“A New York City man who plunged 39 stories from the rooftop of an apartment building has survived after crashing onto a parked car.Witnesses and police said 22-year-old Thomas Magill jumped from the high-rise at West 63rd Street on Tuesday and landed in the backseat area of a Dodge Charger.”
I think back to that afternoon on Aug.31st, 1974, and the smile on Shirley’s lips as we repeated our vows. The elation and the celebration was special for many reasons.
I was finally ready to settle down after wandering around the country for three years after getting out of the Army. More important, I found out that I still had the capacity to love. During those three years of traveling I convinced myself that I was an island, and didn’t need anyone.
I saw such hate and horror in Vietnam that I was sure love was a myth. I condemned mankind in general because of that war. I didn’t see how love could survive in such a world. I was angry and disillusioned.
But something happened in 1974. I returned to California and started dating Shirley. Within six months I asked her to marry me. What previously seemed impossible had happened – I fell in love.
From that moment when we said our “I do’s” my life was transformed. Nine months later we had our first child which motivated me to go to college and to get a profession. I finally had a reason for being. A focus in life.
We had three sons who are all Dad’s now. Now we have five grandchildren. I never imagined myself being a grandfather, but it is a grand experience. I never would have guessed that I’d be in such a great situation at this point in my life.
As It Stands, Miracles can happen. I know this for sure, because Shirley has proven to be the miracle in my life.
“The monitoring is at its lowest level since becoming law more than a decade ago, putting swimmers, surfers and divers at greater risk of exposure to contaminated water, a Times investigation shows.” Health testing way down at California beaches
Photos were taken at College Cove and Clam Beach in Humboldt County.
PHOTO -Farmers' Almanac managing editor Sandi Duncan, left, and editor Peter Geiger pose with a copy of the 2011 almanac on Thursday in Lewiston, Maine. The Farmers' Almanac says most of the nation can expect a "kinder and gentler" winter season but New Englanders who enjoyed a respite from brutal cold last winter will find colder-than-normal weather to be a "slap in the face."
UPDATE BELOW
By Dave Stancliff/For The Times-Standard
Posted: 08/29/2010 01:28:55 AM PDT
I love animals, and hate to see pet owners exploited.
I'm not referring to owners who buy organic pet food, or those who take their animals to a regular veterinarian to assure their health, or who buy expensive toys for their pets. I'm not even talking about people who fly their pets on specialty airlines (http://www.petairways.com).
Those scenarios seem perfectly reasonable if you have the money and the inclination. If you love your animal, and millions of Americans do -- to the tune of $47.7 billion in 2009 according to American Pet Products -- then the expense seems justified. Non-pet owners may disagree and shake their heads. I say to each his own, as long as there's mutual respect and no one is being cheated.
With that established, I want to share where I draw the line between “reasonable” as mentioned above, and expenses that are really elaborate rip-offs.
When someone tells you they can find your missing animal because they talk with the pet's spirits/energies, you will become a victim if you buy it. If they claim to talk with dead animals or to heal your pet's illness by touching them, smile, wish them a good day, and slowly back away.
I searched the web for a good example of a pet psychic/communicator and came up with Ellen Kohn (www.enlightenedanimals.com). Her beautifully laid out website offers numerous psychic services for pet owners.
Kohn recently completed an accredited program and received her Spiritual Counseling Degree. I'll go into where you can get such a degree shortly, but first, let's examine what she offers pet owners:
According to her website, she has communication skills that help track lost animals; she talks with live and deceased animals; she can heal animals by touching them; and she solves any emotional traumas or imbalances your pet may have. Move over Dr. Doolittle.
Kohn can hold long distance “chats” via a meditative process and uses crystals for (you guessed it) clarity and perception. She writes everything down -- any questions you may have -- and follows up with phone consultations with owner and pet. These consultations can last for months.
Kohn also employs the 38 Bach Flower remedies created by British physician Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930s. Where did Kohn learn this and stuff like Spirit-to-Spirit Communication? This ability to chat it up with dead animals doesn't just happen after a vision or something.
You have to go to a special place like the Gurney Institute of Animal Communication (www.gurney institute.com/main.html), to find the answer. After working in the “field” for 20 years, Carol Gurney established the institute in 2008. Since then, she claims she has trained “thousands” of animal pet psychics/communicators.
Does all this sound a little “off-kilter” to you? You're not the only one. Joe Nickell, a senior research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (www.csiop.org/), says pet psychics are a rip-off. Nickell, a self-proclaimed full-time paranormal investigator, claims he's seen it all in 40 years of research. He prides himself on knowing all the tricks used on the pet psychic's clients. You might say he's a modern day Houdini (who loved to expose fraudulent people psychics) on a 21st century mission.
Nickell calls the pet psychic's approach with clients “the art of fishing for information.” He explains that cold reading, a technique where the psychic asks questions instead of stating facts, makes general statements and watches for body language clues, is an important tool in the pet psychic's box of tricks.
Simply put, the pet isn't going to give anything away. The pet psychic really reads the owner. The people who are vulnerable to these psychics are grieving pet owners, or desperate people with pets that in need a physical miracle.
I don't think all pet-psychics are intentional frauds. There are some who really think they're helping. The tipping point is money. If none is required, then you can safely explore without being exploited.
As It Stands, if there's one thing I'm sure of it's the special bond between pets and their owners. It is no different than the bond between humans; called love.
UPDATE: Websites that have picked up this column
The Book of Throth Paranormal Research and Discussion
Skepticator – Skeptical Content For Everyone
NewsPlurk United States News & Search Aggregator
Google News – Top stories
NewsDay –A Florida publication
Bulldada Newsblog – The High Weirdness Project
Twitter – By Free Psychic
India Times online publication
The Cult News Network –online publication
News Feed Research – More than just a news feed
PetShipper - Welcome to Pet Shipper Pet Transport, Animal Travel, the Pet Travel Directory. Pet Air Travel Advice. Pet Shipping Agents, Pet Transport.
Pet Lolled net articles
'I think it's the most unusual item we've ever had in our auction'
Hard to believe someone paid this much for a crapper – even a famous one!
It's not even Labor Day and negative political ads are muscling in on your TV time. Across the country, ad spending is up and attack ads lead the way.
“As of this week, candidates for state and federal office had spent $395 million on ads for the November elections, compared with $286 million at this point in the 2006 midterms. More than half the ads have been negative.”
As It Stands explores the murky world of pet psychics who perform miracles. They can talk with your pet via the phone (just provide a pic of the pet), or find your lost pet. They dredge up spirits of past pets and even tell you what they were reincarnated as in case you want to continue your relationship with that special pet.
“A Hawaii man who says he is unable to bathe, dress himself or wake up in the day because he is addicted to the video game "Lineage II" may proceed with his suit against the game's South Korean developer, a federal judge has ruled.”
UPDATE
: this turned out to be a viral hoax.
Sorry about that….
Tonight the Whole World is waiting for...
the planet Mars to be at it’s brightest.
It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye tonight when it comes within 34.65M miles off earth.
The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.
The last decade has seen a steady increase in the costs of fast food, according to FinanceBuzz , a personal finance site. The good news is...
