From happytrailsfarm.org
Farm NewsUpdate On Chevaz — The Horse Who Had Colic SurgeryBy Jul 2, 2008, 13:56
Chevaz, a handsome, black, Standardbred gelding residing on an approved Happy Trails foster home showed signs of colic, and after local treatment by their field service was unsuccessful, Chevaz was rushed to the Equine Specialty Hospital. He was a good candidate for colic surgery, being healthy and sound and having a good general disposition. We decided to give him every chance that we possibly could, understanding that the surgery would be between $2,600 and $5,000.
Chevaz came through his surgery with flying colors, but he took a while to recover. Additonal nutrients were needed, and under the top-notch care of the hospital, he began to recover. and was sent back home to his wonderful foster parents, Eileen and Bob Roloff. During his recovery at home, something seemed to be still not-quite-right with the dear boy. His appetite was failing, and he seemed to want to lay down a lot.
A field service vet came out and gave him a check-up, a treatment, and said to keep an eye on him. Much to Eileen and Bob's dismay, Chevaz seemed to be getting steadily worse. A trip back to the hospital was in order.
At the hospital he was stablized, tested, treated, poked and prodded like you would expect. They kept him, monitoring him constantly for the next week. Signs pointed to a variety of causes for concern, and no amount of fluids, nutrients, diet or temptations of grass seemed to prevail. After eating, he would become distressed and needed Banamine and would need tubed.
After much consulting, discussions, and trying to figure out what was most humane for htis wonderful horse, it was determined that he was not a candidate for a second surgery, and that it would be in his best interest to help him quietly and calmly cross the Rainbow Bridge. This diffuclt task was accomplished by the kind and caring staff at the hospital.
After he crossed into the next world, a mini-necropsy was done, and it was determined that an extremely large blood clot prevented proper healing, and that no amount of additional surgeries would have helped Chevaz recover.
So as we grieve for this wonderful horse, we are also now raising the funds to cover his additional hospital and emergency room expenses. Our total bill is over $9,000 — due to unexpected complications and additional emergency care after the initial surgery.
Every donation counts! If you are able to help the sanctuary with this unexpected and overwhelming expense, your kind and thoughtful donation can be made here through PayPal, or by mailing your donation to Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary, 5623 New Milford Road, Ravenna, Ohio 44266.© Copyright 2004 by happytrailsfarm.org

The New England Vegan Ethic

Use it up, use it out, Make do, Do without – an ethic close to my New England roots, as well as my vegan life. If I don’t need it, why buy it? If I don’t use it, why not give it away to someone who can find use for it?
Applies to every aspect of life, nu?

Reminded today, while whipping up a few more veggie bags from scrap fabrics of how I coped with the loss of my beloved in October of 99, and how I dealt with 9/11. I was so utterly in shock, so deep in a black abyss, so dismantled by his sudden demise, and the vast amount of suffering that 9/11 wrought, words failed me, still fail me.

9/11 was a time of horror for the entire world, yet left me floundering in confusion why no one got that 10/29/99 was my 9/11. I went into rote behavior. I opened my sewing box. I began to piece together bits of fabric, with no plan, no clue what I was doing, just methodically washing, starching, cutting, and stitching together random bits of fabric. I bought dozens of yards of fabric in both yardage and “fat quarters” with no idea of how or why I’d ever use them up, in an attempt to fill an un-fillable void.

Fast forward to a time when I’ve pieced several quilts, given many away, and have still lots of fabric that may very well dry rot before I reach the bottom. Also, I’m now vegan, which translates into treading as lightly on Gaia as is conceivable.

Those first efforts at pieced nine squares taunt me. An opportunity has arisen, in the form of my offer to put together drawstring bags for my vegan friends to use for bulk beans, veggies, fruit, whatever else they see fit to stuff in them. I have encountered a cause, in the form of a horse with a surgical bill of over 8K. His name is Chavez. So, the deal became that anything over shipping cost would be donated to Chavez. The bags keep getting fancier and fancier, in the efforts to raise money for Chavez. My hope is that those receiving the bags will be wowed enough to be generous (to the degree they can.) and allow me, the woman who witnessed the second 9/11 from the other side of a sewing machine to find peace – at last.

Pretending I am Moving

I am still in the process of veganizing my surroundings. There are still shoes, purses, and a relic of a tub of honey body cream here, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit. That said, there is also the relic of the ancient refrigerator in the living room. I’ve encountered a compassionate soul from St. Vincent de Paul Association and they have agreed to take the refrigerator even though normally they don’t accept nonworking appliances.

So I’ve sweetened the deal by going through the closets, drawers, and garage and I’ve gathered up boatloads of gently worn suits, some clothing with tags still on them (!!!) and many many many pairs of Stuart Weitzman, Coach, and Birkenstocks. They are also getting the many many many Coach purses and totes. MY theory is that to sell that stuff would cause me to be guilty of enriching myself at the expense of animals again, something that surely would not go into my karma account as a positive. And I am uber reluctant to mess with karma.

As a result of all the looking around, trying on clothing, sorting through stuff, I’ve also figured out that I can save even more electricity by moving my bedroom down to the guest room and closing off the whole top floor of the house. Why should I cool rooms that are not being used? So I’ve been clearing out the guest room to prepare for painting while I’m waiting for the charity truck, and thinking about how I’ve got, for example, a whole desk full of cosmetics I’ve not used in years. I’ve been thinking (still) about moving to Savannah, and how every time I pick something up that I don’t really need, use often, or love totally, that it should not be here to facilitate moving. With that thought, I’ve decided to paint the room, paint my great grandmother’s desk, and put my bed, the desk and the chiffarobe in that room and I’ll be set. As a bonus, I’ll be ten steps closer to Savannah.

The Six Principles of the Animal Rights Position
The animal rights position maintains that all sentient beings, humans or nonhuman, have one right: the basic right not to be treated as the property of others.
Our recognition of the one basic right means that we must abolish, and not merely regulate, institutionalized animal exploitation–because it assumes that animals are the property of humans.
Just as we reject racism, sexism, ageism, and homophobia, we reject speciesism. The species of a sentient being is no more reason to deny the protection of this basic right than race, sex, age, or sexual orientation is a reason to deny membership in the human moral community to other humans.
We recognize that we will not abolish overnight the property status of nonhumans, but we will support only those campaigns and positions that explicitly promote the abolitionist agenda. We will not support positions that call for supposedly “improved” regulation of animal exploitation. We reject any campaign that promotes sexism, racism, homophobia or other forms of discrimination against humans.
We recognize that the most important step that any of us can take toward abolition is to adopt the vegan lifestyle and to educate others about veganism. Veganism is the principle of abolition applied to one’s personal life and the consumption of any meat, fowl, fish, or dairy product, or the wearing or use of animal products, is inconsistent with the abolitionist perspective.
We recognize the principle of nonviolence as the guiding principle of the animal rights movement.
Gary L. Francione© 2007 Gary L. Francione

Dear Omnivores who tell me Veganism is a "personal choice" Extinction Hurts ALL of Us. In fact, I'd offer up to you that since you are so self righteous about my right to swing my fist ending at the tip of your nose take a look around you... See what I see? That we are all stuck here on this tiny little planet together? So, when we successfully overfish the Mediterrainian Sea to the point of killing off six species of sharks essential to the ecosystem, will anyone else be making the connection between the "fish is not a vegetable" ? When the Condor is gone, due to lead poisoning from bullets left in dying animals by hunters you'll proudly announce that you never hunted.... you got your meat and fish served up in style on styrofoam platters wrapped in plastic. See http://www.plentymag.com/blogs/extinction/ for details.

Oh, and Dear Omnis who ask that I "spare them the lecture" yeah.... go ahead and continue your selfish squandering of the limited remaining resources while breaking your arm patting yourself on the back about what an "animal lover" you are. Yeah, go ahead, because we all know when the shitstorm ends, we'll ALL be dead and I won't be able to find you....to say "I told you so."

Clearing Out The Clutter

In my growth as a human being, ie becoming more vegan with every passing day, I've faced conundrums like what to do with all the clothing, shoes, handbags, luggage, jewelry, cars, and other sundry items that have come to represent oppression, slavery, and worse for all sentient beings.

One of my Vegan Freak contemporaries signature says it all for me: I didn't stop eating meat because I didn't like the taste, I gave up meat because I couldn't stand the taste of suffering. This concept runs through my head every time I consider such small acts as drinking a cup of coffee. For me, a trip to Starbucks became symbolic of the oppression of the humans harvesting the beans, to their families who likely were malnourished, denied basic rights, and then presented to the world as being "the reason for starvation" because they are "not practicing birth control." To add insult to injury, my Starbux slave trade coffee would be topped off with cream. Cream stolen from a cow, who like millions of her sister cows, had been artificially inseminated only to have her baby ripped from her teat soon after birth. Baby was destined for a veal crate or a repetition of Mom's "life" of slavery, foreshortened by hormones designed to increase the speed with which her body was stripped of calcium so that *I* could "enjoy" the products of her lactation. All this "enjoyment" of a cup of coffee while wearing a diamond tennis bracelet mined by slaves, wearing shoes constructed of the skin of slaves, swathed in "beauty products" tested on slaves, with my perfectly manicured fingertips (the errant bit of polish cleared away with nail polish remover tested in the eyes of rabbits.... yup, nail polish remover still burns bunnies eyes after all these years!) *I* could stand there chatting up the new styles of Coach bags with my silk scarf tied oh so cleverly around my neck feeling ever so smug about finding an amazing bargain on a pair of gently worn Manolo Blahniks and not even think about the women and children who'd labored through 85 hour work weeks in a sweat shop to produce my Victoria's Secret lacy thong and matching bra beneath my Levi's from Cambodia, and my baby tee sporting a show dog portrait. And then I woke up.

So now - what to do with all those shoes, bags, clothes, etc.? Should I set up shop on eBay? Go the consignment route? Profit more? Create more market for these symbols that are now meaningless to me? I cannot, in good conscience. In a very feeble attempt at restitution, I've been donating them to charity. Let those who need it most get the last remaining vestiges of value from those things I should never have found any value in possessing. They were never really mine to take.

The Hypocrisy of Cage Free Eggs

Yesterday I heard an interview with Moby on Animal Talk, a segment played on my local community radio station WMNF . Moby expressed the opinion that, while he is still vegan after almost 20 years, he’s become less “militant” about it. He supports some of the work of PeTA, and the work of the HSUS. He’s of the mind that HSUS negotiating with Ben and Jerry’s to use cage free eggs in their ice cream is a step in the right direction. He thinks that cage free eggs reduce the amount of suffering.

I think he is patently and dangerously wrong.

I think free range eggs reduce the suffering of those who have a slight amount of conscience, but not enough to make them take total responsibility for their actions. I think cage free eggs merely assuage collective guilt.

The reality is that cage free hens are still hens. Which is to say that if an egg intended for a cage free egg factory is hatched out as a male (ie potential rooster – whereby valueless) it will be just as dead when it is gassed, tossed through the chick blender, or left to suffocate in a barrel with its millions of counterparts.

The reality is that the access to the outside world for a cage free chicken is still controlled by humans, humans who will capitalize on the loopholes in the rules that allow them to proclaim the reproductive byproducts “cage free” when in truth, there is a very narrow window of opportunity for the chickens to access the outside, compounded by the “weather permitting” caveat.

I think we’ll see consumption of “cage free” eggs increase. Here’s my view of what this person will look like…..

S/he will be very busy patting her/himself on the back as being “an animal lover” who is willing to spend a few pennies more for cage free eggs at the local breakfast bistro. S/he’ll be all puffed up as s/he consumes aforementioned eggs and explains his/her reasoning to his/her friends at the table all happily consuming cheese omelets and buttered (whole wheat because it’s healthier) toast. S/he’ll eschew the bacon because “it’s full of nitrites and nitrates – which, as you may know, are linked to cancer,” all the while drinking coffee harvested by slaves and lightened with ORGANIC milk – because everyone knows that the cows that give organic milk have organic lives filled with organic and bucolic fields to run around in. That’s right, organic milk comes from HAPPY meat! And s/he’ll do all this consuming with a clear conscience because some of the chickens got to run outside… maybe, once or twice, before they are “spent” and are converted into pet food.

Liquid Morphine – A Sestina

I forgot each past lover, all of the others
Yours is the love I believe will be my last
With velvety liquid kisses that take away my breath
Our craving, burning desire transcends
everything else in my life
We are gaping yaws of unfulfilled needs

And yet even such a love as this needs
acceptance and approval of others
those who gave me life
suspect our May December romance won’t last
My faith, my unwavering trust in you transcends
reason. I argue it will work with every breath.

If only your wife would draw her final breath
We all know it is a Morphine drip that she needs
Her release from dementia’s suffering transcends
the law laid down by judges, attorneys and others
She never thought she would out last
any useful purpose in life

Only when she is gone can we begin a new life
It will be like we are finally taking a breath
of fresh air at long last
It has been a struggle. Everyone has forgotten your needs
for love, laughter, and companionship among others
always your wife’s terminal illness transcends.

It’s about me! Yes, my motive transcends
any legal document concerned with end of life
issues drafted by lawyers, witnessed by others
Save your breath
It is only about my needs
My needs come first and last

Morphine provided a few stolen moments together. Last
night’s lovemaking so tender transcends
any thoughts of fidelity. Your wife needs
to finally surrender the tattered remnants of life
Take that rickety rattling death breath
Just like the wives of all of the others

Liquid Morphine, the last vestige of life
She needs that final sharp intake of breath
Morphine transcends the needs of others.

The Compassion Connection

Outreach today consisted of providing over the top customer service to a woman who found our system of receipts troublesome and confusing. I have this theory, you see, that if every chance I get to demonstrate compassion and empathy gives me a chance to demonstrate, by example, that vegans are vegans BECAUSE of the compassion connection. We are more compassionate by nature, and our vegan lives cause that compassionate side to expand as we live a more peaceful existence side by side with all creatures, and indeed, Gaia herself.

The lady is working with a difficult client. There have been lots of changes which translate into lots of trips to see me and my contemporaries in action. She tried to explain to me what she meant, but our vocabularies are a bit different – she is not at fault there. I thought I understood, and for the largest part of her return she was thrilled. Then I asked her a question, and she really didn’t understand, but answered “yes,” and I proceeded to do something she’d previously found confusing. She’d told me the recent experience had caused her to take a 20K sale across the street to our competition. This made me sad. I wanted to fix it. I got others involved, and by the time we were finished, she was glowing and heaping praise on us. She left her paperwork for us to sort out, and said she was going to Starbucks, and what would I like…..

“Thank you. That is very kind. I’m vegan.” I said.

“Oh, no dairy!” She said. I was thinking YES! We have someone who may have a smattering of knowledge!

“That is correct.”

“They have a chai tea thing.”

“No, thanks very much. We’re not supposed to have anything up here but water.”

So, after all was said and done, she got our full names, store number, corporate addy, and is intending to write a letter and make some calls. She got to see (and with luck connect my compassion with my veganism.) YES! My review is imminent. What could be better?

The Bag Lady Project

It dawned on me during a conversation about plastic bags and such that not everyone is able to make shopping bags, and I have a fabric stash of epic proportions. So, since I’ll never use it all, how about sharing the wealth and helping to reduce the amount of plastic vegetable bags that go into the landfill, where they’ll stay forever.

The bags themselves are constructed from fabrics and ribbons and such that have taken up space for way too long in my space. I figure they’ll figure out that they can not only be useful for grocery trips for fruits and veggies, but also for bulk beans, and the like. So far, bags have been mailed off to 4 recipients, and I am totally jazzed waiting to hear the reaction. This morning I made another 16 bags. I intend to send them out with love, and hope they can cover the postage, and if they choose to send me some small token of appreciation, all the better. Just passing it forward……

The Monkey that made me a Sandwich

As vegans, we all face the vapid “what if you were deserted on a desert island and a monkey (which previously had been used as a test sample for Proctor and Gamble) and miraculously showed up on the same episode of Vegan-Vivisection Monkey Survivor – The Unnamed Island Series” made you a sandwich question…. Ad nauseum.
I’d like to address that question in first person, drawing upon personal experience.
History: I’ve not eaten of pork, nor pork product or byproduct for over 30 years. I resumed vegetarianism (AKA halfasstarianism) in 2006. I then realized my self aggrandizing posture that I had miraculously reduced veal consumption was an all out lie – to myself and the surrounding individuals who must have endured my outrageous self-righteousness and indignation.
And I got really sick. My left arm swelled to the size of a veal calf. I have not been keen on doctors, since one killed my husband through ineptitude. However, it was painful- and getting worse. Doctor sent me to emergency room. ER diagnosed as Deep Vein Thrombosis. Following day, hospitalist told me he’d cut me loose if I filled a prescription. I caved, frantic that I’d not be able (even with so called health insurance) to pay the bills.
I went to the pharmacy, they filled aforementioned prescription to the tune of $760.00 (it was a “designer drug”). The home “health” care aide informed me the insurance would not cover her visits of over $100.00 each. I was left to figure out how to de-traumatize myself into injecting (twice daily)…
Only AFTER I’d made it through the week long regime did I read the ingredients. The monkey made me a ham sandwich. It sucked.
I’ll never let a monkey make me a sandwich again. Next time I think I’m going to die, I’ll just lay real quietly and appreciate what I’ve had, and be grateful for it all.

The Sixth and Eighth Commandments
I take my religious beliefs seriously, and view my veganism as a manifestation of those beliefs. Which begs the question….how can I not be protected from harassment with regard to race, gender, creed, and religion afforded my co-workers?

For me, it begins with the Old Testament, specifically the ten commandments, as written in the books Exodus (20:13) and Deuteronomy (5:17). I’ve endeavored to live my life according to those principles, opting to not pick and choose from among those that are convenient to follow and sleeping with my neighbor’s husband because he’s cute. I’d no more cheat on my partner than commit murder. The sixth commandment reads Thou shalt not kill……. Not, thou shalt not kill other humans, thou shalt not take the life of another sentient being. The exact Hebrew wording is lo tirtzack, which accurately translates into “any kind of killing whatsoever.” [1]

Taking the life (ie stealing the life) of another is in direct violation of both the sixth AND eighth commandment – thou shalt not steal, which Requires a defense of all lawful things that further the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others and Prohibits whatever deprives our neighbor, or ourselves, of lawfully gained wealth or outward estate. So how can I possibly justify stealing the milk from a cow produced to feed her baby, or stealing the honey produced by bees to nourish their young? I’d be just as morally bankrupt to steal gas from the tank of a co-workers car based upon the misguided logic that they can just go buy more.


[1] http://www.thenazareneway.com/thou_shalt_not_kill.htm

The Wall O' Death

You know that grocery stores put the milk and bread in the back of the store for a reason.... right? That reason is that while you are heading back there... to what I charmingly refer to as "The Wall O' Death" aka the decomposing dead carcasses disguised as edibles on styrofoam trays that will break down in I don't know... 600 years? - you may very well add to your cart the byproducts of forced reproduction, AKA cheese, yogurt, butter, and milk, and other highly overpriced "goodies" you didn't realize you needed until they casually entered your viewfinder.... errrr eye sight.

Have you ever considered that the lowest priced generic items are NEVER placed at eye level? Have you ever thought about what they are trying to sell you? Have you given thought number one to how they compel you to buy what they want you to buy? Do you realize they are brainwashing our children in lunchrooms across the country? You are a smart person. Can I count on you to think independently? Can I ask you to think for yourself? I hope so.

Dinner on the Vegan Fly

No word yet from ApplianceRepairGuy, cryptic or otherwise, so my objective remains to not add to the spoilage. Indeed, I used the half container of extra firm tofu to its' fullest potential by slicing and saute'ing in Liquid Smoke and Tamari, thereby converting it to BACNot! Also on last night's agenda was a "roughing it" sort of Yukon Gold potato bake that impersonated those cheesy bits of goodness masquarading as food in the "easy to prepare" and "easy to get you to part with hard earned money" departments of the GrossATeria. Aforementioned easy cheesy potato bake consisted of parboiled Yukons sliced about 1/4 inch thick, combined with a shaken (not stirred) melange' of rice milk, (about one of the little tiny ones) a couple tablespoons of that flour for making gravy, three slices of vegan Jack Cheese and a bit of pepper. Add some paprika, and toss in the ubernuker, and minutes later - Voila!

So.... today's lunch was leftovers from yesterday in the form of a NOTBlt, delish! and some of the potatoes. Dinner was the rest of the potatoes (I KNOW but I can't STAND to toss food!) with a spinach salad that was topped with some more of the BACNot! and some beets, olives, and other goodies. This fridge on fritz is wearing thin.... But I'm so not bitching, I'm grateful for the opportunity to see how creative I can be. Film at eleven.

Yet Another Advantage to Going Vegan

The refrigerator is on its' last legs and the repair guy is as sharp as a bowling ball. I noticed the frozen foods were not so much frozen as just cold. I called the repair guy, and he sent his understudy, a big young man who proudly announced he'd recently consumed some McTrash of pork wrapped in fat, dipped in lard (I'd guess) and deep fried. Oh, and add a side of fat drenched potatoes on the side.

His assessment was that the defrost biz needed to be replaced. I should take all the food out, and let it defrost, and he'd have the part the next day. Well, I did what he suggested, and put the food in ice in a cooler. The next day another call produced new info that indeed - it would be Tuesday before the part was in, and I could safely put the food back in and all would be well now that it was defrosted.....

It wasn't. The good news is that although I lost some vegan sausages, patties, and a few dishes I'd made and frozen, nothing died in vain. I can only imagine how dreadful it would have been to throw away meat and dairy - to have another sentient being give up its' life only to be tossed in the trash because a refrigerator gave up the ghost.

Nursing Moms - There’s Still Time Before Next Superbowl!

We all know making good “quality” cheese takes time, right?

Now – work with me here…. Can you imagine the righteous indignation of your guests at next year’s Superbowl, when, after dipping into that delicious plate of cheesy nachos you’ve prepared for their eating pleasure you proudly announce that you made the cheese using your very own breast milk????????

How about this idea – when we get some poor woman to give her baby up for adoption, we get her to agree to using a breast pump and pay her to produce human breast milk so we can make a new line (let’s make it very expensive and put a designer label on it!!!! ) of “exclusive” cheese that we can market to “gourmands.” It’s a win win situation! Heck, things get real good, and we can PAY women to get pregnant, surrender the babies to infertile couples who want perfect Caucasian infants (we’ll have to be delicate about who we hire to birth the babies – drug testing, and the like) and then we can put a whole bunch of moms in a “dormitory” (sort of like a CAFO but with plumbing.) We’ll hook them all up to breast pumps several times a day, and we can laugh all the way to the bank! Sounds like a great plot for a horror flick, doesn’t it? Kind of like a variation on Meet Your Meat on two legs instead of four.

Decaying Flesh Begets Decaying Flesh

About a year and a half ago, I received a telephone call from my friend Carol. She was on her way to the emergency room. I met her there. Within a few hours she’d been diagnosed with Diverticulitis, an extremely painful, and dangerous infection of the digestive system, specifically the bowels. She’d thought she was “blocked up”, constipated, or something of the sort. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone in such pain. She was in hospital for a week, with a belly distended to the size of a woman pregnant with quadruplets. She was humiliated by the gas, the belching, and was unable to avoid either. She was vomiting regularly even though she was on IV fluids only.


I learned much about Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis from seeing my friend in such pain. I was determined to find out what caused it, and help her prevent another attack in the future. I also wanted to learn for my own good what the root cause and preventive measures that could be taken. Imagine my surprise when I learned that a diet high in fiber, a diet low in fats, was the answer. All those evenings we’d spent in front of a block of cheese and bowls of dip had taken their toll on Carol’s digestive tract. All those cheeseburgers dripping in mayonnaise had finally come home to roost. At that time, I was still eating meat, still consuming mass quantities of cheese – but that soon came to an end when I saw them inserting IV’s in her, saw her barfing and retching for a week. The stench was unbearable for everyone around.


They spoke of possibly “resectioning” her bowel, removing the rotted, damaged part, and reattaching the ends. I’ve got another loved one who had a resectioning like that, except it didn’t work, and now she wears a colostomy bag for the rest of her life, and endures THAT indignation.

Since adopting a vegetarian, and then vegan lifestyle, I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in my digestive health. I’m no longer feeling like I am likely to develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the precursor of Krohn’s Disease, and other problems. I’ve got every confidence that much of what I’ve accomplished in the realm of great health has to do with inverting that carnivorous food pyramid and putting what is important in my mouth, and learning that the decaying flesh of dead animals, the products from said animals produced through suffering and deprivation of liberty and freedom, can only cause my body to rebel against the suffering endured. But that my friend would have gotten the same message…. Alas, she’s still parked in front of those cheeseburgers, still getting sick, still blaming it on everything else but what it really is, a reaction to eating death.

The Doomed Science Project


Picture me, Selah, in ninth grade, which seems like a hundred years ago. Our school’s Science Fair loomed. I wanted to participate, and I wanted to win. I’d read the work of J.B. Calhoun, who'd written a paper called "The Effect of Overpopulation in Rats and Mice and thought that it would make a dandy of a Science project, one that surely would garner me a big honkin’ red ribbon. I put together my hypothesis and my allowance, and walked to the closest K-Mart, where I plunked down cash to buy a tiny metal cage and as many mice as I could afford.

The idea was that they’d have babies, and then more babies, and I’d be able to write a brilliant paper like Dr. Calhoun’s (only in my own words) about how the mice stopped acting like normal mice and began doing “weird stuff.” This model would then be applied to the human race and I could expound in my best fourteen year old English how this was what was happening in cities around the world…..cities I’d never even seen, and knew little about, but I digress. I was filled with excitement and anticipation while walking home with my Chinese Take Away cartons o’ mice. Upon arriving home, I set up my “laboratory” with the mouse house (my version of a miniature New York) my notebook and pencil at the ready. If I could have found a lab coat, you can bet I’d have worn it.

Within hours, the boys were fighting. No amount of discipline, pleading, scolding or harsh looks could get them to stop. There was blood, bitten ears, screeching, and horror. I hit my big brother up for some more cash and back to K-Mart I trudged to get a second cage. Within weeks I had baby mice alright, but the mommies got scared because the daddies were still in the cage so they ate them. I bought more cages. As a scientist, I think I failed. As a young girl, I believe my humanity triumphed. And now, so many years later, when, at the end of each day that I’ve eaten, and eaten well – without causing any sentient being any suffering, that young girl triumphs again.

Vegan Blog Tracker

It’s come to my attention that the reading of Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth, my developing awareness, and my revulsion for being in the company of others while they consume the decaying carcasses of sentient beings are not mutually exclusive. Eckhart Tolle warns that I might see friends drop off, and boy- have I ever.

In an effort to connect with other vegans, and to become even more active in the vegan microcosm of society, I’ve been searching for other bloggers and folks in my area with whom I can learn about alternatives to cheese, the best way to share the information we’ve been learning about how veganism is the single largest contribution we can make individually, regardless of our socio economic status, to improving the environment for everyone to enjoy. When I get a request from an animal activist group that the polar bears are drowning due to the melting of the polar ice caps brought on by global warming, my heart aches. If everyone would simply wake up and realize the Quarter Pounder with Grease, the Kentucky Fried Cruelty, and the Smithfield ground up pig that was probably smarter than your dog sausage they are eating is the reason this is likely the last generation of polar bear cubs that will ever be born in the wild, I’d be a happy gal; wildly happy, ecstatic, really.

In the course of my search, I tripped over VEG Blogs, a Vegan Blog Tracker, a very cool concept indeed. Veg Blogs AKA Vegan Blog Tracker keeps an eye out for all things vegan, and lists them for my reading and writing convenience. They also have a city guide for listing groceries and restaurants, a veg health section, and a veg products guide that lists product alternatives to dairy, eggs, meat, pet food, supplements, and more. Thanks Veg Blogs.

Water Heaters Wear Out and Things are Fine Anyway

I’d have to guess the water heater’s days are over. If memory serves me, it’s never been replaced in the twenty years I’ve lived in this house. Couple of things: 1. I have this nifty insurance policy where they send someone out to fix it or replace it – and the most I ever have to pay is $55.00. 2. I have a second shower in the pool house. I turned off the power to that unit years ago, but in about 20 minutes, I’ll go check and hopefully there’ll be hot water for bathing. Let me go now – hold that thought. Yup, I’m in business. Just have to move all the kayaking equipment out of the shower and I’m good to go. My fellow employees and customers will appreciate that, I am sure. The service call is scheduled for Monday, between 9-11am. Hope they get here closer to 9, since I’ve got to go to work at noon. It is the “is-ness” of the moment. There’s little reason to not believe it is exactly as it is meant to be.

Speaking of work, what I’ve learned from reading A New Earth is being put into practice there with much success. Customers and co-workers alike are responding to the calm, in the moment Selah that they are faced with. I am able to separate the egos and pain bodies of those who believe by complaining long and loud about things over which I have no control. I am remembering to be the duck with the human mind, the one Tolle talks about where the two ducks are fighting, and then swim away. The duck flaps his wings, and settles right back into being a peaceful duck. He’s not thinking, “I can’t believe he got so close to me! He acts as if this lake is his and his alone! He’s probably over there right now plotting his next move. I’ll show him!”

With regard to ducks with a human mind, I’ve had to rethink participating in Oprah’s message boards due to this individual who reminds me very much of Omarosa of The Apprentice fame, who consistently attacks each and every time I post. I’ve come to realize there’s little value to setting myself up for that sort of abuse, and she’s relentless – probably in no small part to the irrefutable truth that she is likely delusional. So I am flapping my wings and swimming over to the other side of the pond.

On another note, I’m delighted to report that the City of Tampa has once again, outstripped St. Petersburg on being progressive and responsible. In my email today:Tampa Becomes Fifth Florida City to Oppose One of Factory Farming's Worst AbusesTAMPA , Fla. (March 20, 2008)— Tampa joins a growing number of cities supporting the move away from one of the worst forms of factory farm animal abuse. Today, the Tampa City Council approved a resolution to oppose cramming egg-laying hens into tiny battery cages so small the birds can barely move. The resolution states that the Council “opposes battery cage egg production, based on the inherent cruelty of confining egg-laying hens in battery cages,” and further “encourages consumers of eggs not to purchase eggs produced by caged hens.”

Tampa is the fifth Florida city (and eleventh in the nation) to pass a resolution on battery cage confinement. “ Tampa ’s council members should be applauded for taking a stand against one of the most egregious forms of animal abuse,” said Paul Shapiro , senior director of The Humane Society of the United States ’ factory farming campaign. “The confinement of laying hens in battery cages is out of step with mainstream American values, and it‘s time for the egg industry to end this cruelty.”Facts· Tampa joins Hollywood, West Palm Beach, Winter Springs and New Port Richey in passing such a resolution. Florida-based Burger King is moving away from selling eggs from caged hens, as part of a national movement away from supporting battery cage confinement.· U.S. factory farms confine approximately 280 million hens in barren battery cages that are so small, the birds can’t even spread their wings. Each bird has less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live.· While cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have 250-300 percent more space per bird and are able to engage in more of their natural behaviors than are caged hens. While cage free hens may not be able to go outside, they are able to walk, spread their wings, and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens confined in battery cages.

Timeline· February 2008—Safeway announces a far-reaching animal welfare program, including a purchasing preference for cage-free eggs.·

December 2007—Compass Group, the world’s largest food service provider with over 7,500 U.S. clients, begins phasing out cage eggs.·

March 2007—Burger King announces that it has started phasing in cage-free eggs in its North American locations.·

March 2007—Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck announces that he will no longer use cage eggs.·

September 2006—Ben & Jerry’s announces that it will phase out cage eggs in its ice creams.·

May 2005—Whole Foods Market announce that they have ended sales of cage eggs.·

November 2003—The Better Business Bureau rules that it is misleading to label eggs from battery-caged hens as “Animal Care Certified.”

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE FAJITA NIGHT

AND THE PAIN-BODY/EGO FEST

One of the last dates I went on was to Cody’s Roadhouse on a Wednesday, otherwise known as two for one fajita night. It goes without saying the place was jam packed with those who’d called ahead, and those who chose to show up, get a playing card, and hope for the best. We showed up oblivious to the two for one offer. We were told it would be a half hour to forty five minutes before we could be seated. I’ve no issue with waiting, even though Cody’s was not exactly my idea of a fun place to eat. I am vegan. I don’t eat meat, eggs, or dairy. I don’t go to circuses with animal acts and I don’t attend rodeos. I don’t buy new leather, but have old shoes and bags and feel it best to not add them to the landfill, so wear them until they wear out. But I won’t buy any new leather.

I adopted a vegan lifestyle for numerous reasons. Of utmost importance is the environment, and the knowledge that in order for Gaia to recover from the damage we’ve willfully inflicted upon her, I must make sacrifices. Along with that, I truly believe that we are connected to all sentient beings, and as such, are stewards of them, not murderers of them. I believe the only way to end the horrors of factory farming is to vote with my wallet. As such, I don’t contribute in any way to their profits. I am aware that by reducing my meat and dairy consumption, I am making a massive contribution to reducing (and hopefully in my lifetime eliminating) the death by starvation of 60 million of my fellow human beings.

Within the first few minutes, I heard numerous impatient complaints from the egos of those standing nearby. Within the next few minutes, my date joined in the complaining. Then he asked me to return to the host’s podium to verify (read interrupt and make her stress even more than she was already) when we’d be seated. Perhaps he thought she had some very special psychic ability to be able to guess when all the guests would finish consuming mass quantities of dead animals and their byproducts. Against my better judgment I complied with his wishes. Of course the answer was the same.

While waiting, I began to feel the collective pain body around me. It was a tangible presence that only amplified when we were seated. Apparently I was not alone in my sensing of the enormous amount of agony in the immediate area. We were seated next to a booth populated by four morbidly obese women, one of whom tried without success to calm a toddler whose pain body was causing him great discomfort. He wailed, and truly, I could feel how deeply unhappy he felt. Mostly because as I sat watching others around me get served platters of steaks, shrimp wrapped in bacon, salad soggy with mayonnaise based dressings and dripping with shredded cheese, steaming plates of chicken and beef fajitas, and butter laden rolls, I could feel little else other than the suffering of the animals at the moment of their death, and the collective poisoned pain bodies of those whose jobs required them to do the killing.

It was a cacophony emanating from every person in the restaurant, servers and guests alike. I was aware, and watched quietly, listening to snippets of conversations floating about my head, mostly complaints and judgments. The majority of the patrons were, to the naked eye, unhealthy. One man had an oxygen tank, and most were exogenously obese. The noise was deafening, the rank smell of death hung in the air, the pain body expanded like a massive black cloud that enveloped the entire room, like a roach fogger, poisoning everything it touched.
I won’t be returning to Cody’s and within a week I terminated the four year relationship with the man who is apparently oblivious to how much pain it causes me to be in such surroundings. I’d rather be alone than contribute, by default, to the suffering of the animals, those who have to kill them, and the planet.

Vegan is Cheaper

Lately I've been posting in the Oprah boards about Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth about veganism, how important it is to the environment, and how it is the simplest, and best way to reduce one's impact on Gaia.

Surprise! Those of us talking about this enormously important subject have been met time and again with opposition. These are the reasons given:

1. I have been told by my doctor that I MUST consume meat and dairy.

(OK, I'll bite - I'm to assume you do EVERYTHING your doctor tells you to do. )

2. But what about the tomatoes? They are living things too! Who knows what kind of pain they endure!

Ummm yeah. But we are addressing sentient beings with a central nervous system here - and we know that the cows and pigs and chickens who live out their lives in fetid CAFO's are denied the most basic comforts of light, liberty, their young, and ultimately their lives.

3. "I buy all organic products! That's good enough for me!"

Well, ackshully...... the organic label simply means your cow's milk didn't come from a cow who was shotgunned antibiotics, that's all. It doesn't change the reality that she was forcibly bred via artificial insemination, and then had her baby ripped away from her breast around the three day mark. If her baby was a boy, he's destined to be kept in the dark, forcefed milk, never get to feel what it is like to run (to do so creates muscle, and we want our veal tender and milky white, right?) If the calf was a girl, she's destined to Mom's fate of being milked until her production drops and then having some vicious sicko scramble her brains at the end of her usefulness.

4. I've visited all the places my food comes from and it's all very clean, healthy, and humane.

Not unless you boycott fast food restaurants, never buy or consume processed foods, never buy nachos or cheese fries at a baseball game, and don't eat at friends or families homes. Oh, and it is nigh onto impossible to obtain any pork not produced by the Big Guns - Hormel, Smithfield Foods, which increased capacity following the purchase last year of Farmland Foods and Alliance Farms; Premium Standard Farms; Seaboard Farms; Christensen farms; Iowa Select Farms; Prestage Farms; The Pipestone System, which also owns Ellison Meat; Cargill, which has announced plans to exit the state of North Carolina; Goldsboro Hog Farm and the Hanor Company, a Wisconsin-based shareholder in Triumph Foods.

That said, my very favorite response for the "Why I can't go vegan" answer is this one -- Ready???

5. It's more expensive! I can't afford it!!!

So today I conducted an experiment. I pulled a recipe for the classic American Macaroni and Cheese from http://www.cooks.com/ and the vegan version I whipped up last night, courtesy of the http://www.fatfreevegan.com/ (which, by the way, was mind expandingly good. Now since both recipes are copyrighted, and I am all about not ripping off other writers, photogs, or any other creative talents - I will not be reproducing the recipes here. However, I printed them out and went shopping. Using the organic argument, I put together a price list for each dish. The dairy heavy heart clogging model came in at (approx - I couldn't waste time computing the amount of money for the 1/2 teaspoon of paprika....) $10.30. The vegan version came in at $6.35. You do the math.

“Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a better past.” I found the statement in The Forgiveness Project in the story of Marian Partington Marian’s sister was a victim of rape, torture, and murder. If Marian Partington can find a way to forgive those who inflicted such horrific atrocities upon her sister, then how can I not follow suit when the grudges I have held pale in comparison? Marian’s story is one of hundreds; stories of war, terrorist acts, loss of loved ones, all huge by comparison to the ego feeding litany of “me and my story.”
I’ve been working on this forgiveness issue, seemingly for a long time, but in truth probably only a few months. Initially, I thought it somehow was not necessary, gave permission to those who had committed such awful grievances against me as not giving me the “recognition” I deserved to come back for a repeat performance, and completely impossible. Every single solitary time I pick up a book about how to be more in the moment, how to make the earth a better place, how to be healthier, the recurring theme is that I will find happiness when I forgive. That goes double for forgiving myself for all those stupid decisions I made in those black abyss of depression days. You know, the ones that go like this: “what was I thinking when I bought that?”
It seems that I’ve been going at it from an obtuse angle. I don’t have to know HOW to forgive, I only need to be open to learning how, and the Universe will supply the rest.I’ve gotten it, at least partially, and am now looking back on the not too distant past, at a situation where I was so utterly convinced I was the one being wronged – and indeed, I was making a major contribution to the problem. I kept it alive every time I talked to my friends about it, rather than going to the source and working things out like an adult.
Louise Hay’s 64 card Wisdom deck contains these messages:
· I release all old hurts and forgive everyone, including myself. I can never get even. Reveng3e does not work, because what I give out comes back at me. The buck has to stop somewhere.
· Guilt never makes anyone feel better, nor does it change a situation. I now stop feeling guilty. I let myself out of that prison. I forgive myself for any wrongdoing.
· I do not have to know how to forgive. All I have to do is be willing to forgive. The Universe will take care of the how. I forgive all past experiences.

In Zen, I learn – Forgive yourself and everyone around you. When you judge others, YOU are the one who feels pain. Through forgiveness, all pain disappears.
Shakti Gawain’s Creative Visualization – page 119 contains the following affirmations: I now forgive and release EVERYONE in my life. We are all happy and free. I now let go of all accumulated guilt. fears, resentment, disappointments, and grudges. I am free and clear!

She goes on to suggest writing down on a piece of paper the names of everyone in my life who I feel has ever mistreated me, harmed me, done me any injustice, or toward whom I feel resentment, hurt or anger. Next to the names, write down what they did to me, or what I resent them for. Then, close my eyes, relax, and one by one visualize or imagine each person. Hold a conversation with each one, and explain to him or her that in the past I have felt anger or hurt toward them, but that now I am going to do my best to forgive them for everything, and to dissolve and release all constricted energy between us. Give them a blessing and say “ I forgive you and release you. Go your own way and be happy.” When I’ve finished this process, write on my paper “I now forgive you and release you all” and throw it away, as a symbol that I am letting go of those past experiences.

She continues with the ideas that the process of forgiveness is miraculous in relieving people of their long standing burdens of accumulated resentments and hostility. The wonderful thing is that those who are named, even if I never see them again, will on a psychic level pick up my forgiveness and it will help to clear up their lives as well.

Sounds like a good idea to me! I’m off to create my list. Think instead of tossing it in the trash I’ll ritually burn it. Let all that resentment go up in smoke and ashes, where it belongs.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN MY CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE

Of late I’ve been reading, praying, meditating, studying, observing, learning, seeing, feeling, really focusing on the smallest glimmering bits of truth and beauty, (as if THEY were exclusive of each other!) I’ve also been walking…. with the pack of two… a lot. As you can see by the date of my last entry, I’ve been sidetracked away from blogging, for which I apologize to my loyal and very singular reader (you know who you are…) I am here, now.

Historically books habitually jump off shelves and foist themselves upon me willy nilly (as IF there were no coincidences!) Throughout the years I’ve come to view it as the Universe’s way of letting me know what I am to do next. Well, when Reverend Temple said recently, “if you pray for big things to happen to you, get ready for some big changes!” she was NOT kidding.

In the past, oh, I don’t know…. eight years (Has it been eight years already?) I’ve undergone some major paradigm shifts, truly life changing experiences of the sort that really get your attention and caused me to question everything I thought I knew up to that point. Without resorting to one of those “me and my story” litanies, suffice it to say I hit one of those fork in the road spots in life, and while I may be on the road less travelled, I am so not second guessing my decision.

My road led straight to First Unity Church , a concept I’d resisted for many years. My wily pal Claudia wooed me there with a trip to the Wings Bookstore in its’ previous incarnation when it was located within the church. The bookstore grew, almost as fast as I have, and was relocated to its’ own home on the church campus. See photo

After numerous full price purchases, I’ve succumbed to being a member of the Wings Bookstore Frequent Flyer club (thereby saving 10%) where the ever effervescent manager Sharon Jebens artfully arranges all manner of books, angels, aromatherapy objects, yoga wear, Zen cards, oracle cards, incense, Feng Shui materials, greeting cards, bumper stickers, stones with inspirational sayings, and on and on and on. (If time permitted, I’d make an exhaustive alphabetical list of the fabulous offerings, but I want to get to the tofu of the matter. And that is this – every book I’ve read recently is sending the same message, in different language perhaps, but the same underlying theme of “what it’s all about, Alfie and it is just for the moment we live.” Every single page I turn has reinforced the concept of a collective consciousness, that we create all that we see, experience, our lives, our very lives are formed initially by our thoughts. Our thoughts, negative, positive, and neutral, all become prayers and prayers are always answered. I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the confirmation I am getting about how what is necessary to be happy is to be aware, conscious, present in each and every moment. It’s to see each and every human being (and aren’t those two powerful words interconnected – can’t have one without the other!) through the eyes of the Almighty as perfect, and whole. In that way, I will be surrounded - bathed by love; pure, sweet, love.

Recent influential and mightily uplifting books:

1. The Book, On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, by Alan Watts. Alan writes extensively about our ego, about how the concept of loving your enemies makes perfect sense, about how until we all recognize we all have components of “good” and “bad” and that it is how we view those parts that makes a difference. He writes that if he asked me what happened yesterday, what did I hear, smell, see, taste, etc. that likely my answer would be a thin sketchy outline, and how much better it would be if I could answer, “oh a zillion things but it would take forever to tell you and I am much more interested in what is happening right now.”
2. Of Monkeys and Dragons by Michele O’Donnell. I heard Michele speak at First Unity, bought the book and couldn’t believe what I learned about the how and why of dis-ease and healing. I couldn’t believe finally(!) someone understood how and why I feel the way I do about the medical profession, about illness, about many things…. Too many to mention, but again, the recurring theme that what we believe we see is what will be presented to us. If we choose to see all as through the filter of the eyes of G-d, then that is what we shall see.
3. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle This is the kind of book I’d like everyone I know to read – not because I want to “change” anyone else, but because it is precisely what the world needs to know to change our collective consciousness for all living creatures up to and including Gaia. Eckhart Tolle addresses our ‘pain bodies’ our egos, and how and why the ego needs to complain, whine, and gossip to get what it needs to stay in control. But only by defeating the ego can I find a way to be present in the moment….and that moment, this moment, is all I have. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow never comes. If I’m sitting around waiting for something to happen, I will surely miss millions of moments. Oh, here’s one from earlier today. I saw a dandelion, as if for the first time in my life. When was the last time I picked a dandelion and blew the tiny wings into the air? A hundred years ago? I looked at that dandelion, and was filled with wonder at its exquisiteness. . Oprah and Eckhart Tolle will be conducting a webcast and I am participating. Please join me!
4. A Complaint Free World by Will Bowen First Unity handed out the bracelets, and I committed to going 21 days without complaining, gossiping, or criticizing. So far, I am working toward the completion of day five. My dear and very bright friend Claudia says it’s a piece of cake for me since I work from home. That may be true. My tests arrive in the form of telephone calls, visits to the post office, driving, grocery stores, etc. And I do admit it likely IS easier for me with limited contact of the co-worker/customer service variety. However, I still could use support from my friends and family – in the form of a gentle smile when something slips from my lips… and my bracelet slips ever so easily onto the other wrist.

So here’s the thing….. I’ve read (Michele O’Donnell AND Eckhart Tolle agree) that seeing violence as in tv shows like CSI and Numbers, illness in the form of tv shows like ER and Grey’s Anatomy, and movies that are of a similar vein is counterproductive for my goal and objective of being happy. That said, I’m dedicated to finding happy uplifting stuff on tv and in books, and movies. So if you have any suggested reading or watching material, please drop me a line or submit a comment. I’d be evah so grateful dahlin’!