppy mill capital. it passed, and the ag-funded legislature raised such a stink that the governor, a Democrat in name only, signed a 'compromise' version which hamstrung it. the whores in the legislature tried to say that the voters were misinformed and didn't realize what they were voting for. like hell! so the voters passed a ballot initiative by a decent margin, and the clowns in Jefferson City changed it anyway. it was a typical vote split: St. Louis and Kansas City vs. the rural rest of the state. arrgghh."
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 22, 2013
i could just spit!
"gun culture"? oxymoron! god bless the deer. please god, bless the deer. please?
"hunting" is the nuttiest word. "hunt" mushrooms or as we say in indiana..."hunt musharoons" while dribbling a basketball. evolve...oh, evolve. oh, and "harvest deer" and "grow beef"...arghhhhhh. dammit! and "gun safety"! you know those "inanimate objects" called guns? the world is totally nuts! ah, well...;)
people are thugs...cannot believe some humans are so brain-dead. we specialize in hog roasts and greased pig contests in my neck of the woods....but shhhh...i am hated for saying how much i hate it! ;) raising money for animal projects...come one come all to the hog roast. i could just spit!
Love this response from John Harrington:
______________________
on another note...
eyeball rolling always bugs me...but i think michelle probably had every "right" at that point in a very long and strange day...it must be in the constitution! ;) talk about time warps...poor girl. she is darling. and all the hoops to be jumped through at an inauguration, borrowing a lot of "tradition" from founding father days, must be a total hectic bore. the "balls" must go away...geesh! LOL
...our first lady is NOT our first lady...she is her own PERSON...long live michelle and her independent spirit! about time we enjoyed real people in the white house "situation"...now, if that bothers some opportunistic neo-cons who want all the power, may they squirm for four more years!
whenever i post the wonderful obama family, i LOSE (i am assuming) them old conservative types from my facebook friends...i am rapidly becoming no longer OVER LIMIT with friends! damn, this world is one wacky place. thank goodness for animal lovers and liberals!
______________________
discuss amongst yourselves...
applying testosterone under the armpits? jesus, what is next?
______________________
GREAT quotes...
"We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. ~ William Ralph Inge, Outspoken Essays, 1922
"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight" - Albert Schweitzer
"Beware of people who dislike cats" - Irish Proverb
"I look back on the time I've wasted, and I'm just glad I wasted it while I still had the chance." - Robert Brault
"A busy life can seem like a furniture arrangement where everything is exactly where you told the delivery guy to leave it for now." - Robert Brault
____________________
thanks for this feedback!
Annie Gagnon: "Your work is incredible, and without you and Roy, a lot of our furry babies and furry adults, wouldn't have a home or life, God bless you and Roy!!!! ... Did you ever wonder what a furry animal thinks when looking at us humans with only fur on their heads? Sometimes their expressions tell us!" We love Annie!
Irmgard Guters: "Exactly! Some people might hate her for saying the truth, but I hope she continues!"
Mary Shaull: "Another wonderful bunch of stuff from you! Glad you're sticking up for Michelle. Between that and her daughter sticking out her tongue, I'm smiling and enjoying the Family so much. Yes, the 'balls' are a bit much. Time to go home, put on jammies and crash. Wondered how you felt about fish. Now I know. You are so wonderfully clear! You and Roy make my days."
Victoria Fierek: "I love your writing, Susie! xo ... Roy, your mom is so cool! Thank you for your great reviews and friendship!"
Paul Clifford Schrade: "I must declare that SUSIE is not really a person - and throw away Webster and his definitions of her. SHE'S A PHENOMENON!"
Dina Stylianou: "Nice to meet you, dear phenomenon! All the best my dear!"
Colleen Hornidge: "Susie, you have been doing a great job getting the word out there....three cheers for you!"
this support from these folks is better than medicine...without dangerous side effects...instead filling my heart with joy for a change!~ bless the kind-hearted among us...may they all prevail!
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
"hunting" is the nuttiest word. "hunt" mushrooms or as we say in indiana..."hunt musharoons" while dribbling a basketball. evolve...oh, evolve. oh, and "harvest deer" and "grow beef"...arghhhhhh. dammit! and "gun safety"! you know those "inanimate objects" called guns? the world is totally nuts! ah, well...;)
people are thugs...cannot believe some humans are so brain-dead. we specialize in hog roasts and greased pig contests in my neck of the woods....but shhhh...i am hated for saying how much i hate it! ;) raising money for animal projects...come one come all to the hog roast. i could just spit!
Love this response from John Harrington:
"Killing is the correct word. Words are changed to protect and coerce. Gambling is now called gaming. Oh its endless. I once received a invitation that went something like this 'animal lovers unite....come down and support other animal lovers raise money for German Shepard rescue....all money raised will go to the animals....$39.00 for all you can eat BBQ ribs' - imagine that! Or the guy who recently telling me how much he loves fish.....his Facebook shows him standing next to a half dozen 400 lbs tuna...when I stated the picture was no different than a picture of a smiling man standing next to a bunch of dead lions in Africa, that the tuna and marlin are to the sea what the lion is to the jungle, he stated he agreed but enjoys eating them more than eating lions. Sigh...They would sell the squeal if they could. I confess the misunderstanding of people that work in rescue that when the day is done they eat a hamburger. Work all day trying to pull some shelter dog and them eating a hamburger....wearing leather shoes."
______________________
on another note...
eyeball rolling always bugs me...but i think michelle probably had every "right" at that point in a very long and strange day...it must be in the constitution! ;) talk about time warps...poor girl. she is darling. and all the hoops to be jumped through at an inauguration, borrowing a lot of "tradition" from founding father days, must be a total hectic bore. the "balls" must go away...geesh! LOL
...our first lady is NOT our first lady...she is her own PERSON...long live michelle and her independent spirit! about time we enjoyed real people in the white house "situation"...now, if that bothers some opportunistic neo-cons who want all the power, may they squirm for four more years!
whenever i post the wonderful obama family, i LOSE (i am assuming) them old conservative types from my facebook friends...i am rapidly becoming no longer OVER LIMIT with friends! damn, this world is one wacky place. thank goodness for animal lovers and liberals!
______________________
discuss amongst yourselves...
applying testosterone under the armpits? jesus, what is next?
______________________
GREAT quotes...
"We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. ~ William Ralph Inge, Outspoken Essays, 1922
"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight" - Albert Schweitzer
"Beware of people who dislike cats" - Irish Proverb
"I look back on the time I've wasted, and I'm just glad I wasted it while I still had the chance." - Robert Brault
"A busy life can seem like a furniture arrangement where everything is exactly where you told the delivery guy to leave it for now." - Robert Brault
____________________
thanks for this feedback!
Annie Gagnon: "Your work is incredible, and without you and Roy, a lot of our furry babies and furry adults, wouldn't have a home or life, God bless you and Roy!!!! ... Did you ever wonder what a furry animal thinks when looking at us humans with only fur on their heads? Sometimes their expressions tell us!" We love Annie!
Irmgard Guters: "Exactly! Some people might hate her for saying the truth, but I hope she continues!"
Mary Shaull: "Another wonderful bunch of stuff from you! Glad you're sticking up for Michelle. Between that and her daughter sticking out her tongue, I'm smiling and enjoying the Family so much. Yes, the 'balls' are a bit much. Time to go home, put on jammies and crash. Wondered how you felt about fish. Now I know. You are so wonderfully clear! You and Roy make my days."
Victoria Fierek: "I love your writing, Susie! xo ... Roy, your mom is so cool! Thank you for your great reviews and friendship!"
Paul Clifford Schrade: "I must declare that SUSIE is not really a person - and throw away Webster and his definitions of her. SHE'S A PHENOMENON!"
Dina Stylianou: "Nice to meet you, dear phenomenon! All the best my dear!"
Colleen Hornidge: "Susie, you have been doing a great job getting the word out there....three cheers for you!"
this support from these folks is better than medicine...without dangerous side effects...instead filling my heart with joy for a change!~ bless the kind-hearted among us...may they all prevail!
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 17, 2013
Latest Homeward Angle column: Less Miserable --Thanks to Leading Men!
Ah, the holidays - magical, manic, frantic, stress-inducing, scintillating! My heretofore rather mild psoriasis attack blossomed into Elephant-Man-itis. Doc appointments wriggled their way into the usual notably bustling festivities. Exhaustion and disillusionment R US!
[View the original scanned column by clicking here...]
"Doctor Feel-Good" adventures invaded my individualistic "I do what I wanna do, and when I wanna do it" schedule at the traditionally nutsiest time of the year -- the progression of three celebrations throughout November to January, dictated by the calendar for ages upon ages. You'd better be game. Ride those sparkling events like a demented Beachboy hanging onto a precariously slippery surfboard for dear life! No exceptions! Always remain perky and full of positive thoughts! Bah! Humbug!
This particular season, national events encompassed: stomach churning fiscal cliffs; stubborn "gunblasting-our-way-to-total-obliterative-MASS-massacre" foolishly contentious debates; wildlife culling promoted as sportsy; "looking occasionally cross-eyed" broadcast by the NRA to be certifiable mental illness, which is supposedly the onliest reason that increasingly (currently, more guns in the United States than people) heavily armed, paranoid, violent humans slay one another; ever-present, extremist political points of view quashing peaceful, reasonable dialogue; and self-defeating refusals to deal with climate change's environmental emergencies -- ALL of the aforementioned trampling upon one's liberal-progressive spirit. Chinese water torture.
It follows that a person might reflect inner turmoil via the "pain of psoriasis" -- systemic, unpredictable, an all-too-obvious reaction to the world at large! Furthermore, I am "got" because pharmaceuticals thundered into the life of somebody who never even swallows an aspirin. Ever! Hypochondria's not my style. Probably I lean more toward "Christian Science", but our local branch shut down scores of years ago.
Quick-fix time! Who relishes feeling even a teensy bit under the weather? But how about greeting each day while covered with chicken-pox polka dots which "flare" into patchy, fire-engine red, scaly patches manifesting their myriad selves into mysterious patterns and configurations via a case of latter-day leprosy once featured in Bible stories, left and right? Life, according to Thackeray, is a "Vanity Fair"! Unsightly, temperamental skin eruptions, other than a few scattered mole-like beauty marks here and there, assure that I'll be more anti-social than I am already! Difficult to fathom! Googling unearthed fellow sufferers comic Jon Lovitz and reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian. Misery loves company!
Any boob-tubed obsessed couch potato KNOWS that our societal dependence upon prescription or over-the-counter medications guarantees accompanying unwanted results whenever we watch impossibly perfect models wander gleefully and prettily through peppy commercials. Side-effects listed provide the bulk of the voice-over's script; "possible liver failure, pituitary tumors, severe depression, suicidal thoughts, heart attacks, alteration of personality, debilitating anxiety -- please discontinue use if any of these new symptoms develop!"
Waxy, cortisone-based, steroidal-loaded applications of topical, slathering creams initially converted me into a walking Christmas candle. Within a couple of anxious weeks, I experienced a switch-over to a greasy, oily concoction, no longer in tooth-paste sized tubes but rather in huge jars, which assures that I could effortlessly swim the English Channel as a revisited, slicked-up Gertrude Ederle! These ointments and salves co-mingle, entering my blood stream prompting both inventive dreams and convincing hallucinations. Truly, I spotted JFK, or his identical twin, at Richard's Restaurant recently.
[image error]
"Jack" appeared very fit and startlingly elegant in an expensive over-coat, his distinctive shock of hair -- still parted and combed to one side -- now glistening silver. The president's steely blue eyes peered in my direction in a decidedly aloof country club/landed gentry manner. I spoke to him and am comforted that my husband also witnessed this occurrence. Rod Serling, in a nearby booth, may have been jotting down notes for his "Twilight Zone" series.
Thus, following my relentless rounds with the medical profession in an attempt to retrieve cosmetic acceptability, what TRULY soothed my jangled holiday nerves?
LEADING MEN!!! Handsome matinee idols recently paraded across movie screens before my eager, adulatory eyes! These dudes re-directed my vain, obsessive fixation with my skin onto their perilous adventures with -- respectively -- Her Majesty's Secret Service MI6 , civil wars, and French revolutions. Daniel "James Bond-007" Craig stylishly and ruggedly pursuing villains as the sky falls all around himself, Daniel Day Lewis's 150% inhabiting of the iconic persona of a Christ-like Abraham Lincoln, and hunky Hugh "Jean Valjean- #24601" Jackman's completely convincing, mesmerizing transformation from a despicable singing French convict into an angelic singing French savior of singing French lost souls stole my heart! I vicariously cheered, swooned, and suffered! Sacha Baron Cohen and Javier Bardem boosted my spirits also, as both appeared in these very films as cleverly clownish villains! (Javier made it into my paperback book, "Secrets of an Old Typewriter"!)
Upton Sinclair regarded Victor Hugo's masterpiece "Les Miserables" as "one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world"-- agreed! Susie Sexton, likewise, considers Russell Crowe to be "one of the half-dozen greatest actors of this world or any other"! I'll not be moved to change my accurate evaluation of the Australian perfectionist. Contrary to probably countless audience members' appraisals, I reveled in his "Gladiator"- "Insider" - "Beautiful Mind"-blended super-intelligent approach to the character of conflicted, yet determined, "Inspector Javert". His execution (Crowe detractors might snarkily agree with the word "execution") of the constant musicalized dialogue, required of the entire cast at all times, demonstrated consistent focus, flawless articulation, and a raw honesty captured by not one other vocalist as exquisitely.
Extraordinary Russell's inspirational believability astounds me. Not since Spencer Tracy regaled audiences with total naturalness for decades have I ever been so impressed by any actor. Russ's Inspector Javert, planted firmly amidst dismally dreary overwrought deprived and depraved local masses of French humanity dubbed "Les Miserables", provided the highlight of my 2012-13 holi-daze malaise!
Upon juggling noble protagonist Jackman/ Valjean with aggravating antagonist Crowe/Javert inside my currently addled state of mind, I preferred the performance of Mr. Crowe whose crisp portrayal was neither florid nor melodramatic but instead intriguingly, provocatively observational and artistically out of step with the film's murky tone. For this devotee of unique talent, his Javert won my everlasting devotion. Standing rigidly upon a bridge above the River Seine -- while expressing an anguished puzzlement at the nature of good and evil-- baritone Crowe, as the unbending seeker of often brutal justice, sings: "There is nothing on earth that we share! It is either Valjean or Javert! And my thoughts fly apart. Can this man be believed? Shall his sins be forgiven? I am reaching, but I fall. And the stars are black and cold as I stare into the void of a world that cannot hold. I'll escape now from the world, from the world of Jean Valjean…" Then into the swirling, watery abyss he hurls himself. Could have been my drug-enhanced malady, but I considered diving after him … to administer mouth to mouth resuscitation! (Russell's pending gig involves even more water; he'll be piloting an ark full of animals "two by two" when he stars as … Noah! I can hardly wait!)
____________________
WOW! what neat feedback on this column! thank you!!
Drex Morton: "I'm breaking my self-imposed facebook sabbatical due to the stress of Mother's illness, etc. to thank you, Susie, for reminding me of this thing I love both on the stage and in the cavern comfort of theater seats...And your take on the holiday marathon is 'spot on,' and I may live to see the next 'whirling dervish' season with new eyes because of your perspective of grace under fire. My dear Christian Science friend Bunny Maurer, were she able, would applaud your avoidance of most chemical 'quick fixes' thus far...I do, too. My rare 'rhino-virus' incursion, like your skin reaction, is no doubt revulsion at the thought of all the genuine attacks on the progressive, artistic spirit...Had I known you were to see Jack and Rod at the restaurant, I would have asked you to remember me to each."
Kat Kelly-Heinzelman: "thanks, Roy and Susie! I am so honored....Roy, I think we all are lucky to have the pleasure of knowing and loving your Mom. You my dear friend are the luckiest one of all of us--because not only do you have her has your best friend but you get her as your Mom. Not everyone can have Susie Sexton Duncan as a Mom even if we wish it. But you got lucky when God was handing out Moms the day he found yours you got a keeper. LOL Your Mom isn't aging at all she is more than beautiful than she was when your Dad married her. Thank Roy for sharing your Mom with the rest of us we are so lucky to have her and you in our lives."
Nancy Gray: "Thanks, Roy. I think your mom is so pretty…and a gifted writer!"
Barbara Nicholson: "Roy, your mother has a way with words! I admire her writings, wit and vast knowledge of past and present! Know you and your dad realize she is a gem!!!!"
Michelle: "She is a spunky thing. And clearly a cat lover!"
Mary Shaull: "And away we go! Amazing thoughts. You pull me into your thoughts and observations and emotions with every line! Having just seen Les Miserables, I was with you all the way. Crowe's deliverance was more properly musical than Jackman's, but I liked Jackman's emotional singing more. A song that brings me to tears every time, is Lord Above, Hear my Prayer - and he did it justice. I'll take a million Javier's to one teeny Sasha. Javier is unreal. Nothing else like him. Now and then there's an eeriness in Christopher Walken that chills me, too."
Bev Sexton: "Thank you, Roy.....I don't think your Mom is getting older like the rest of us. She looks great!"
Alice H. Rivera: "I am praying for you. I saw Roy was writing that you were sick. I felt so bad to read that. You are such a very sweet lady, who cares about everyone. Get well and rest a lot. Love you and God bless, Alice - Saint Susie"
Tressa Marie: "Thank you for sharing this wonderful article!"
Mina Linda: "Thank you very much, dear Susie and Roy"
Lotta Stenfelt: "Nice to see there are also a lot of wonderful people in this world...you are sweet Susie... which means people like you too!"
Shannon Wright: "Thumbs up as always!"
Paro Babu: "i totally agree with Tressa ♥ thank you very much, Roy for sharing this ♥ 'thanks to those of you who share these lives hanging in the balance. and for reminding us that animals have the RIGHT to live.' this is what makes me respect Susie more and more day by day...thanks a ton for sharing this, Roy ♥"
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
[View the original scanned column by clicking here...]
"Doctor Feel-Good" adventures invaded my individualistic "I do what I wanna do, and when I wanna do it" schedule at the traditionally nutsiest time of the year -- the progression of three celebrations throughout November to January, dictated by the calendar for ages upon ages. You'd better be game. Ride those sparkling events like a demented Beachboy hanging onto a precariously slippery surfboard for dear life! No exceptions! Always remain perky and full of positive thoughts! Bah! Humbug!
This particular season, national events encompassed: stomach churning fiscal cliffs; stubborn "gunblasting-our-way-to-total-obliterative-MASS-massacre" foolishly contentious debates; wildlife culling promoted as sportsy; "looking occasionally cross-eyed" broadcast by the NRA to be certifiable mental illness, which is supposedly the onliest reason that increasingly (currently, more guns in the United States than people) heavily armed, paranoid, violent humans slay one another; ever-present, extremist political points of view quashing peaceful, reasonable dialogue; and self-defeating refusals to deal with climate change's environmental emergencies -- ALL of the aforementioned trampling upon one's liberal-progressive spirit. Chinese water torture.
It follows that a person might reflect inner turmoil via the "pain of psoriasis" -- systemic, unpredictable, an all-too-obvious reaction to the world at large! Furthermore, I am "got" because pharmaceuticals thundered into the life of somebody who never even swallows an aspirin. Ever! Hypochondria's not my style. Probably I lean more toward "Christian Science", but our local branch shut down scores of years ago.
Quick-fix time! Who relishes feeling even a teensy bit under the weather? But how about greeting each day while covered with chicken-pox polka dots which "flare" into patchy, fire-engine red, scaly patches manifesting their myriad selves into mysterious patterns and configurations via a case of latter-day leprosy once featured in Bible stories, left and right? Life, according to Thackeray, is a "Vanity Fair"! Unsightly, temperamental skin eruptions, other than a few scattered mole-like beauty marks here and there, assure that I'll be more anti-social than I am already! Difficult to fathom! Googling unearthed fellow sufferers comic Jon Lovitz and reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian. Misery loves company!
Any boob-tubed obsessed couch potato KNOWS that our societal dependence upon prescription or over-the-counter medications guarantees accompanying unwanted results whenever we watch impossibly perfect models wander gleefully and prettily through peppy commercials. Side-effects listed provide the bulk of the voice-over's script; "possible liver failure, pituitary tumors, severe depression, suicidal thoughts, heart attacks, alteration of personality, debilitating anxiety -- please discontinue use if any of these new symptoms develop!"
Waxy, cortisone-based, steroidal-loaded applications of topical, slathering creams initially converted me into a walking Christmas candle. Within a couple of anxious weeks, I experienced a switch-over to a greasy, oily concoction, no longer in tooth-paste sized tubes but rather in huge jars, which assures that I could effortlessly swim the English Channel as a revisited, slicked-up Gertrude Ederle! These ointments and salves co-mingle, entering my blood stream prompting both inventive dreams and convincing hallucinations. Truly, I spotted JFK, or his identical twin, at Richard's Restaurant recently.
[image error]
"Jack" appeared very fit and startlingly elegant in an expensive over-coat, his distinctive shock of hair -- still parted and combed to one side -- now glistening silver. The president's steely blue eyes peered in my direction in a decidedly aloof country club/landed gentry manner. I spoke to him and am comforted that my husband also witnessed this occurrence. Rod Serling, in a nearby booth, may have been jotting down notes for his "Twilight Zone" series.
Thus, following my relentless rounds with the medical profession in an attempt to retrieve cosmetic acceptability, what TRULY soothed my jangled holiday nerves?
LEADING MEN!!! Handsome matinee idols recently paraded across movie screens before my eager, adulatory eyes! These dudes re-directed my vain, obsessive fixation with my skin onto their perilous adventures with -- respectively -- Her Majesty's Secret Service MI6 , civil wars, and French revolutions. Daniel "James Bond-007" Craig stylishly and ruggedly pursuing villains as the sky falls all around himself, Daniel Day Lewis's 150% inhabiting of the iconic persona of a Christ-like Abraham Lincoln, and hunky Hugh "Jean Valjean- #24601" Jackman's completely convincing, mesmerizing transformation from a despicable singing French convict into an angelic singing French savior of singing French lost souls stole my heart! I vicariously cheered, swooned, and suffered! Sacha Baron Cohen and Javier Bardem boosted my spirits also, as both appeared in these very films as cleverly clownish villains! (Javier made it into my paperback book, "Secrets of an Old Typewriter"!)
Upton Sinclair regarded Victor Hugo's masterpiece "Les Miserables" as "one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world"-- agreed! Susie Sexton, likewise, considers Russell Crowe to be "one of the half-dozen greatest actors of this world or any other"! I'll not be moved to change my accurate evaluation of the Australian perfectionist. Contrary to probably countless audience members' appraisals, I reveled in his "Gladiator"- "Insider" - "Beautiful Mind"-blended super-intelligent approach to the character of conflicted, yet determined, "Inspector Javert". His execution (Crowe detractors might snarkily agree with the word "execution") of the constant musicalized dialogue, required of the entire cast at all times, demonstrated consistent focus, flawless articulation, and a raw honesty captured by not one other vocalist as exquisitely.
Extraordinary Russell's inspirational believability astounds me. Not since Spencer Tracy regaled audiences with total naturalness for decades have I ever been so impressed by any actor. Russ's Inspector Javert, planted firmly amidst dismally dreary overwrought deprived and depraved local masses of French humanity dubbed "Les Miserables", provided the highlight of my 2012-13 holi-daze malaise!
Upon juggling noble protagonist Jackman/ Valjean with aggravating antagonist Crowe/Javert inside my currently addled state of mind, I preferred the performance of Mr. Crowe whose crisp portrayal was neither florid nor melodramatic but instead intriguingly, provocatively observational and artistically out of step with the film's murky tone. For this devotee of unique talent, his Javert won my everlasting devotion. Standing rigidly upon a bridge above the River Seine -- while expressing an anguished puzzlement at the nature of good and evil-- baritone Crowe, as the unbending seeker of often brutal justice, sings: "There is nothing on earth that we share! It is either Valjean or Javert! And my thoughts fly apart. Can this man be believed? Shall his sins be forgiven? I am reaching, but I fall. And the stars are black and cold as I stare into the void of a world that cannot hold. I'll escape now from the world, from the world of Jean Valjean…" Then into the swirling, watery abyss he hurls himself. Could have been my drug-enhanced malady, but I considered diving after him … to administer mouth to mouth resuscitation! (Russell's pending gig involves even more water; he'll be piloting an ark full of animals "two by two" when he stars as … Noah! I can hardly wait!)
____________________
WOW! what neat feedback on this column! thank you!!
Drex Morton: "I'm breaking my self-imposed facebook sabbatical due to the stress of Mother's illness, etc. to thank you, Susie, for reminding me of this thing I love both on the stage and in the cavern comfort of theater seats...And your take on the holiday marathon is 'spot on,' and I may live to see the next 'whirling dervish' season with new eyes because of your perspective of grace under fire. My dear Christian Science friend Bunny Maurer, were she able, would applaud your avoidance of most chemical 'quick fixes' thus far...I do, too. My rare 'rhino-virus' incursion, like your skin reaction, is no doubt revulsion at the thought of all the genuine attacks on the progressive, artistic spirit...Had I known you were to see Jack and Rod at the restaurant, I would have asked you to remember me to each."
Kat Kelly-Heinzelman: "thanks, Roy and Susie! I am so honored....Roy, I think we all are lucky to have the pleasure of knowing and loving your Mom. You my dear friend are the luckiest one of all of us--because not only do you have her has your best friend but you get her as your Mom. Not everyone can have Susie Sexton Duncan as a Mom even if we wish it. But you got lucky when God was handing out Moms the day he found yours you got a keeper. LOL Your Mom isn't aging at all she is more than beautiful than she was when your Dad married her. Thank Roy for sharing your Mom with the rest of us we are so lucky to have her and you in our lives."
Nancy Gray: "Thanks, Roy. I think your mom is so pretty…and a gifted writer!"
Barbara Nicholson: "Roy, your mother has a way with words! I admire her writings, wit and vast knowledge of past and present! Know you and your dad realize she is a gem!!!!"
Michelle: "She is a spunky thing. And clearly a cat lover!"
Mary Shaull: "And away we go! Amazing thoughts. You pull me into your thoughts and observations and emotions with every line! Having just seen Les Miserables, I was with you all the way. Crowe's deliverance was more properly musical than Jackman's, but I liked Jackman's emotional singing more. A song that brings me to tears every time, is Lord Above, Hear my Prayer - and he did it justice. I'll take a million Javier's to one teeny Sasha. Javier is unreal. Nothing else like him. Now and then there's an eeriness in Christopher Walken that chills me, too."
Bev Sexton: "Thank you, Roy.....I don't think your Mom is getting older like the rest of us. She looks great!"
Alice H. Rivera: "I am praying for you. I saw Roy was writing that you were sick. I felt so bad to read that. You are such a very sweet lady, who cares about everyone. Get well and rest a lot. Love you and God bless, Alice - Saint Susie"
Tressa Marie: "Thank you for sharing this wonderful article!"
Mina Linda: "Thank you very much, dear Susie and Roy"
Lotta Stenfelt: "Nice to see there are also a lot of wonderful people in this world...you are sweet Susie... which means people like you too!"
Shannon Wright: "Thumbs up as always!"
Paro Babu: "i totally agree with Tressa ♥ thank you very much, Roy for sharing this ♥ 'thanks to those of you who share these lives hanging in the balance. and for reminding us that animals have the RIGHT to live.' this is what makes me respect Susie more and more day by day...thanks a ton for sharing this, Roy ♥"
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 15, 2013
(yep, that's my status and i am sticking to it...until i drop!)
breeders and hunters and meat-eaters are all over facebook...therefore so should those of us who do NOT believe in killing animals and in flaunting weapons ... be all over facebook, suggesting alternatives to brutal murder.
LOVE IS THE ANSWER...LET US SHARE EMPATHETIC CONCERN AND ENCOURAGE EVERY EFFORT NECESSARY TO ALLEVIATE SUFFERING AND TO EDUCATE AND TO EVOLVE! NOKILLNATION AND NO EXCEPTIONS!
thanks to those of you who share these lives hanging in the balance. and for reminding us that animals have the RIGHT to live.
(yep, that's my status and i am sticking to it...until i drop!)
____________________
love this post in my facebook fan group by wonderful Bj Bobbi Jo Rucker...
dearly love Bj...i taught that book to my junior high kids and freshmen back in the sixties and seventies...even way back then i tried my damnedest to spread the word on animal rights and welfare. thanks, Bj...you made my day! and my mom had recommended that i teach it...therefore lots of copies should still be in lots of homes. only had one ornery student who refused to love that wonderful little book and tossed it into the wastebasket??? wonder where he is today? ;)
____________________
Commemorative Secrets bracelet created by talented Kama Darr of The Vintage Key (www.thevintagekey.com) - she is incredible! Be sure to check out her website/online store!
____________________
thanks for this feedback!
Tressa Marie: "Awesome...and so much love this quote 'LOVE IS THE ANSWER...LET US SHARE EMPATHETIC CONCERN AND ENCOURAGE EVERY EFFORT NECESSARY TO ALLEVIATE SUFFERING AND TO EDUCATE AND TO EVOLVE! NOKILLNATION AND NO EXCEPTIONS!' Much respect and appreciation!!...I love your Mom and all she stands for and fights for! She is awesome!"
never would have dreamed that advocating NOKILL across the board would take so much guts...seems really kind rather than evil? wow? now, when we stop to THINK about it, the opposite of NOKILL would be KILL! put a checkmark on one or the other. NOKILL NATION is the preference of more and more of us by the second. (here's another smart word: EVOLUTION!) signed: braveheart! ;)
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
LOVE IS THE ANSWER...LET US SHARE EMPATHETIC CONCERN AND ENCOURAGE EVERY EFFORT NECESSARY TO ALLEVIATE SUFFERING AND TO EDUCATE AND TO EVOLVE! NOKILLNATION AND NO EXCEPTIONS!
thanks to those of you who share these lives hanging in the balance. and for reminding us that animals have the RIGHT to live.
(yep, that's my status and i am sticking to it...until i drop!)
____________________
love this post in my facebook fan group by wonderful Bj Bobbi Jo Rucker...
If I may, I just wanted to share about a wonderful little book about a pet quail that I found at the local library here in Columbia City. It is called That Quail, Robert.
I knew people on here are animal lovers like me, so thought some of you might enjoy this book. It is 127 pages long and good for all ages. It's a true story of a retired doctor and his wife who rescued an abandoned quail egg and hatched it. The little quail grows up living in their house bringing loads of joy to others. So heartwarming! A good read for animal lovers since we have the ability to feel...and be warmed by wildlife/pets.
If you live in Columbia City, I currently have the book checked out so my daughters can read it too. So check back at the library soon.
I just want for others to know that poultry are not just birds; they are animals with emotions and their own set of personality traits like cats and dogs. I've had poultry off and on all of my life and have seen them be real tame.
dearly love Bj...i taught that book to my junior high kids and freshmen back in the sixties and seventies...even way back then i tried my damnedest to spread the word on animal rights and welfare. thanks, Bj...you made my day! and my mom had recommended that i teach it...therefore lots of copies should still be in lots of homes. only had one ornery student who refused to love that wonderful little book and tossed it into the wastebasket??? wonder where he is today? ;)
____________________
Commemorative Secrets bracelet created by talented Kama Darr of The Vintage Key (www.thevintagekey.com) - she is incredible! Be sure to check out her website/online store!
____________________
thanks for this feedback!
Tressa Marie: "Awesome...and so much love this quote 'LOVE IS THE ANSWER...LET US SHARE EMPATHETIC CONCERN AND ENCOURAGE EVERY EFFORT NECESSARY TO ALLEVIATE SUFFERING AND TO EDUCATE AND TO EVOLVE! NOKILLNATION AND NO EXCEPTIONS!' Much respect and appreciation!!...I love your Mom and all she stands for and fights for! She is awesome!"
never would have dreamed that advocating NOKILL across the board would take so much guts...seems really kind rather than evil? wow? now, when we stop to THINK about it, the opposite of NOKILL would be KILL! put a checkmark on one or the other. NOKILL NATION is the preference of more and more of us by the second. (here's another smart word: EVOLUTION!) signed: braveheart! ;)
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 8, 2013
they'll have my head mounted on a wall!
"grrr," says a typical man's man on the boob tube..."i certainly don't need an assault rifle to shoot a ...duck!" how nice of you, big ole "sportsman", but...oh, big man, how about not shooting a duck, either..."mentally ill" covers gun permits for duck and bunny murderers...a LOT of us believe...wishing we would all stand up and say so?
...i cannot be the only one...we need to recruit a few more sensible and kind human beings to our justified and noble cause. the "nuts" are all over the airwaves. the NRA must be writing pay-checks to these dopes left and right. what an evil gang...what an evil, wealthy gang of country-clubbers populate the NRA, duping the masses of humanity to kill for sport. maybe i should stay inside today? they'll have my head mounted on a wall! but what a way to go!
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." ~ George Washington Carver
we have gone vegan...cannot imagine WHY anybody eats carcasses...sanctioning murder. so there...i cannot even stand to watch humans eat...i have to look away when we "dine" out. human "animals" are killing themselves not to mention the disregard of the hideous deaths of sentient beings, artifically inseminated to keep the nightmare in place and lucrative for the capitalists who victimize innocent over-bred animals to make a "living"???????
the talking head jerk-wads are getting paid to promote hunting as a sport of gentlemen rather than deliverance types...i just know it...wish there was an honest to gosh true newscast with responsible, investigative newscasters and commentators...they are all being bought off. odd that somebody is not addressing the evils of the hunting mentality. neither safe or humane for man nor beast... money talks!
"There will come a time...when civilized people will look back in horror on our generation and the ones that preceded it: the idea that we should eat other living things running around on four legs, that we should raise them just for the purpose of killing them! The people of the future will say 'meat-eaters!' in disgust and regard us in the same way we regard cannibals and cannibalism"
-Dennis Weaver (actor)
"As long as humans continue to be the ruthless destroyer of other beings, we will never know health or peace. For as long as people massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, those who sow the seed of murder and pain will never reap joy or love."
--Pythagoras
"What do they know - all these scholars, all these philosophers, all the leaders of the world? They have convinced themselves that man, the worst transgressor of all the species, is the crown of creation. All other creatures were created merely to provide him with food, pelts, to be tormented, exterminated. In relation to them, all people are Nazis; for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka."
--Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1978 Nobel Prize Winner
"Our treatment of animals will someday be considered barbarous. There cannot be perfect civilization until man realizes that the rights of every living creature are as sacred as his own." - Dr. David Starr Jordan
____________________
thanks for this feedback!
Lotta Stenfelt: "Good read for animal lovers! And others should read it too, they need it more..."
Paul Clifford Schrade: "In unity there is strength and we must prove that!"
Mary Shaull: "Always interesting, fascinating and touching reads....Either there is so much more in the news about rescuing animals, or I'm just more tuned in due to Susie's pleas. Every day I see segments on TV. Good for Susie, enhancing our awareness - and hopefully action...I wish we could do more about neutering..... and not just four-legged animals."
Paro Babu: Paro Babu "'we need to recruit a few more sensible and kind human beings to our justified and noble cause. the nuts are all over the airwaves.' Excellent lines : 'How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.' Thank you sooo much, Susie, for such wonderful posts...and, Roy, for sharing these blogs."
____________________
i realize that sarah palin assisted in wolves switching to the democrat party...but, hey, they do deserve to live out their lives...as natural beings who hunt in a natural way and not for showboating purposes with costumes and wal-mart weaponry. LET THEM LIVE...stay home and watch football games, guys and gals!
if my husband was a "hunter", he would never be my husband....and vice versa i am certain...please realize that hunting is appalling...
it's such a pose...i have known many of those guys though the years...i remember them well... wish i had told them what i thought...then.
"i have right to NOT own a gun and still feel safe in this society..." what a beautiful thought spoken out loud on the anderson cooper show, from one of his intelligent guests. i love that...so does my husband.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
...i cannot be the only one...we need to recruit a few more sensible and kind human beings to our justified and noble cause. the "nuts" are all over the airwaves. the NRA must be writing pay-checks to these dopes left and right. what an evil gang...what an evil, wealthy gang of country-clubbers populate the NRA, duping the masses of humanity to kill for sport. maybe i should stay inside today? they'll have my head mounted on a wall! but what a way to go!
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." ~ George Washington Carver
we have gone vegan...cannot imagine WHY anybody eats carcasses...sanctioning murder. so there...i cannot even stand to watch humans eat...i have to look away when we "dine" out. human "animals" are killing themselves not to mention the disregard of the hideous deaths of sentient beings, artifically inseminated to keep the nightmare in place and lucrative for the capitalists who victimize innocent over-bred animals to make a "living"???????
the talking head jerk-wads are getting paid to promote hunting as a sport of gentlemen rather than deliverance types...i just know it...wish there was an honest to gosh true newscast with responsible, investigative newscasters and commentators...they are all being bought off. odd that somebody is not addressing the evils of the hunting mentality. neither safe or humane for man nor beast... money talks!
"There will come a time...when civilized people will look back in horror on our generation and the ones that preceded it: the idea that we should eat other living things running around on four legs, that we should raise them just for the purpose of killing them! The people of the future will say 'meat-eaters!' in disgust and regard us in the same way we regard cannibals and cannibalism"
-Dennis Weaver (actor)
"As long as humans continue to be the ruthless destroyer of other beings, we will never know health or peace. For as long as people massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, those who sow the seed of murder and pain will never reap joy or love."
--Pythagoras
"What do they know - all these scholars, all these philosophers, all the leaders of the world? They have convinced themselves that man, the worst transgressor of all the species, is the crown of creation. All other creatures were created merely to provide him with food, pelts, to be tormented, exterminated. In relation to them, all people are Nazis; for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka."
--Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1978 Nobel Prize Winner
"Our treatment of animals will someday be considered barbarous. There cannot be perfect civilization until man realizes that the rights of every living creature are as sacred as his own." - Dr. David Starr Jordan
____________________
thanks for this feedback!
Lotta Stenfelt: "Good read for animal lovers! And others should read it too, they need it more..."
Paul Clifford Schrade: "In unity there is strength and we must prove that!"
Mary Shaull: "Always interesting, fascinating and touching reads....Either there is so much more in the news about rescuing animals, or I'm just more tuned in due to Susie's pleas. Every day I see segments on TV. Good for Susie, enhancing our awareness - and hopefully action...I wish we could do more about neutering..... and not just four-legged animals."
Paro Babu: Paro Babu "'we need to recruit a few more sensible and kind human beings to our justified and noble cause. the nuts are all over the airwaves.' Excellent lines : 'How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.' Thank you sooo much, Susie, for such wonderful posts...and, Roy, for sharing these blogs."
____________________
i realize that sarah palin assisted in wolves switching to the democrat party...but, hey, they do deserve to live out their lives...as natural beings who hunt in a natural way and not for showboating purposes with costumes and wal-mart weaponry. LET THEM LIVE...stay home and watch football games, guys and gals!
if my husband was a "hunter", he would never be my husband....and vice versa i am certain...please realize that hunting is appalling...
it's such a pose...i have known many of those guys though the years...i remember them well... wish i had told them what i thought...then.
"i have right to NOT own a gun and still feel safe in this society..." what a beautiful thought spoken out loud on the anderson cooper show, from one of his intelligent guests. i love that...so does my husband.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 4, 2013
the centre cannot hold...
i have always loved the poem below...well, since college days...speaks to me...very quotable...sort of puzzling...full of promise...yet very frightening. i agonize over its meaning...but yeats created a beauty with this verse!!!
...i cherish humans who care and who advocate and who never back down and who tell it like it is.
reading the papers today...oh, god, help us? "how to care for your down and feather products" hint from HELLoise? "gun safety"=the oxyMORON of all time. "hunting is allowed...a few doves and quail and deer and wolves and elk and mooses/meese occasionally...just a little killing is fine"...dammit. the human race is doomed... a-men.
however, we can overcome...we can...tough work...but worth it!
a "kind person's work is never done"...onward forever! (thick-headed humans are the greatest of challenges...the apathetic ones are THE worst...THE very worst! the play-acting swaggering thugs can be easily deflated...they are full of BS! but the apathetic are totally without consciences...)
and then there is facebook, which has taken to blocking my animal-advocate friends from sharing animals and saving lives. wow....this is a free country? OR is this a country of money-grubbing conservative corporate-minded farts?
...this crap so totally pisses me off...have you seen BOLD NATIVE...i think i got that title right...a great film...spurred me on to fight like hell even more for sentient beings.
facebook has joined the enemy. thank heavens for animal advocates, the only humans who can restore sense and caring to this ego-centered country. thanks to all of us for the work we do on behalf of living and letting live.
either an algorithm fluke or worse? just waiting for society to really care about allll others, including animals, and for corporate greed and politicians to cater to those who really DO give a damn. what a grand day that will be! yay! some day empathy for all living beings might be considered correct. praying for that day!
____________________
from David Rat: "please support this fine artist...I am completely and totally enamoured with her..." thank you, David!!
from Paro Babu: "lovely lines : a 'kind person's work is never done'...onward forever! Thank you soooooooo much, dearest Susie ♥" thank you, Paro!!
____________________
postscript...
quite proud of my community, which is appalled that a pit bull fighting operation chose to set up here in our quiet little county. folks are moving heaven and earth to heal the three dogs victimized...donations flooding into our local humane shelter in record time -- for the poor souls' vet expenses. heartwarming.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
1920 - THE SECOND COMING ~ W. B. Yeats
...i cherish humans who care and who advocate and who never back down and who tell it like it is.
reading the papers today...oh, god, help us? "how to care for your down and feather products" hint from HELLoise? "gun safety"=the oxyMORON of all time. "hunting is allowed...a few doves and quail and deer and wolves and elk and mooses/meese occasionally...just a little killing is fine"...dammit. the human race is doomed... a-men.
however, we can overcome...we can...tough work...but worth it!
a "kind person's work is never done"...onward forever! (thick-headed humans are the greatest of challenges...the apathetic ones are THE worst...THE very worst! the play-acting swaggering thugs can be easily deflated...they are full of BS! but the apathetic are totally without consciences...)
and then there is facebook, which has taken to blocking my animal-advocate friends from sharing animals and saving lives. wow....this is a free country? OR is this a country of money-grubbing conservative corporate-minded farts?
...this crap so totally pisses me off...have you seen BOLD NATIVE...i think i got that title right...a great film...spurred me on to fight like hell even more for sentient beings.
facebook has joined the enemy. thank heavens for animal advocates, the only humans who can restore sense and caring to this ego-centered country. thanks to all of us for the work we do on behalf of living and letting live.
either an algorithm fluke or worse? just waiting for society to really care about allll others, including animals, and for corporate greed and politicians to cater to those who really DO give a damn. what a grand day that will be! yay! some day empathy for all living beings might be considered correct. praying for that day!
____________________
from David Rat: "please support this fine artist...I am completely and totally enamoured with her..." thank you, David!!
from Paro Babu: "lovely lines : a 'kind person's work is never done'...onward forever! Thank you soooooooo much, dearest Susie ♥" thank you, Paro!!
____________________
postscript...
quite proud of my community, which is appalled that a pit bull fighting operation chose to set up here in our quiet little county. folks are moving heaven and earth to heal the three dogs victimized...donations flooding into our local humane shelter in record time -- for the poor souls' vet expenses. heartwarming.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
January 1, 2013
happy new year good humans...
happy new year good humans who squawk back! love you all!
hey, sentient beings of this earth...so very many of us love each of you and care about your lives and your well-being and your rights...we are here for you...some of these videos and photographs rip out our hearts daily and nightly...but that means we do have hearts...and our legions are increasing.
enlightenment! may 2013 turn more human hearts your direction...a prayer of mine to be sure. a prayer offered many times every day of my life.
try to picture some "human" about to "euthanize" these dolls, these homeless, these innocent orphans...and then click "share" to help save a life and to stay that needle or that gas chamber or that heart-stick or that gun..."share" daily to help save many lives...to empty the cages in a good way...no more slaughter! thanks! truly, thanks! a super new year's resolution would be to vow to turn our violent culture around...caring about animal welfare and rights is a start...a definite start...a win/win situation.
________________
anniversary card created by my husband don...
________________
40th birthday image of my son, created by his pal john merle...
____________________
loving this feedback!
Jc Equality Tilton: "Let's all hope for the future of earth and all within it, humans will become less selfish this new year and start thinking about others and what they are destroying...... Happy New Year, Susie Sexton, thank you for all you do, may 2013 bring you and your family great things"
Madeleine Fisher Kern: "I'm wit ya, sistuh!"
Drex Morton: "Amen and thanks, Susie!"
Bob Wannberg: "Happy New Year, Susie, thank you for your friendship and thank you for your love and tireless work to save our animal friends everywhere; I can think of no stronger pleasure than holding one of my furry family members and letting them know that they are safe, secure and have so much love; and that beautiful people like you are saving their brothers and sisters every day; peace and love to you always! and to Roy as well, we are indeed blessed to know you both."
Paul Iwanicki: "Real quick, if it wasn't for Roy Sexton I would have never found the Irving shelter. Nor would I have Roxie. Thank you and Susie Sexton...she was the one who posted about Roxie. That's how I found the shelter. She does good work!"
Paul Clifford Schrade: "SUSIE...DO NOT FEAR ANY APPROACHING CROWD. THEY ARE COMING TO LIFT YOU TO THEIR SHOULDERS AND CANONIZE YOU!"
Louise Harrison: "Thanks, Roy and Susie, for all your support of animal rights and thanks, Susie, for your fabulous book 'Secrets of an Old Typewriter' - I loved it!"
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
hey, sentient beings of this earth...so very many of us love each of you and care about your lives and your well-being and your rights...we are here for you...some of these videos and photographs rip out our hearts daily and nightly...but that means we do have hearts...and our legions are increasing.
enlightenment! may 2013 turn more human hearts your direction...a prayer of mine to be sure. a prayer offered many times every day of my life.
try to picture some "human" about to "euthanize" these dolls, these homeless, these innocent orphans...and then click "share" to help save a life and to stay that needle or that gas chamber or that heart-stick or that gun..."share" daily to help save many lives...to empty the cages in a good way...no more slaughter! thanks! truly, thanks! a super new year's resolution would be to vow to turn our violent culture around...caring about animal welfare and rights is a start...a definite start...a win/win situation.
________________
anniversary card created by my husband don...
________________
40th birthday image of my son, created by his pal john merle...
____________________
loving this feedback!
Jc Equality Tilton: "Let's all hope for the future of earth and all within it, humans will become less selfish this new year and start thinking about others and what they are destroying...... Happy New Year, Susie Sexton, thank you for all you do, may 2013 bring you and your family great things"
Madeleine Fisher Kern: "I'm wit ya, sistuh!"
Drex Morton: "Amen and thanks, Susie!"
Bob Wannberg: "Happy New Year, Susie, thank you for your friendship and thank you for your love and tireless work to save our animal friends everywhere; I can think of no stronger pleasure than holding one of my furry family members and letting them know that they are safe, secure and have so much love; and that beautiful people like you are saving their brothers and sisters every day; peace and love to you always! and to Roy as well, we are indeed blessed to know you both."
Paul Iwanicki: "Real quick, if it wasn't for Roy Sexton I would have never found the Irving shelter. Nor would I have Roxie. Thank you and Susie Sexton...she was the one who posted about Roxie. That's how I found the shelter. She does good work!"
Paul Clifford Schrade: "SUSIE...DO NOT FEAR ANY APPROACHING CROWD. THEY ARE COMING TO LIFT YOU TO THEIR SHOULDERS AND CANONIZE YOU!"
Louise Harrison: "Thanks, Roy and Susie, for all your support of animal rights and thanks, Susie, for your fabulous book 'Secrets of an Old Typewriter' - I loved it!"
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
December 20, 2012
Latest Homeward Angle column: Home for the Holidays
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! View photos and original column by clicking here...
Huge pink rollers in hair, barefoot, wiping my hands on a tired t-shirt, I responded to the door-bell. Son Roy stood shivering in the brisk November afternoon breeze with his duffel bag in one gloved hand and his laptop snuggled close to his chest.
Within 20 minutes, both of us seated around the tidied up kitchen table near an electrical outlet, we set up a tiny makeshift studio for another "skyping" operation -- not the first time! Earphones now attached to my hastily coiffured head, I smoothed my rumpled V-necked sweater newly purchased for this occasion. Noteworthy German-born Thomas Janak, holistic healer/animal activist now living near Birmingham in the U.K., commenced his crisply intelligent interviewing of Roy's mom. Within a few hours, our fun friend Keith Kleespie joined our family to listen to the results, as if we'd gathered around an old-timey radio to listen to FDR's Fireside Chats! [Click here to listen...]
Day two of our Thanksgiving get-together: Picture the Sextons, on that mandatory day of gratitude, traipsing about Thorncreek Township petting goats, feeding left-overs to kittens, observing chickens strutting about the premises, and all of us conversing with Bob Wight's terrific kids --Zach, Sam, and Erin -- and his San Francisco based brother who works in Silicon Valley and their pop who divides his time between Vermont and Florida! Off to The Guest House in Ft. Wayne for dessert prior to a rather grudging viewing of "The Life of Pi"… 3-D version no less! Our immediate review? An annoyingly indecipherable film! Beautiful, yet puzzling and odd. "Lincoln" and "Skyfall" behind us now…"Pi" had beckoned as our third choice, and we felt we had wasted our money until the next day when, upon collective review, its powerful message leaped into our psyches not unlike fierce Bengal Tiger "Richard Parker" pouncing almost literally onto our laps!
On Friday, November 23rd at 2:00 p.m., a most meaningful Thanksgiving experience began to take shape. Seated in a Columbia City United Methodist church pew, between Pam Thompson and Don Sexton, I focused upon larger-than-life, happy slides projected onto the chancel wall. My very special C.C.J.H.S. United States/World history teacher Mr. Bob Berry, who died on October 18, 2012, smiled at us, a twinkle in his eyes. Captions such as "Let my work speak for me" and "I just called to say 'I love you!' " brought that very special gentleman to life, his presence felt by each of us in attendance. Meeting Bob for the first time 50 years ago when I was 16, I recalled my delight in the late eighties and nineties that our son Roy also would receive instruction from this lively, kind, fair-minded, authentic, and intuitive scholar whom our town must always count as one of our superior educators.
First, perpetually friendly, retired social studies educator Jim Thompson eulogized Robert Lee Berry with accounts of shared academic experiences -- throughout many years as a colleague -- and antics outside the classroom setting as well. What apt images the speaker created! "Each individual in my department will behave as a professional at all times, and the gentlemen are expected to wear ties," boomed Jim quoting chairman Bob while pointing to his own red tie from his momentary station at the pulpit.
Next, Roy Sexton struck a serious chord with his vivid description of his esteemed professor: "Mr. Berry celebrated our talents, believing us while believing IN us, treated us as adults, and never undercut us. He changed my life and prepared me for college and two graduate degrees. No one was as challenging, but I also realized that as hard as I was working, he was working harder in dogged preparation. And he taught me the most important thing -- be loyal, stand up for what is right, and have the back of those you respect and admire." A quotation from the Shakespeare play "As You Like It", concerning how the past sweetens the present, seemed to conclude Roy's presentation. However, Roy had recently met with his teacher one last time when Mr. Berry accompanied Don and myself to Michigan to enjoy Roy's portrayal of Curly in the musical comedy "Oklahoma". An unexpected, crystal-clear, acappella rendition of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' ", dedicated to the supportive spirit of Robert L. Berry, unleashed a few tears.
Beautiful Liz Berry Schatzlein, former WANE-TV news anchor, followed with her poignant recollection of a high point in her father's life -- and hers as well. As a young child, she watched breathlessly as her daddy participated in a basketball game with his C.C.J.H.S. faculty teammates versus a squad of WOWO hoopsters. Achingly close to the final buzzer, Mr. B. attempted one of his signature long shots while it seemed "the entire town boo-ed his effort from bleacher seats only to turn on a dime and cheer loudly when the ball sank almost magically…nothing but net!" All of us in attendance at his remarkable and uplifting memorial service joyously sang in chorus our "Eagle Fight Song"!
Buoyed by this exceptional moment in time spent reminiscing about one of Columbia City's finest citizens ever, several of us chatted for a while longer in the foyer. Keith Kleespie, whom Liz lovingly introduced as her "manager" -- during her reign as Miss Northeast Indiana -- to her son Derek, and Roy and I drove to Northside Grill, ordered some delicious sandwiches, then stumbled upon Santa's first ever "starry starry" nighttime arrival into Columbia City! Across Van Buren Street we rushed to the tiny red "Kris Kringle" house on the courthouse lawn, to scratch reindeer behind their ears, to wave at St. Nick himself, to enjoy laughing with witty Tony Winebrenner and his talented wife Jill, and to recall with Jayne Mullendore Oliver the golfing escapades of a couple of special fellows we both knew quite well, named Stanley "Mully" Mullendore and Roy "Governor" Duncan, our dads!
Holiday break time concluded, our son backed his car from our driveway onto Line Street to head for his own home, immediately after participating in an interview for Deb Lowrance's Whitley County series of oral history recollections. Don and I turned to re-enter our house. A final Thanksgiving memory in the making awaited us. Friend Laura Gater requested assistance to retrieve her ragdoll cat who had leapt from Laura's rolled down window in the Lake City Bank parking lot! Armed with flashlights and Nine Lives canned cat food, chivalrous pet enthusiast Don drove to aid in searching for "Tuki" -- over hill, dale and the harsh concrete pavement of busy highways. Two hours later, the wayward feline surfaced, huddled and cuddled under the van's back seat…never having escaped her vehicle after all?
Yuletide season now upon us, stay tuned for an account of "Home for the Holidays--Part Two", no doubt about it! From Mr. Berry's memorial service pamphlet -- entitled "Each Life Has A Story": "Today's little moments become tomorrow's precious memories."
Epitaph: "The best teachers teach from the heart."
thanks for this wonderful feedback!
Liz Berry-Schatzlein: "Wherever dad is right now, he's smiling about this column. It would please him so much to know he was remembered fondly, by students and people he so admired....So very, very touching. Dad would be so proud!!"
Carol Baker: "Roy, your mom is awesome. Great tribute to a valued teacher. I remember my greatest teachers fondly - and like yours, they were the ones who challenged me....What a nice tribute to a teacher. The ones I most valued were the ones who challenged me - and that has served me well to this day.""
Angie Choe-Smith: "Cute pics! Loved the article…and the quote…'… be loyal, stand up for what is right, and have the back of those you respect and admire.'"
Caroline Gersch: "These pics are so cuh-yoot!"
Blanche Ritter: "Thank you - I love reading her stuff."
Deb Lowrance: "Have a Joyous Christmas, Roy and family!"
David Rat: "I love Susie!"
Kat Kelly-Heinzelman: "Have a very Merry Christmas, Susie and Roy and your family also....love you guys !!!!"
Debra Chinworth Brock: "My dad and one sister live in Columbia City! ... Don Lewis and Ron and Rita Longenbaugh."
Drex Morton: "Brava, Susie...thanks for a moment that will become a precious memory..."
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or 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
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
Huge pink rollers in hair, barefoot, wiping my hands on a tired t-shirt, I responded to the door-bell. Son Roy stood shivering in the brisk November afternoon breeze with his duffel bag in one gloved hand and his laptop snuggled close to his chest.
Within 20 minutes, both of us seated around the tidied up kitchen table near an electrical outlet, we set up a tiny makeshift studio for another "skyping" operation -- not the first time! Earphones now attached to my hastily coiffured head, I smoothed my rumpled V-necked sweater newly purchased for this occasion. Noteworthy German-born Thomas Janak, holistic healer/animal activist now living near Birmingham in the U.K., commenced his crisply intelligent interviewing of Roy's mom. Within a few hours, our fun friend Keith Kleespie joined our family to listen to the results, as if we'd gathered around an old-timey radio to listen to FDR's Fireside Chats! [Click here to listen...]
Day two of our Thanksgiving get-together: Picture the Sextons, on that mandatory day of gratitude, traipsing about Thorncreek Township petting goats, feeding left-overs to kittens, observing chickens strutting about the premises, and all of us conversing with Bob Wight's terrific kids --Zach, Sam, and Erin -- and his San Francisco based brother who works in Silicon Valley and their pop who divides his time between Vermont and Florida! Off to The Guest House in Ft. Wayne for dessert prior to a rather grudging viewing of "The Life of Pi"… 3-D version no less! Our immediate review? An annoyingly indecipherable film! Beautiful, yet puzzling and odd. "Lincoln" and "Skyfall" behind us now…"Pi" had beckoned as our third choice, and we felt we had wasted our money until the next day when, upon collective review, its powerful message leaped into our psyches not unlike fierce Bengal Tiger "Richard Parker" pouncing almost literally onto our laps!
On Friday, November 23rd at 2:00 p.m., a most meaningful Thanksgiving experience began to take shape. Seated in a Columbia City United Methodist church pew, between Pam Thompson and Don Sexton, I focused upon larger-than-life, happy slides projected onto the chancel wall. My very special C.C.J.H.S. United States/World history teacher Mr. Bob Berry, who died on October 18, 2012, smiled at us, a twinkle in his eyes. Captions such as "Let my work speak for me" and "I just called to say 'I love you!' " brought that very special gentleman to life, his presence felt by each of us in attendance. Meeting Bob for the first time 50 years ago when I was 16, I recalled my delight in the late eighties and nineties that our son Roy also would receive instruction from this lively, kind, fair-minded, authentic, and intuitive scholar whom our town must always count as one of our superior educators.
First, perpetually friendly, retired social studies educator Jim Thompson eulogized Robert Lee Berry with accounts of shared academic experiences -- throughout many years as a colleague -- and antics outside the classroom setting as well. What apt images the speaker created! "Each individual in my department will behave as a professional at all times, and the gentlemen are expected to wear ties," boomed Jim quoting chairman Bob while pointing to his own red tie from his momentary station at the pulpit.
Next, Roy Sexton struck a serious chord with his vivid description of his esteemed professor: "Mr. Berry celebrated our talents, believing us while believing IN us, treated us as adults, and never undercut us. He changed my life and prepared me for college and two graduate degrees. No one was as challenging, but I also realized that as hard as I was working, he was working harder in dogged preparation. And he taught me the most important thing -- be loyal, stand up for what is right, and have the back of those you respect and admire." A quotation from the Shakespeare play "As You Like It", concerning how the past sweetens the present, seemed to conclude Roy's presentation. However, Roy had recently met with his teacher one last time when Mr. Berry accompanied Don and myself to Michigan to enjoy Roy's portrayal of Curly in the musical comedy "Oklahoma". An unexpected, crystal-clear, acappella rendition of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' ", dedicated to the supportive spirit of Robert L. Berry, unleashed a few tears.
Beautiful Liz Berry Schatzlein, former WANE-TV news anchor, followed with her poignant recollection of a high point in her father's life -- and hers as well. As a young child, she watched breathlessly as her daddy participated in a basketball game with his C.C.J.H.S. faculty teammates versus a squad of WOWO hoopsters. Achingly close to the final buzzer, Mr. B. attempted one of his signature long shots while it seemed "the entire town boo-ed his effort from bleacher seats only to turn on a dime and cheer loudly when the ball sank almost magically…nothing but net!" All of us in attendance at his remarkable and uplifting memorial service joyously sang in chorus our "Eagle Fight Song"!
Buoyed by this exceptional moment in time spent reminiscing about one of Columbia City's finest citizens ever, several of us chatted for a while longer in the foyer. Keith Kleespie, whom Liz lovingly introduced as her "manager" -- during her reign as Miss Northeast Indiana -- to her son Derek, and Roy and I drove to Northside Grill, ordered some delicious sandwiches, then stumbled upon Santa's first ever "starry starry" nighttime arrival into Columbia City! Across Van Buren Street we rushed to the tiny red "Kris Kringle" house on the courthouse lawn, to scratch reindeer behind their ears, to wave at St. Nick himself, to enjoy laughing with witty Tony Winebrenner and his talented wife Jill, and to recall with Jayne Mullendore Oliver the golfing escapades of a couple of special fellows we both knew quite well, named Stanley "Mully" Mullendore and Roy "Governor" Duncan, our dads!
Holiday break time concluded, our son backed his car from our driveway onto Line Street to head for his own home, immediately after participating in an interview for Deb Lowrance's Whitley County series of oral history recollections. Don and I turned to re-enter our house. A final Thanksgiving memory in the making awaited us. Friend Laura Gater requested assistance to retrieve her ragdoll cat who had leapt from Laura's rolled down window in the Lake City Bank parking lot! Armed with flashlights and Nine Lives canned cat food, chivalrous pet enthusiast Don drove to aid in searching for "Tuki" -- over hill, dale and the harsh concrete pavement of busy highways. Two hours later, the wayward feline surfaced, huddled and cuddled under the van's back seat…never having escaped her vehicle after all?
Yuletide season now upon us, stay tuned for an account of "Home for the Holidays--Part Two", no doubt about it! From Mr. Berry's memorial service pamphlet -- entitled "Each Life Has A Story": "Today's little moments become tomorrow's precious memories."
Epitaph: "The best teachers teach from the heart."
thanks for this wonderful feedback!
Liz Berry-Schatzlein: "Wherever dad is right now, he's smiling about this column. It would please him so much to know he was remembered fondly, by students and people he so admired....So very, very touching. Dad would be so proud!!"
Carol Baker: "Roy, your mom is awesome. Great tribute to a valued teacher. I remember my greatest teachers fondly - and like yours, they were the ones who challenged me....What a nice tribute to a teacher. The ones I most valued were the ones who challenged me - and that has served me well to this day.""
Angie Choe-Smith: "Cute pics! Loved the article…and the quote…'… be loyal, stand up for what is right, and have the back of those you respect and admire.'"
Caroline Gersch: "These pics are so cuh-yoot!"
Blanche Ritter: "Thank you - I love reading her stuff."
Deb Lowrance: "Have a Joyous Christmas, Roy and family!"
David Rat: "I love Susie!"
Kat Kelly-Heinzelman: "Have a very Merry Christmas, Susie and Roy and your family also....love you guys !!!!"
Debra Chinworth Brock: "My dad and one sister live in Columbia City! ... Don Lewis and Ron and Rita Longenbaugh."
Drex Morton: "Brava, Susie...thanks for a moment that will become a precious memory..."
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