Please read if you have a heart

DO NOT ATTEND THE RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS!!!!!!

You may think it is neat watching all the circus animals do tricks, but the pain and torture they go through learning those tricks is ridiculous.

Not only are circus animals continuously abused and plagued with diseases, they are deprived of adequate shelter, food, water, veterinary care, and everything that is natural to them. They are prisoners, captives who have committed no crime whatsoever, receiving a punishment that we would never allow to be inflicted upon even our most hardened criminals. It is slavery in its most modern form and it is time for it to stop!

According to Henry Ringling North, in his book "The Circus Kings," the large felines are "chained to their pedestals, and ropes are put around their necks to choke them down. They work from fear." Bears' noses are often broken during training and their paws burned in order to force them to stand on two legs. In an interview with the Elephant Alliance, a former employee of Ringling Bros. reported on Ringling's treatment of one animal: "She was a sweet little innocent brown bear who never hurt anyone, but sometimes she had trouble balancing on the high wire. She was then beaten with long metal rods until she was screaming and bloody. She became so neurotic that she would beat her head against her small cage. She finally died." A Hudson News reporter who traveled with Ringling reported on the training of one chimpanzee: "Repeatedly, he was struck with a sturdy club. The thumps could be heard outside the arena building, and the screams further than that." These are only a few examples of the horrible things that happen behind the scenes at circuses.


It is impossible to ignore the fact that animals used in circuses do not belong there. They are large, wild animals who are meant to roam free. Even if their lives were surrounded with love and compassion, they are still living in a miserable existence. For instance, during the traveling season, when they are not performing, (which is approximately 98 percent of the time) the animals are housed in small, desolate cages where they sleep behind bars on cold, concrete
floors. This is a sad reality for animals who are quite large and naturally active.


So please, if you have any compassion in your body whatsoever...do not attend the Ringling Brothers Circus coming to Bossier November 20-23.


http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/RinglingFactsheet.pdf

Update #3

It doesn’t look too bad outside. The sky is gray and its still raining. The grass is about 2 inches deep with water. Good news is my plants are getting plenty of water.

Update #2

Well its very windy outside! It is still raining a good bit. Our trash cans have been knocked over about 10 times so I finally brought them on the porch. Poor Faith (my dog) is scared to death. She is burying herself in a blanket as I type.

Hurricane Gustav

Well so far we have only gotten a little bit of rain and some fairly strong winds. We are located in Northern Louisiana though so I didn’t expect too much. The news says we should be expecting 11-12 inches of rain within the next two days.

I hope everyone that lives down South is safe somewhere. We have alot of evactuees up here. Traffic is crazy, but I am just glad they made it up here ok. I will pray for you all!

Bummed...

Well school starts tomorrow. I am excited and bummed at the same time. I absolutely love my major, graphic design! Then again, I also love summer! I live in Louisiana though so at least my summer weather will continue till about Thanksgiving lol! All of my classes this semester should be pretty fun. The only negative side is driving the thirty minutes to and from class, seven trips a week. So that is about seven hours of time I am waisting driving. And not to mention the gas money! I have noticed the gas prices have gone down to about $3.40 a gallon though, which is awesome!

Going down the mountain...

I will never forget that first night we arrived in Tennessee. We had no idea what this mountain had in store for us. This video of us going down hill may not seem bad...but driving up it with your engine reving in the pitch black dark is pretty scarey!

Makes me appreciate the flat plains of Louisiana!

The beautiful smokey mountains

I am ready to go to Tennessee

6 days and counting!! Im ready to take a break for a little bit and go on vacation!! In case you haven't heard I am going to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for my dad's Isshinryu Hall of Fame banquet because he is being inducted into the Isshinryu Hall of Fame! Here is a link if you want to check it out. http://www.ihof.us/Members/Kennedy.htm

Guess who wrote that bio? Me! Actually it was part of my nomination for him. :)

I will have tons of pictures I'm sure when I get back. You know me and my camera! I can't wait!!!!

So...

Yesterday I was driving down the road about 10 seconds away from work and my back window shatters! I freaked out and slammed on my brakes. Talk about a pounding heart. Come to find out…it was because a guy was weed eating on the side of the road. Apparently a he hit a rock and it flew up just in perfect timing to hit my window. As if being late to work and being scared to death wasnt bad enough then they have the nerve to tell me to drive out to benton to get it fixed hahahaha.

House tour

We're in the new house

So we finally got everything unpacked and decorated! Whew! My calves have never burned so bad in my entire life! I’m so glad it is all done though. Now I get to relax for a couple days, and then I have to drive to mississippi for my great aunts funeral. The upside is that I get to see my cousins I haven’t seen in like 4 years!

Things I want to do before I die

* means I have already done it

1. Graduate college

2. Own a convertible

3. Go to Italy

*4. Go to Paris

*5. Go to London
*6. Make an impact in someones life
*7. Fly in a private plane
8. Celebrate New Years in New York
*9. Hula dance
*10. Take a helicopter ride

11. Get married
12. Be part of a miracle
13. Ride on a donkey
*14. Take a homeless person to dinner
*15. Ride an elephant
*16. Shoot a shotgun
*17. Walk up the Eiffel Tower
*18. Save a life
19. Have kids
20. Sky dive

21. Drive on the Autobahn
*22. Go to the Grand Canyon
23. Skuba dive
*24. Find that perfect someone
25. Visit the WorldTrade Memorial
*26. Own my own business
*27. Donate to charity 
28. Own a house and make it just how i want it
*29. Learn to juggle
*30. Go to Canada
*31. Take a cruise around Alaska
32. Rock climb Center

33. Camp in YellowStone
34. Be part of a massive food fight
35. Go on a police ride-along
36. Get a tattoo
37. Run on the Great Wall of China
*38. Swim with dolphins
*39. Drive across America
40. Go to the top of the Statue of Liberty haha!
*41. Go White Water Rafting
42. Chase after a tornado
43. See an erupting volcano
44. Live homeless for a couple of days 
45. Get kicked out of some where very fancy
***46. Learn another language
47. Jump onto a moving train
48. Make snow angels in Central Park
49. Dance on top of a bar
50. Be in a plane that lands on the highway
51. Go to the Running of the bulls in Spain
52. Back pack through Europe National Park

I've got a need for speed!

Chris decided he was going to go out and buy a new video game today. At first I was like oh great another video game…but boy am I having fun! Yea I know it was suppose to be for him but I have taken over the PS2. “What video game did he get?” your asking? Need for Speed ProStreet. I highly recommend this one. The only downfall is the loading time. On the bright side it lets me get a load of laundry done, wash some dishes, take the dog outside, and mop the floor. haha overexagerating of course, but when your ready to rev up that engine it seems like forever.

So here I am...

Wondering why I’m sitting on the couch with droopy eyes at 2am. My cure for insomnia use to be writing…then after laziness crashed into me I found myself using the tv as my way into sleep mode. I have always loved writing..whether it was to express my feelings, help me fall asleep, cure boredom or just because I felt like it. So tonight I bring my love of writing out of the deep dark hole it is in and pour it out into the wonderful world of blogger.

So here you have it. Welcome to our blog about life...our life!