The above is a title to a Unitarian Universalist hymn that the Northside church sings frequently. It's an appropriate theme for me this week. This past spring in April, a neighbor's dog - a Great Dane -- jumped up against our fence and engaged one of our dogs, injuring him. I spoke with her and attempted to get her to rectify the situaiton because we had a $700 plus vet bill because this happened on a Saturday night so we had to take him to the emergency vet. Well, she basically called me a liar and refused to do anything - she didn't even want to promise me that she would not let her dog run loose. So I called Animal Contol. We had our hearing on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 and even though she lied, I testified, my partner Sue, testified and we had a video showing her dog running loose. The judge found her guility and ordered her to pay restitution. Hopefully we/Sue will see her money. This neighbor acted like she could push me around and do whatever she wanted. I warned her, I tried to work it out but she didn't want to play ball. I was proud of myself for stepping up for myself and for Sue.
After the hearing which was surpirsingly quick, we were out of there by 930, Sue and I went to Pamela's in Millvale. We had a nice breakfast, but afterward we went down the street to Attic Records. I have lived in Pittsburgh for seventeen years and have heard about Attic, but have never been in there. Can you imagine? Man, what a place! It has so much stuff in it it is overwhelming! Along one wall of the store there were records stacked several feet deep down an entire ailse. There were CDs of every type of music imaginable both new and used, vinyl of every type, photos of bands from the 1950 and 1960s and oldies music playing in the background. We didn't stay very long, but I bought two Bruce Springsteen CDs and defintely want to go back and explore it some more. I find it funny that vinyl, or albums as I still refer to them, are making a comeback. When I was a kid up through college, vinyl was all we had, then came cassettes and then CDs and now vinyl is back. I resisted the temptation to buy a record that day ... but you never know what I might do when I make a return visit. (Oh wait, there's that poverty van down by the river problem...hmmm.)
Just read where a Catholic bishop in New York state referred to advocates for Gay marriage as North Korean leaders and some conservative columnist chimed in that gay marriage advocates were like Bull Connor the infamous racist from Alabama. Can you imagine the warped thinking behind those declarations? And from the Catholic church which routinely protected pedophiles in their midst and from right wing Republicans who cheered on and helped stir up folks like Mr. Connor. (And the ever ongoing rewriting of Ameircan history by right-wing conservatives.)
On a lighter note, Sue and I went to the Toonseum in Pittsburgh to hear a lecture of religion and comic books. The lecture was pretty good, I'm still thinking about it. The display was about Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Wonder Woman and various other super heroes. I loved Batman as a kid, the concept of someone stepping up for the powerless and abused. I had Batman and Robin dolls as a kid but they were mauled by my brother's dog, Herman. Herman also amputated the legs of Johnny and Jane West, western themed toys. Herman had no regard for super heroes. Or the wild west.
Casey Anthony confirmed our worst fears about society. You can kill someone (or be a party to it or have knowledge of it) and get away with it. Pretty chilling isn't it?
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