C'mon guys, man up!

The airline security procedures are invasive?  Of course they are.  The Christmas would-be bomber was hiding explosive in his underwear, for God's sake.

Don't like it, don't fly.

OR BETTER YET...
How about a non-secure flight for those who like to gamble?

They can pay extra for insurance, and sign waivers.

Then they can all fly together, crybabies and terrorists.

Let's see who wins.

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Little Pond

Not so sure about that fellow...

My readers and friends already know my position on gay rights.  Nonetheless, I admit that I was put off by Craig Wilson's column in Sunday's paper.

Of course, I had suspected it all along.  Still, I was a tad disappointed when he openly declared it in the last four paragraphs of the piece.

Some people should learn to keep controversial personal information to themselves.

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Little Pond

If you can stomach it

...head over to the MS Companion for a short complaint about abbreviated underwear.

Sound Familiar?

I've been planning to post witty sayings that occur to me about getting old, but I keep forgetting what they are.


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Little Pond

Dragon Lady will ride again!

I only recently realized that I have begun to compose my latest Dragon Lady book in my head.  I had been too busy and unwell to follow through in the past year and a half.

Josephine is now closer to my own age, and will have to adjust her libido accordingly.

That is to say that she's feeling randier than ever, and has the means to carry her romps not only around the planet, but back into the past.

Hope our ancestors are up to it...

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We are back from Blogger Limbo

We had an ugly hiatus for a while, after a nasty malware was stuck to Pats Pond.

I cleaned it up and we seem to be back in business.

Rest assured, I will watch carefully for those weird comments that seem to be non-sequitors.

What the frig?  Who has nothing but time and the will to ruin other people's sites?

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Little Pond

Please, be gentle.

Just found out that Sasha Cohen will play Freddie Mercury.


On the one hand, I am thrilled that we've finally gotten to the point when someone will play Freddie.  On the other hand,  I'm scared that Sasha will blow it.


Can he play it straight, so to speak?


What I feel for Mercury is almost religious, and is certainly reverence.  I can never forgive him for being so careless.  And on  top of the infection, he didn't take care of it.  If Magic Johnson can survive, Freddie could too.


Please Sasha:  revive Freddie Mercury for those of us are still mourning.  Bring us joy, not more anguish.


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Little Pond

Hive Collapse?

Two years now, we've been hearing about hive collapse and the loss of honey bee colonies.  Yet during those two years, there have been plenty of honey bees around the Chemung River.

The two bees in these photos are typical of any visit in the summer here.  I worry because my childhood included a beehive tended by my Dad.

If you look in the top right, you will see a jealous Ellie, waiting none too patiently for me to throw her toy into the River.  She's not interested in bees, except when they sting her.

More pics from today's River Visit here.

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Little Pond

Knocked flat!

Was it right about this time last summer we began to hear about Swine Flu?

I am seated ramrod straight in front of the keyboard, trying not to turn my head.  The absolutely worst neck pain since the neuralgia of my first diagnosis.

Much better since yesterday, though.  I spent half the day with a corn kernel bag against my neck and shoulder.  And last night's sleep simply wasn't, period.

Today is another day, and the Grandchild will visit with the GrandDogs and MamaDog herself, carrying the next Grand.  She may have been the one who transmitted the nasty bug to me.

Babysitter Bubba

No matter.  Better to have bug and a visit with the grand, than no bug and and no grand.

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Little Pond

Riverdog goes home soon.

Ellie visits the "mud flats" in West Elmira.  Soon she will be heading for the hills of Big Flats, returning to MamaDog and thier new home.

In the meantime, she's getting plenty of exercise during our River Visits.

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Little Pond

Enough is still not enough!

What the frick?

The Itawamba County School District must now pay $35,000.00 to Constance McMillen, as a settlement to a suit brought in her behalf by the ACLU.

You may remember that the school district simply canceled her Prom, rather than allow her to attend it as an openly gay lesbian.  She battled on, hoping to reinstate the prom, but to no avail.

The bigots in the school board would rather have no prom at all, than allow the girl to attend.  Well, they got more than they bargained for.   The ACLU wanted damages, and they got them.

Before I could open the champagne to celebrate the decision, the final line in the USA item (in my hometown paper) caught my eye.

"District Officials said in the settlement offer that they don't believe they violated McMillen's rights."

Did those officials never study the Constitution and its Bill of Rights?

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Little Pond 

To the River, Ellie!

The Chemung River is very low.  The sites we usually visit make my little buddy stink.  We head just down-river from Elmira, where the water is shallow but still clean.

These geese don't give a darn about a little HuggaMutt.  Ellie is paddling about in the shallows where Huge Dogs generally plow their way through the flocks.

Come visit the River.

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Little Pond

De Facto Evidence

For all intents and purposes, I am on disability. For those interested in the legal, financial, and work aspects, check the MS Companion, for past and future details.

And there were certainly struggles. The worst enemy was my own ignorance. I have been tilting at windmills in the workplace arena. Gannett has been very cooperative since the thing became official. Especially Luann in HR, who has patiently explained --again and again-- anything I did not understand.

My living expensives have been met by Gannett short-term disability. They will end shortly, and long term will take over, along with Social Security payments, to cover my needs. Unfortunately, those need include many bills, most not related to my illness, but to the everyday troubles generated by raising teenagers and living through good and hard times.

The RiverBlogs will rise again. For now, I must rest, do some healing, homemaking, mothering and grandmothering, until the creative juices compel me to grab the keyboard and blog for dear life.

Bear with me a few weeks while it all coalesces into my new lifestyle.

Love to all.

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Little Pond

Getting really soured on Blogger.

Now there are "commenters" that are really just spammers.

And Blogger is protecting them!

I can delete all the comments on any of my blogs, but there is one below that can't be deleted, because Blogger doesn't even recognize it.

Please don't tell me this is a glitch. Everything else works fine.

And I know only too well that Blogger makes money from these ads/fake comments.

I only wish I knew just what in the post is triggering it.

And I wish I knew another place to blog for free, because I am sick of the spammers.

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Little Pond

Flox on flocks

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

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Little Pond

Still unable to remove spamming "comments"