Article: How Can A Person Not Do Something To Help?

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTO OF WHOOPI

(Originally published on Bubblews~Oct. 23, 2013, a website that no longer exists)

There's been a photo over at Facebook that has gone wildly viral. It's of a very skinny, small bedraggled kitten hugging a man's boot. The photo usually has a quote on it: "You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."~~John Bunyan. A beautiful quote to be sure, but too bad the photographer who took the photo didn't do something for the kitten as an act of kindness

For a long time, no one knew who the photographer was and the question in most people's minds was, did the photographer save the kitten after photographing it? Well, I began a search and for awhile there I didn't come up with anything, that is until just today. The photographer's name was Graham Lavery and he took the photo while in Hoi An, Vietnam during one of the worse floods. Not only did I track who the photographer was, but found a website in which he gives a rather lengthy explanation about the photo, and consequently the fate of the kitten. The kitten's fate is not positive. Did the photographer, Mr. Lavery take the kitten, did he help it in anyway, did he at least give food to it? No, he didn't. He walked away from the kitten to leave it to it's "fate."

Here's a short quote of his explanation:

"After a brief discussion, it was decided to let nature take its course and leave the kitten to its own devices, whatever the outcome. Some will agree, some will not, but that was our decision based on our collective experiences of this planet over the years. What became of it ultimately? I can’t answer that with certainty, but I can guess." (1)

Well I'm sorry, his explanation doesn't wash with me. To my mind this was a photographer merely interested in photographing something for personal gain and turned away from possibly helping an innocent animal. I say this as I'm a photographer as well, and yes, while many of my photos have been published in the past and I did earn money from them, if I came across such a scene I couldn't simply walk away from such a similar situation, and in the past, I did indeed come across a situation, and no I didn't simply walk away.

It was very late at night back in June of 1992 and there was a torrential downpour. All through that night, I was aware of the pitiful sounds of some young kitten crying somewhere outside and it was heart-braking to listen to. Since it was so late, there was nothing I could really do, since at that hour it wouldn't have been safe for me to go out and try and find the kitten. Very, very early the next morning, it was still raining quite hard and I made the decision to try to find the kitten to at least, if anything, give the kitten some food. I went up and down my block searching and I did indeed find the kitten. She was bedraggled, rain-soaked, thin to the bones and a very young tiger-striped with white kitten, perhaps not even a month old; how she came to her homeless fate, I'll never know. My original intention was to leave some cat food for her, however one look at her changed my mind. I gently scooped her up, reassuring her that everything was all right now, and that she would be safe from life on the streets and have a home, my home. I named her Whoopi after Whoopi Goldberg and over the years, I did indeed photograph her, but in the safety and warmth of my home.

The point however, I wish to make, was that I in many ways I came across a fairly similar situation as that photographer, that is coming across an innocent creature just as bedraggled and needing some love and kindness, instead, he walked away, leaving the kitten to it's fate. How could he? How could anyone with any decency or a heart?

Image Source: ©Melanie Neer~~Photo of Whoopi, who is now in "Rainbow Bridge" UPDATE: I did a search of the website address I give below...it seems the original article has vanished as I suspect the person involved was getting a LOT of messages to him. I did manage to find this over at Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/PN.DBN.SA/posts/692623074086653

Website about the Fate Of The Kitten Begging To Be Saved In Vietnam (Includes photos of the kitten in question)

http://www.kittyarmy.com/the-fate-of-the-kitten-begging-to-be-saved-in-vietnam/ (1)

Article: Books, On-Line, Or Kindle Reading: Which Do You Prefer?

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTOS OF JUST A "FEW" OF MY BOOKS

Originally written on October 2, 2013 for Bubblews, a website which no longer exists

I've been a bibliophile ever since I can remember, which when I think of it is a remarkable characteristic of my personality, considering my mother never cared for books. As a child she never read bedtime stories, usually my great-grandmother did that. Even in her later years, my mother wasn't too keen on reading, not even a newspaper, so yes it is remarkable that I developed a rather fanaticism when it came to books. Also as a child, my mother often bought the usual type gifts for me that were popular at the time for girls, and whether for my birthday or Christmas, she would buy me things like Barbie dolls…boring. Like how many Barbie dolls could one have? Then one year, she totally surprised me, and instead of more dolls, she gave me my very first book, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I got hooked with books. My mother perhaps didn't realize what she had started by getting that very first book, as many others were to follow including the Nancy Drew series, a copy of Island of The Blue Dolphins (by Scott O'Dell) and on and on it went. Yes, I turned into a bookworm. My idea of having a good time as a child wasn't playing with other children, but instead going to a library and taking books out, and settling comfortably at home reading, reading, reading.

My love for books continues to this day, and I have quite a collection, not only fiction, but being a science and history geek I have a rather staggeringly large collection of science books (geology, astronomy, archeology) and as for history, Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian, Medieval, Renaissance and American History, especially the Civil War period. Let's put it this way, I have books literally all over the place; even all the shelves, save one, in my linen closet has a storage of books in it since I ran out of room on my bookcases, and being rather OCD about things, all my books are stored according to subject and/or genre.

But here's the thing, to this day I prefer a book in my hand. I really am not a great on-line reader, in fact, if I can avoid reading too much on-line, I do. I could never, ever see myself downloading books and read from a Kindle either as it would remind me a bit too much of on-line reading Yes, I realize with a Kindle, one can snuggle in bed on a rainy day and read, but to my mind it's just not the same as having the feel of a book in hand, the real physical turning of the pages, the smell of a book. Yes, maybe I'm old fashioned, but give me a book any day and I'm a real happy camper.

So what is your preference? Books, on-line reading from a computer or a Kindle? And if you have books, do you have a large collection yourself?

Article: Are We Attracting More Negativity To The World?

IMAGE SOURCE~ https://pixabay.com/en/positive-negative-contrast-455579/

Okay you might be wondering just what the heck I mean when I ask if we're attracting more negativity to the world. I think there's hardly a person who hasn't heard of "Law of Attraction", a concept that was the topic of the DVD "The Secret" some years ago. In a nutshell, Law of Attraction means exactly that; whatever we constantly think about and dwell on, whether positive or negative, manifests in our life, we "attract" it. Most times our thoughts are actually very negative, then we wonder why that negative situation persists. Are you constantly dwelling and thinking about your ill health, bad finances, bad relationships, if so without realizing it you're only attracting it more to you. Now I'm not saying we have to walk around in a perpetual "Pollyanna" mode and I'm OK you're OK since that isn't always realistic or possible either, but I think our lives would be much better off if we did think in more positive terms.

The Law of Attraction concept isn't by any chance a new one, in other words the DVD and the book "The Secret" didn't "invent" it; it's been around for ages. I myself actually got introduced to it however, via my way ahead "with it" great grandmother. Believe it or not, I still have her very worn out copy of the book Secret of the Ages by Robert Collier (first published in 1926) yet Law of Attraction concepts go back even further.

The Secret did however introduce Law of Attraction to many people who may not have heard of it before and on an individual level people have benefited by changing their thoughts to more positive ones, or as Mike Dooley who was in The Secret DVD would say "Thoughts Become Things".

But does Law of Attraction work on a deeper level, a worldwide level and affect the "vibes" or consciousness of the world? I'm beginning to think so and no doubt could be due to the information overload we have now via the news media which is downright negative. Lets face it, the media spews out a lot of negative news, and not just TV or radio, but news one can get via the internet, the latter quite often being more detailed and graphic in nature.

We're now more aware of what is going on in the world and almost instantaneously: we're aware of all the wars, conflicts and terrorism and on a daily basis; we're more aware of child, spousal, animal abuse issues. It may seem to us that there is more negativity going on in general even though all these negative situations have been around since mankind began. With all this negativity that we are bombarded with everyday is it in a sense affecting the consciousness of the world in general, the "vibes", is it any wonder why depression is a common "ailment"? Also, by being exposed and aware of such negativity in the world is it attracting more of it?

What's your take? Do you think that by being bombarded with such negative news daily is attracting only more of the negative situations that are going on in the world?

UPDATE: I had written this article back in 2013, and it seems there's even MORE negativity in the world

Image Source:

https://pixabay.com/en/positive-negative-contrast-455579/

ARTICLE: ANIMALS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF MY LIFE

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTOS

First photo=Me and Candy~September 1956

Second photo=Me and Babette~My first cat

I think the title of this article is self-explanatory, as yes indeed, animals have always been a part of my life in one way or another. I often tell people that I've had cats ever since I was five, when back then my mother adopted a "tuxedo cat" from a shelter and it was a Christmas present to me. But in actuality, it goes further back than that, and was I quite literally surrounded by pets ever since I was in my mother's womb.

My father's side of the family were dog people, so consequently my parents therefore had a dog, in fact, there is a rare photo of me where I'm not even a year old, and there I am sitting on the floor and right next to me is a beagle dog, who was named Candy. You can see from the photo I include here that the date of the photo is Sep. '56. Obviously, my mother nor my father even dreamed of getting rid of Candy due to my arrival in the world. I say that, since I'm a crossposter over at Facebook in which I share posts of urgent pets needing to be rescued, especially from kill shelters, and one of the "excuses" people now make to get rid of a pet is due to "new baby". Why one even thinks to get rid of a pet due to this excuse I'll never know, and it's just one of many "lame" excuses people make to surrender their pets in shelters.

I also have a rare photo of me when I was about eight years old (also included here) with that tuxedo cat my mother adopted for me of whom we named Babette. (OMG--that goofy grin/smile of mine…ekk). She lived all through my elementary, junior high, high school and even my college years. When she eventually did pass on it was like a major part of my life had died.

It wasn't only cats though for the vast majority of my life that I've had. I've also had pet birds and a mouse…uh, yes folks a mouse. I'm obviously not squeamish or phobic about them. Around the 1980s I took a home study course from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. For a "lark" (no pun intended), I placed the decal of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology on my mail box. I thought the average person would't even know what ornithology meant. I was wrong! For some reason people then viewed me as a bird "expert" so during those years past I rehabilitated baby sparrows that neighborhood kids would find and bring to me. Once they were old enough I was able to release back into the wild again. Due to my experience with those baby birds I then later got a pet bird, a grey-cheeked parakeet, whom I named "Cheeky". And yes, at the time, I had cats, but I'll tell you, that bird was THE boss; if the cats annoyed her, she'd let out a raucous squawk.

I think one of the beauties my folks instilled into me throughout my life was to have a great love for animals, all animals I might add. To this day I'm still of course an animal lover. I'm currently "owned" by two cats, Kissy and Ouija. My love for animals does however make me scratch my head in wonder how anyone could harm animals, as on a nearly daily basis, I hear of horrific animal abuse. I ask myself what brings people to harm an innocent animal life in such a manner? And that my folks is probably why as an animal lover, activist and advocate, why I'm the voice for the voiceless.

UPDATE: My 15 year old cat Kissy sadly passed on September 1,2015

Article: And We Wonder Why The Rise In Obesity In Children

Originally published on June 18, 2013 for Bubblews, a website that no longer exists

This is just one of those observations I've been making. We often hear how there has been a rise in obesity in children which can offer trigger off diabetes. Yes maybe diet is one of the culprits since instead having a good nutritious breakfast to start the day, parents might give high sugary cereals or even Pop Tarts. But is a poor diet the only factor? I don't think so. I can't help think that lack of exercise is a major factor; in fact, with today's children, I'm observing how kids have quite frankly have forgotten to do two things in today's society: walk and play.

When I was a kid, if I wanted to go to school I had to walk to it, a concept kind of foreign nowadays to today's kids. My elementary school was about 15 blocks away from my home and I had to walk to school no matter what the weather was. I did have a school bus to travel on once I got into Junior High School, but even then I had to walk at least six blocks to the school bus stop. When I entered High School, once again I had to walk a fair distance.

Well all that seems to have changed. Instead of kids walking any far distance, a school bus will quite literally stop in front of their apartment building or house. My block seems to be a major school bus route and everyday like clockwork, buses will go down my block and pick kids up to go to their schools in the early morning hours, then once again in the later afternoon hours buses drop them off right in front off their homes.

Another thing seems to be lacking in children nowadays: playing! Don't' kids ever play anymore? I don't know how it is where any of you live, but on my block I never see any kids playing on the streets like they used to some years ago, and certainly not like when I was growing up. Maybe in today's society the idea of simple playing seems passé; kids would rather be parked in front of a computer, TV or "playing" videos games. What ever happened to going to a local park like I used to as a kid and play on swings, monkey bars, or zoom down on a slide? Or how about playing hopscotch, playing with a hula hoop (do kids even know what one is?), jumping rope or maybe even riding a bicycle.

Who is to blame though? Are kids lacking in any motivation to play? Is it the parents fault for not encouraging kids to play? Whoever is to blame, I think it's high time however, for kids to get off their duffs and get active again and once more do something that should be a part of one's childhood: walk and play!

Article: Ah…The Life Of The Pampered Pet

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTOS

Kissy is the first photo and the second photo is of Ouija

Article was originally published June 22, 2013 for Bubblews, a website that no longer exists

If there's any true validity of the concept of reincarnation, then I definitely want to come back as a pet in my next lifetime and have the lifestyle similar to my two pampered cats Kissy and Ouija.

To many pet owners, a dog or cat is not "just" a dog or cat, but a member of the family, their child, and as such quite often the pet will enjoy a life of luxury; we humans should have it so good. The good vast majority of pet owners will put their pets needs ahead of their own, making sure their pet is comfortable and taken care of. In today's economy, money might be tight, but pet owners will go out of their way to make sure their pet has enough to eat, their medical needs taken care of and so forth. This is so true as in the case of my two cats.

I'm not one of those people who upon awakening, leaps out of bed with a song in my heart and raring to go. Yes, I'm a grump and that morning cup of coffee is calling me. But do I indulge and think of my own needs first? Of course not! I stumble out of bed and head straight to the kitchen, closely followed by my two cats behind me. I don't fix that desperately needed coffee, but instead I open cans of cat food and "serve" breakfast to my two cats first…then I also rinse out their water bowl and give them fresh cold water to drink.

My next task is to clean up the litter pan which I do even before I tend to my own bathroom needs. Okay so now the kitties are fed, given fresh water and their litter pan clean…NOW I tend to my own needs and make that coffee and fix up a breakfast for myself. After their morning "repast" Kissy and Ouija will often go back and take a snooze. Now I have one cozy cat bed, and a makeshift bed I made out of a cardboard box with one of my old pillows in it…do they snooze in them? Of course not! Ouija will often sprawl himself full length on the sofa which inhibits me from sitting on the sofa and heaven forbid I disturb him, and Kissy will often cuddle up on my bed. Oh and of course I don't dare straighten up my bed, not unless I want to receive "the look"--only a pet owner will understand what I mean by that.

After my breakfast I start either doing chores or park myself in front to get some work done. Somewhere along the line, one of my cats thinks I've spent enough time in front of the computer, will hop up on the computer desk and "demand" attention, usually by sitting right in front of the computer monitor so I can't see a blasted thing, or by head-bonking my hand which makes me nearly drop my mouse. So what do I do? Stop everything and pay attention of course!

Ah, the pets toys! I think my cats have more "toys" to play with than I ever had as a kid, the toys are all over the place, and yes, I frequently trip over them. I also have the daily duty of retrieving toys that have been batted under the sofa, the bureau, the entertainment center..lets put it this way, I get part of my daily exercise workout just by doing this.

Before you know it, time has quickly passed and it's feeding time again and my two cats will give me a "look" signifying that they are about to pass out with hunger at any minute. And of course I feed them even before I might have my own dinner.

Now lets zoom up for when it's finally time for me to go to bed. Both cats like to keep me company while I sleep and each has their own designated spot they like to go to. They get themselves all nice and cozy while struggle try to find a spot on my bed to sleep, bottom line,I often sleep like a pretzel, and yes, of course, I don't dare disturb them…not if I want to get "the look" again.

So are my cats pampered brats? Of course they are, and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

Photo Source:

1). My own photos composite of Kissy and Ouija ©Melanie Neer

UPDATE: Sadly my cat Kissy who was 15 years old passed on September 1, 2015

ARTICLE: A Simple Act Of Kindness

This article was originally published at Bubblews May 5, 2013, a website that no longer exists.

Have you ever come across a video that makes you go…..WOW, and puts you in a good mood? This recently happened to me as I was surfing around and lurking on some of my friend's profiles over at Facebook and came across a short video on my of my friend's profiles. The video is called Kindness Boomerang - "One Day" and is a mere 5:45 long.

Here's a very short scenario of what the video is about. It opens up with a bunch of kids skateboarding, one kid falls and lands on the sidewalk, a construction worker runs over to help the boy get up, the kid thanks the man and goes on his way. The boy now comes across an elderly woman struggling with her packages of groceries, and he decides to help carry some of her groceries and help her cross the street. The elderly woman in turns sees a woman trying to find money for the parking meter, she, the elderly woman gives the other woman change for the meter and goes on her way. The "meter" woman sees a man coming out of a store who drops something on the sidewalk, picks up the item and goes to the man to give his lost item back. The man continues on his way and sees a man struggling to take a large, heavy suitcase out of the trunk of his car, well as you can guess the man decides to help the other man carry the large suitcase. And on and on it goes with one act of kindness after another. Ah, but the beauty of it is, that as the title of the video suggests "Boomerang", since the very last scene shows a waitress who was shown an act of kindness sees a tired, sweaty construction worker and decides to give him a glass of water, yes the very same construction guy who helped the boy after he fell off his skateboard.

In our own lives we may never know what one simple act of kindness may do. I may not have the same opportunities to help someone as in the examples given in this video, but I try my best, even if it's only to say hello and give a smile to a complete stranger while walking on the street who may have a downcast expression on their face. You can't believe how suddenly their expression changes and their face now lights up with a smile back.

Here's the video over at Youtube if you wish to see it in its entirety:

Kindness Boomerang-"One Day"

I also btw fell in love with the song and managed to track it down. The music used in the video is a song called One Day by Matisyahu