How Do We Explain Our Society to Children?

I have been pondering life and the way we human beings treat each other. It really breaks my heart to think about all the negative crap that goes on because having experienced the death of a beautiful sweet child and to think that children are being mistreated and or being taught by their role models to treat others with complete disregard makes me sick. I was driving down the street and at a place where the road narrowed from two lanes to one I was forced into the oncoming lane by a young woman driving a Lexus. She decided to pass me on the right - which BTW is illegal and dangerous. Apparently she was in a hurry and I was irrelevant. Then, I pick up the newspaper and read about Sarah Palin and the Tea Party people "targeting" Harry Reid. Will someone please get a clue and send this idiot woman back to Alaska already? She is a loose cannon and if someone ends up being injured or worse based on her spewing hateful untrue messages I hope that she gets named in a lawsuit for inciting ridiculous behavior by people who are so worked up with hatred because of Palin, Limbaugh, Beck and their ilk. Truth and social justice are not a part of their realm. We have to stand up to those who would rather use people to do their evil bidding. It sounds so much like Hitler's tactics it is downright scary. Then, I read the article about the teens charged with bullying a 15 year-old girl into committing suicide. How does this vicious behavior get started? How should parents prepare their kids to fend off such hateful hurtful acts? What about the parents of those kids who have been charged? What were they missing? Why are kids so mean to each other? Is hatred a normal part of our society? What can and should be done to stop it? Can it be changed? Are we destined for worse behavior and becoming a wimpy nation of haters? Who is responsible for this gross downward spiral? It is really sad to think about....what do I tell my grandson?

The Dr. Pat Show--What a Treat

Well, I was the guest on the Dr. Pat Show this morning...for a whole hour! It was a great experience. I really truly enjoyed her and she is a terrific interviewer. That is a real compliment because I have been told many times what a great interviewer I am so there ya go. We chatted about Cory and what he taught people...what he wanted people to know from his life and death. This was especially poignant since Cory's birthday was yesterday. Yep, he would have been 34 yesterday if he had survived his disease. Makes me feel REALLY old. Wow. But, let's get back to the show. Dr. Pat was very kind and asked out of the norm questions. I really liked that she felt while reading the book that Cory was a reflection of me. I had never really thought that before so it was a very interesting observation on Pat's part. We laughed a lot too. She cracks me up. I told the story of how Cory imitated Marlise by putting tissue up his nose in a restaurant to tease her. I was supposed to be describing his sense of humor and fun. He was so much fun! The hour went by way too fast and there are so many more stories to tell. In fact, I laugh now about the stories that didn't make it into the book because I hadn't written them down on paper. If you didn't get to hear the show on KKNW, go to thedrpatshow.com and look for my name on the archived shows. You can listen to the whole thing. Radio is such an interesting technology. Much different than television. Who knew? Well, Thanks Dr. Pat! It was fun.

You Have to Worry About Us As a Society When You Read This

Okay, I was so stunned after reading this article that I had to share it with you. After having a beautiful healthy son who became a beautiful ill child whom I would have traded my life for...here comes a story that is so outrageously sad and infuriating at the same time that I just had to make sure others saw it. We are a sad sad sick society and here is the proof:

(March 5) -- A South Korean couple addicted to the Internet left their 3-month-old daughter to starve to death while they raised a virtual daughter online during 12-hour bouts at a cyber cafe, police said.

The husband and wife had been on the run since their baby, born prematurely, died five months ago of severe dehydration and malnutrition, police said. They were arrested this week near their home south of the capital Seoul and charged today with child abuse and neglect.

Police say the couple left their infant alone in their apartment and rushed back from the Internet cafe just once a day to feed her. South Korea's official Yonhap news agency first reported the arrests, quoting police.


Prius Online
A South Korean couple was accused of leaving their infant unattended while they played the online game Prius for hours on end. This is an image from the game.
The case highlights what experts say is as a growing trend of Internet addiction in South Korea, which has the highest broadband penetration per capita in the world. Its 24-hour cyber cafes are a mecca for online gaming. Last month, a 24-year-old man collapsed and died in an Internet cafe in the southwestern city of Kwangju after playing computer games for 86 hours straight.

The trend has grown worse with rising unemployment. In this case, police said the couple "indulged themselves online" to escape reality. "The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," police officer Chung Jin-Won told Yonhap.

The couple "raised" a virtual character called "Anima" in the popular role-playing computer game Prius Online, police said. The game, similar to Second Life, allows players to create another life for themselves in a virtual world, which includes choosing a job, interacting with other users and earning an extra avatar to nurture once they reach a certain level.

"They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby," Chung said.

The couple, 41-year-old Kim Yoo-chul and his 25-year-old wife, Choi Mi-sun, also met online. It was not clear whether they had a lawyer.

Grief Comes in Different Shapes

Well, I just finished helping my friend Lola sort through our dear friend Phyllis' condo and storage units. Phyllis passed away right before Thanksgiving from mestastatic breast cancer that had traveled to her brain. I miss her beautiful smile and gentle spirit but I know that she and Alycia are tearing it up on the other side of the rainbow bridge. Helping Lola was very cathartic in so many ways. I had known Phyllis for about 6 or 7 years. We were both part of a women's group and we called ourselves The Emerald City Jewels...or just jewels for short. Anyway, what a marvelous group of women! We gathered once a month for great food and great conversation. We started with seven and with first Alycia leaving us and now Phyllis we are a sad but mighty original five. We had added a few more women along the way such as Lola and a few others...but the original five are bonded tightly. Well, back to helping at the condo...our dear friend Phyllis was a very private person. She kept her illness a secret for as long as she could. Not sure if she didn't want to burden anyone or just wanted to cope in her own way but I really felt the need to do something for Phyllis so helping Lola was my way of coping with the grief and loss of my beautiful friend. Sure we cried when we found certain items and writings...but it wasn't about me or Lola it was indeed about Phyllis. So long dear friend.