We’ve been working with a developer to build a custom database driven for our website and after testing we’re ready to try it live – WOOHOO! So without further adieu we’re pleased to announce the catalog has gone live on our website:
Friday evening we spent some more ‘quality’ time with that miniature horse stallion that keeps getting away – same little guy you folks know as “Stud Muffin.” This time we attempted to only remain involved to the point of ensuring he didn’t meet his demise by tangling with our stallion, Simmer and forcing others to get involved to raise awareness. Unfortunately – you guessed it – Douglas County Sheriff’s Office shirked the responsibility again.
We do have to thank Oakland Township’s Constable – who made every effort to assist the gentleman who stopped and held onto Stud Muffin for several hours. After explaining how many times he has gotten out – usually in the dark and the danger that represents not only to the horse but to the cars traveling by at 60mph it’s a tragedy waiting to happen. He made several attempts to call the Sheriff’s Office as well as get the owner to come to the door. The sheriff’s office finally called back – and get this – told him to WALK THE HORSE BACK DOWN THE 1 1/2 MILES OR SO ALONG THE DARK HIGHWAY AND TIE THE HORSE IN THE YARD AND LEAVE IT! That’s our tax dollars at work there folks.
Now if this were a one-time occurrence, I’d say yes, I’m sure they’re taking care of some emergency. BUT EVERY TIME? I’ve pointed out before when I rolled my tractor on the highway on the top of this busy hill with limited visibility the wrecker asked for a deputy to come direct traffic to avoid an accident. As noted previously, that was two years ago and we’re still waiting…guessing again they ain’t coming.
While I was at the sheriff’s office last time this occurred – after waiting 3 1/2 hours alongside the highway holding the horse I finally loaded the horse in the trailer and delivered it to their door – one of the officer’s responding from the city to the call that there was a horse that had been brought to the sheriff’s office told us a good portion of the deputies won’t handle livestock calls, period. Wonder if that holds true to other parts of their jobs? “I don’t really like that so I’m just not going to respond.” What are the liabilities to Douglas County if a family gets killed trying to avoid this hazard and during discovery they play the repeated 911 calls asking for assistance prior to the accident that could’ve been avoided?
In this case, this time, we agreed to load the horse up again and bring him back to the property where we’d again attempt to get the owner to answer the door and/or secure the pen he is supposed to have in place after one of the last times the little guy escaped. Fortunately the owner finally answered the door and took possession, after again being told he was liable for damages if something happens from his horse’s escapes.
All we can all do apparently is pray that he doesn’t get out – one of the next times that are sure to come either that little horse is going to die or someone racing by on the highway is going to… Let’s hope they respond then. Otherwise, I’m guessing their familiarity with this term (or some term like it all the lawyers will use) will be increased:
Willful Negligence. Intentional performance of an unreasonable act in disregard of a known risk, making it highly probable that harm will be caused. Willful negligence usually involves a conscious indifference to the consequences. There is no clear distinction between willful negligence and gross negligence.
Two weeks ago or so I had the honor of seeing what not many Americans get to see – a brand new American. Not someone who born into our little club but somebody who moved here from afar and made the choice as an adult that she wanted to become an American. Her name is Kathi Tucker.
Kathi has lived in America since she was a little girl. Not many knew that she wasn’t ‘one of us…’ She had dual citizenship – she was a citizen of Great Britain and South Africa. The latter of the two led my then young daughters to ask why Kathi isn’t black…
I honestly think every American should have the opportunity to witness the process people go through to become an American by choice, rather than birth. It gives you a whole new perspective and respect for those that choose to become a citizen of the greatest nation on earth (admittedly biased opinion…). It’s not a sudden process, it takes years. In Kathi’s case she was here on pretty much a lifelong visa so it wasn’t something she had to do – she could’ve stayed here just fine as she was. Now imagine yourself – you decide you want to become a citizen of a country like the USA – would you have the patience to wait years? To have the Department of Homeland Security monitor your whereabouts, fingerprint you, renew your ‘permit’ to be here, then go through an interview process as well as a test to become a citizen? Do you think you’d pass? I had to look up the answers to some of the questions Kathi had to know about our current government as well as our history.
So September 23rd I stood in line behind the metal detector with Kathi and 40 other immigrants and their families, all being screened one last time before we entered the room – finally! – and waited. I like to tell people now after that wait that I know what it was like to be at Ellis Island, I’m sure it was quite similar. I mean they made me turn my iPhone off and everything!
From there you wait for the head of the local INS office to come in. Families sit along the wall, waiting, nervously talking, there’s a quiet excitement in the air. Finally it starts – the director recognized that in the 40 people seated before us over 22 countries from around the world were represented! I sat in a room that was a literal melting pot. There was a speech about the process, about becoming an American, about what they were about to do. The oath of allegiance they take to swear their loyalty to the United States of America left NO gray area. Part of the oath is a complete renouncing of your citizenship to your former nationality: “to renounce and abjure absolutely and entirely all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which the applicant was before a subject or citizen.” Powerful words huh? We sang the Star Spangled Banner. We all said the Pledge of Allegiance. They called the new citizens up one by one and gave them the certificate that from that moment forward gave them all the rights and responsibilities we born-to-the-club Americans take for granted. Huge smiles as each person picked up their certificate and shook the director’s hand. Proud families snapping pictures. They played a video of President Obama welcoming them to their new country and new citizenship. They played a video set to Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” that showed people from coast to coast. And proud families and friends left with the 40 newest Americans in the country. It was really cool!
So if you’re so inclined, perhaps you’d like to welcome one of America’s newest citizens – Kathi Tucker. I’m of course helping her learn the language and how to drive on the right side of the road. She’s already taken to complaining as we Americans love to do, her first complaint as an American citizen was that she was hungry so we set out for her to experience American cuisine… I’m slowly getting used to being married to an American. I like to tell people I married her so I could stay in this country but apparently I was going to be able to anyway so that gesture was wasted…
Here’s some photos of pre-American Kathi, becoming-American Kathi and post-becoming an American Kathi Tucker.
Deb Sprague must’ve sent it this way – this morning we woke up to snow!
Halo the collie sees snow for the first time in her life at Raindance Farms