Elephants and Mayhem

So, today I was reading a couple of news articles regarding the violence in Sinaloa. Very little was said in the article about what really happened in the village. Only the villagers know the whole story, and we all know how stories grow and change in the telling, depending on the bias of the storyteller. The facts reported in the news were in agreement with the rumors circulating.  It's interesting to read internationally published news articles about events which happen in your own "backyard", so to speak.  Sometimes a bit disconcerting, but interesting.   

Links to other newsy tidbits from around the world were attached to the articles I was reading.  Some intriguing, some not so much.

A music video was banned from YouTube. I'm not going to waste my bandwidth to watch it. I'm sure the world won't miss hearing my opinion on it.  I know I won't suffer for not having seen it.

There was a riot in Seattle. Having visited Seattle and seen some of the protest marches which seem to make Seattle what it is, I was curious to see what the riot was about. The media even gave it a catchy title: May Day Mayhem.  (To be honest, I was trying to figure out how a bunch of little girls in white dresses and daisy-chain necklaces started a riot.  I decided I must be missing something, so I had to read the article.  I mean, really?  What do you think of when you hear the phrase "May Day Mayhem"?  Uh-huh.)

So I clicked over and read the Fox news report.  My somewhat cynical and slightly conspiracy-theory-warped brain began to ponder the irony of the violence in Guasave, Sinaloa, compared to the violence in Seattle, Washington.  Interesting comparisons, actually.

As nearly as I can tell, riots broke out during a protest march and things began to get out of hand.  Basically everyone involved picked up whatever weapon they could get their hands on and started to defend what they thought was the correct side of the conflict.  Then police arrived and began trying to restore order.  People were hurt.  People were jailed.  Lots of windows were broken.  That's over-simplified, I know. 

My thought was that the Seattle incident stands in sharp contrast to the Bamoa conflict.  In Bamoa, two warring drug factions began shooting at each other.  The police showed up and tried to stop the violence.  Seeing that they were outnumbered, they called for reinforcements.  No one came.  Five hundred villagers with access to machetes, shovels, metal bars and et cetera, and the municipal police headquarters only 10 minutes away but no one was willing to stand up against a bunch of thugs with guns.  Back-up did arrive, but not before two soldiers were killed.

I'm really not fiercely political.

But I wonder what would have happened if the residents of the village of Bamoa had had the passion of the protestors in Seattle.  Obviously the protestors were willing to sacrifice their freedom and maybe their lives for what they thought was a just cause.  I imagine that they thought they could affect change through their blatant disregard for propriety, otherwise why would they get involved in such a violent display?  The villagers in Bamoa were afraid to get involved because even though they outnumbered the bad guys 10 to 1, they felt powerless.

The mayor of Seattle has apparently issued a decree which gives police the authority to confiscate any item "which could be used as a weapon."  Hmm.

I once heard a story about the training of an elephant.  An adult elephant can be tethered using a small rope with little to no risk of escape.  Why?  Because as a baby, the elephant is tethered with a huge, heavy chain which he can't possibly break.  By the time the animal is large enough and strong enough to actually break the chain, he has already resigned himself to the fact that there is no way he can possibly break the tether -- no matter how strong the tether.  He never even tries.

I find the comparisons and contrasts interesting.

This is just me on my philosophical soapbox.  I don't do this very often, so bear with me.  I'll be back to normal tomorrow -- with happy posts about homemade laundry detergent or lizards in my garden or newly-hatched baby chicks.

It's a crazy world in which we're living.  I'm quite glad that it's not my final destination!

 

She's alive!!!

Oh, I'm so behind! Christmas preparations, a week sick, Christmas, friends from out of town, another week sick and here we are with only a few days before we leave for our winter furlough and I am SOOO behind!!! I finally got all the photos uploaded...well, most of the photos...from the past month. It's amazing how long that takes at 49.2 kbps. Ugh. Did I mention that I'm behind?

So, here we go with a series of photo posts and links to my other blog (which is also way behind -- at least I'm consistent!) to catch you up fast. Afterall, a picture is worth a thousand words, right???

Felíz año a todos!!!

New School Year, New Look

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new school year and we're in the throes of preparation. (Read that: deep-cleaning every room in the house and trying to make sure I have all the books I need and the copies made that I'll need the first week.)

I have a bunch of "stuff" running through my head, such as:

• My sewing has been spread across the kitchen table for about 2 weeks now...maybe more...but I hesitate to put it all away yet, since I still have projects waiting. Hmmm. Another day or two.


• Caleb's B-day is coming up fast. I woke up this morning thinking up a special post to embarass, er, I mean honor him for his 14th birthday. Of course, I have to work on it when he's not hovering over my shoulder, lurking and waiting for his chance on the 'puter.


• Sarah's French class starts next Saturday. No big deal for me, really, but it involves a trip into town (which costs an extra $10 in gas). I really enjoy our Saturdays in town. It's a great time to connect (and I get to use the wireless internet!), and the class only costs $20 per month (plus transportation), but...sigh. I just need to trust God better.


• Which leads to the main thing stirring up my mind all night long and making me a little, um, grumpy. My lack of faith. I know for a fact that God has never "forgotten" us nor has He ever left us stranded, but sometimes the testing times (remember the wonderful verse "the testing of your faith works patience"?) seem to stretch on and on...and on and on. We are seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but sometimes I would just like to not feel worried. Yep, that's my issue. I need to not worry. Don't worry, be happy, right? Whatever.


• Anyway, so that I can feel like some part of my life is under control, my neighbor, Desert, and I have resumed exercising 3 mornings a week. Wednesday was our first day. I was SORE Thursday morning. No pain, no gain, or in my case, loss.


• Our ministry website died. Well, it was nice while it lasted, but it had become a bit of a behemoth, so I wasn't too sad to see it go. The web server, Christian Web Host, was excellent, their customer service is fantastic and their rates are really good. Our problem was that we couldn't count on having an extra $10 per month to pay for the service. They had graciously gifted us 6 months of web-service because we are a non-profit ministry. Very cool. I learned a WHOLE lot about web publishing in that time (enough to be a danger to myself and others), so it was by no means wasted time.


• Now I'm working on another blog as a website, since Blogger blogs are free. If you're into the whole "HTML tweaks" and changing your template, check out this site: Tips for New Bloggers. That's kind of a misnomer, because the whole site would totally overwhelm a "new blogger", but if you're a somewhat experienced blogger who has a lot of patience with computers and extra time to kill (why do I do this? I'm none of those!) you'll love this site. When I get it looking more like a website and less like a jumbled mess of non-working links, I'll let you know.


• It's hot. At this instant the temperature is 90 and the humidity is 72%...inside. I'm sitting with a fan barely a foot away blowing on high. It's bearable. The pool is a fainter shade of green today. No one really cares because the water is cool (we cover it at night and life the tarp in the morning to make a canopy) -- the water coming out of the faucets this time of year could burn you. Doesn't make for a very refreshing shower. Because of the heat, I don't want to cook. Kids and Hubby aren't very pleased with that, so I cook anyway. It's part of the "Mommy Job".


• The mosquitoes are insane. I don't think anything I could write would even begin to explain how insane the mosquitoes are. I won't even try. Sarah is going to write a post about them soon. I'll let her elaborate.

Well, if you've made it this far in this post, you are a true friend (or you are as addicted to your computer as I am. I'll pray for you!!! ;^) ). Thanks for listening to me ramble on. Now, I'll stay on topic and wrap up this post...

So, school is starting next week (or so) and with it I'm doing a little re-vamping of our Blog sites. The kids will be posting this year as part of their writing/typing assignments over at our Family Blog and we'll be having a new ministry website soon, I hope, and this blog (Beautiful Feet) will be more "homeschooly" and "mom-y". More of me yapping. AND THEN I'm writing a cook-book of sorts (which really isn't much of anything yet) over at Mother Hubbard's Blog (I like nursery rhymes!).

So that's where I am right now mentally. Doug is in the green pool (we can't get keep ahead of the algae because of the intense sun and heat) yelling for me to come jump in. I think I'll go take a dip and cool off. That's where I am physically!!!

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!!" That's where I am spiritually!

Have a great day!