If I Had Unlimited Resources, I Would...

I would create a non profit organization to help educate the public about the many Fake Pet Rescuers that are not really saving animals, but killing them.



It's not like they are killing them at a shelter that is overloaded with dogs and cats that have not been adopted. They actually lie and tell people they will "place them in new "forever homes" and they will be well cared for until they are placed, even if it takes forever."



They actually trap pets that may have accidentally gotten loose, or lost or even stolen from their rightful owner. They don't care if they are wearing a collar with tags, or even if they are micro chipped, they are destroyed, usually within hours of being taken in or trapped.



In the meantime, the owners are bating the bushes trying to find their lost pet, and don't have any idea that it is already dead.



I would also provide finding for spay/neuter of pet dogs, cats, as well as pet pigs.



I would also create more Internet Web sites for free listing of lost or found pets of any species.



I would have provision for feeding pets of people who would otherwise have to give up their pets due to circumstances beyond their control, such as serious illnesses, loss of a job.



I would also have a program for helping with veterinary bills for pets of seniors, and disabled persons who have limited income.

Me, as a Teen

How we change with time, huh?

Well, heavens... At what age as a teenager?



I turned a teen at 13, but there were many changes between 13 & 19...



I never was a "shrinking Violet, " though I was not either a rowdy teen...



I had several decent friends, and pretty much avoided those who had no scruples and those who made jokes about things they had stolen from local businesses.



One extremely cute guy in my class named Jack, who practically every girl in school was after was one of those kids I chose to avoid. He thought he was the "Cock of the Walk" so do speak, and dressed in muscle shirts, and tight fitting levis, but was not the sort of person I wanted to be friends with at all.



There was also a very tall new girl in my class who was new to our area. Her family was from new York, so of course she had the usual Brooklyn accent, and a temper to boot.



She towered over all the rest of us, and I guess she thought she had to be tough to be accepted.



One day, she tried to pick a fight with me, and I told her that I didn't believe in fighting. Then of course, she called me "chicken." She said something to the effect, "You scared to fight?"



I said I was not afraid to fight, but that I didn't like fighting. Then, she said again, "C'mon, fight!"



I said, "I didn't say I don't know how to fight, but that I don't like to fight. I will not fight unless you start it, and if you do, you had better make your first punch your best one, 'cause that's the only one you will get. You start the fight, and I will finish it."



Sharon, her name, never bothered me again. Actually, she respected me, and we became good friends. I don't even remember her trying to start another fight with anyone.



Maybe it was something I said? Or maybe it was because I was one of the shortest kids in class, even though I was not the youngest, and she had blown her credibility since I gave her the option of striking the first blow, and when I said I would finish it, it may have made her feel like a "chicken."



I married at age 18, and was 5'3" and weighed 110, had brown hair, blue eyes, and my measurements were 40-22-36.



Our first child was born one year and four days after our first wedding anniversary.



Is that enough?



I'm now 65, weigh more than I'd like and am still 5"3" with gray hair, blue eyes, and now wear glasses.



However; people who knew my many years ago, could, until the last year or so. still recognize me, until my hair turned almost entirely gray very rapidly over the past 18 months.



I still have my own teeth, and am still the same person, although I have been widowed since 1995.

The Scariest Moment Came When With Only Inches To Spare

They were all staring death in the face

Their family was heading home from a day trip to the desert in southern California. They had been to Apple Valley, where they climbed some of the gigantic boulders and picked up sea shells among the mountains of rocks and boulders. They had a nice picnic and just were enjoying the open spaces for a day. For some reason her Mother was driving instead of her Father.



Her Mom was not a confident person behind the wheel, and the two youngsters were in the rear seat of the 1947 Chrysler. They had one of their dogs along that day, and he was also in the back seat.



The older child was in her teens, (about 16 or so) and the younger one, also a girl, was seven and a half years younger.



Suddenly, while their Mom was driving in the right hand lane, which was her preferred lane, their parents were discussing which side their upcoming exit would be on. Ordinarily, freeway exits are on the right hand side of the freeway, but their Father kept telling his wife that they would be exiting to the left.



The older of the girls didn't really have time to interject that she too was pretty sure the exit would be on the left, when suddenly, they saw a fast approaching exit, which was blocked by quite a few fast moving vehicles.



While the Father was just about to say that they could just go to the next exit, his wife, (their Mother) suddenly hit the brake full force and headed directly across the three or four lane freeway directly in the path of several rapidly approaching cars and trucks, heading for the left hand exit.



When the older daughter looked out her window, she saw several vehicles bearing down on them, and she just knew they were all about to die.



She laid her body over the dog, as he was already in her lap, and waited to die.



Somehow, they made it, and while all the other cars swerved to escape the collision, while others were just trying to get away from this crazy lady who was driving the guided four-wheeled death machine.



That was an event never to be forgotten by anyone involved, and if there had have been a wreck, there would have been bodies all over the road. This was years before seat belts had ever been installed in cars, and it was very likely that no one in that car would have survived the collision.