Owen's back interviewing... His first interview, though, was with Wes Anderson and it was posted on YouTube. I find that a little strange. Why not People? Why not Nutcases Monthly? Why not the National Enquirer? Why not someplace where it was guaranteed to reach a large audience? Why not put it out there as an inspiration to the world that one CAN overcome depression and a suicide attempt? Why not talk about depression and the suicide attempt?
Owen was in a position here to make some REAL impressions. The idiots in Hollywood are well-known for being, well, idiots, with their drinking, drugs and walking away from car accidents with no other thought in their heads but, "I'm famous and nothing can happen to me." Here we have a guy who suddenly seemed incredibly human to the rest of the world and he doesn't use his personal story to inspire others?
I don't know... Call me crazy, but if I had the soap box to stand on that he now has, I'd use it all day, every day. There have to be people out there who are in such dispair that hearing from Owen Wilson that he not only survived his suicide attempt but THRIVED! He could help these people hear that life really is worth living, if you look hard enough, through the depths of your darkness.
No, he can't DO that... Is he planning a book or screenplay to tell the story? That might actually be a movie worth seeing. If he's planning it, can he make some kind of announcement so I don't go around thinking what a dick he is for not sharing his personal struggles?
As I read this, I find myself thinking, "Wait, Nancy... But you are one of those people who really couldn't care less about the Hollywood brats. You tell people all the time there's much ado about nothing there."
True, I DO say that, all the time, to the chagrin of my family. But, depression is an issue that affects my family. It affects a lot of families, some with suicide, some with suicide attempts, some with the daily darkness that lives in the minds of the depressed. I'm sure there were other suicides and attempts when the news hit that Owen did this. I mean, seriously, if his life sucks enough to chuck it all... My life pales in comparison to his so should I cut myself loose from the world?
Owen, you would touch so many lives were you to just tell your story. Go on Oprah, go on Montell Williams, go on Ellen or The Tonight Show. Any of these people would treat you with dignity and respect and allow you to share in a manner that is SURE to have some effect.
Anyway, I'm glad he's doing better. Depression is a terrible thing to combat and I was sad at the thought of a world with no Owen Wilson. He's an incredibly funny and deep person. His brother, Luke, is the same and I hated the idea of seeing him sad, too.
But who am I? This is just my two cents.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Dems will do whatever they have to do...
To vilify a Republican. I mean, seriously?
See, according to the Dems in the state, the California fires are a result of "something" the President did or didn't do. According to Barbara Boxer, Democratic Senator from the state of California, the fires wouldn't have been as bad as they were had it not been for the Iraq War. Wow, nice segue into your personal agenda, which has nothing, really, to do with the war OR the fire and everything to do with making our President look like the bad guy.
See, more and more, I'm noticing, the Democratic side of the political aisle is no longer about doing what's best for the country but about furthering their agenda. During Vietnam there was so much polarization inside the beltway it caused a huge failure there, with many, many lives lost while the Democrats had their temper tantrum, the soldiers in Vietnam suffered. At one point, the funding was shut off for our action in Vietnam. Now, seriously, who did that REALLY hurt? Our "capable" representatives and senators in Washington? Nope, it was the foot soldiers, pilots and leaders who suffered. THEY were the ones who paid for the infantile actions of our political leaders.
What's the first rule in winning a way? The Romans knew this and it still holds true today: Divide and conquer. The insurgents in Iraq know the longer they hold out, the more likely their victory because the Democrats are creating an air of division. The polarization in our country is our own worst enemy and it's working for the bad guys.
The same thing that happened in Vietnam is happening today. Let's blame the President for everything that's wrong in the world. Katrina suffered from this problem. The people of New Orleans needed help but the Democrats there were SOOOOOO busy blaming everyone else, especially the President, for all that was wrong there. Instead of focusing on the needs of the people, the Dems were focusing on creating dissension amongst the American people. Again, did the politicos suffer? Nope, the people of New Orleans suffered...
Do I have a solution for this? No, I don't, other than to spank the people who are causing these problems. There should be some kind of test people have to take before they can run for political office, something along the lines of a maturity test. It should be required that to represent the people of your state, you should at least have the maturity to represent THEM instead of your personal agenda.
The people of California needs help now, not finger pointing. They need someone to step in and help them take care of problems. Schwarzenegger seems to be prepared to do that, if not for his having to dodge the accusations of the Democrats there and across the country. I guess all that's left to say at this point, to the Dems, is "Step up and help", stop with the finger pointing and dig in.
But who am I to judge? That's just my two cents.
See, according to the Dems in the state, the California fires are a result of "something" the President did or didn't do. According to Barbara Boxer, Democratic Senator from the state of California, the fires wouldn't have been as bad as they were had it not been for the Iraq War. Wow, nice segue into your personal agenda, which has nothing, really, to do with the war OR the fire and everything to do with making our President look like the bad guy.
See, more and more, I'm noticing, the Democratic side of the political aisle is no longer about doing what's best for the country but about furthering their agenda. During Vietnam there was so much polarization inside the beltway it caused a huge failure there, with many, many lives lost while the Democrats had their temper tantrum, the soldiers in Vietnam suffered. At one point, the funding was shut off for our action in Vietnam. Now, seriously, who did that REALLY hurt? Our "capable" representatives and senators in Washington? Nope, it was the foot soldiers, pilots and leaders who suffered. THEY were the ones who paid for the infantile actions of our political leaders.
What's the first rule in winning a way? The Romans knew this and it still holds true today: Divide and conquer. The insurgents in Iraq know the longer they hold out, the more likely their victory because the Democrats are creating an air of division. The polarization in our country is our own worst enemy and it's working for the bad guys.
The same thing that happened in Vietnam is happening today. Let's blame the President for everything that's wrong in the world. Katrina suffered from this problem. The people of New Orleans needed help but the Democrats there were SOOOOOO busy blaming everyone else, especially the President, for all that was wrong there. Instead of focusing on the needs of the people, the Dems were focusing on creating dissension amongst the American people. Again, did the politicos suffer? Nope, the people of New Orleans suffered...
Do I have a solution for this? No, I don't, other than to spank the people who are causing these problems. There should be some kind of test people have to take before they can run for political office, something along the lines of a maturity test. It should be required that to represent the people of your state, you should at least have the maturity to represent THEM instead of your personal agenda.
The people of California needs help now, not finger pointing. They need someone to step in and help them take care of problems. Schwarzenegger seems to be prepared to do that, if not for his having to dodge the accusations of the Democrats there and across the country. I guess all that's left to say at this point, to the Dems, is "Step up and help", stop with the finger pointing and dig in.
But who am I to judge? That's just my two cents.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Britney's Custody Battle Goes On...
I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what to write about recently. The California fires are the talk this week, but what can I say about that? I feel terribly for these people but until the idiots at FEMA start to work, there won't be much TO say. (Think about how FEMA handled the whole Katrina thing... How much money was wasted?)
I decided to finally give my thoughts on Britney Spears and her legal issues.
First, I feel sorry for this girl. She's spent her entire life being surrounded by people who couldn't give a whit about her, parents included. She has been everyone's ATM for so long, and all the adoration that goes along with it, she wouldn't know a good person if they jumped up and bit her on the behind. (TIP FOR BRIT: a GOOD person wouldn't bite you on the behind.)
Second, as a result of her poor people skills, she chose a husband who was REALLY in it for the money. He's a viper and a leech and his sole interest in retaining any kind of custody at all is because of how much interest he can obtain with his high yield, high interest bearing accounts. This guy is ALL about the money... If he were any kind of father at all, he would never have left his current girlfriend (at one time his ex-girlfriend) pregnant with his first child. This guy is a L-O-S-E-R from top to bottom, side-to-side...
To be sure, Britney has been on a self-destructive streak lately. She shaved her head a few months ago and it's seemed to have gone on from there, but K-Fed is really running her through the wringer, over and over again. Brit needs to be ordered into therapy, the judge needs to issue some kind of order forbidding anyone in her family to contact her AT ALL and she needs to spend some time with her kids, alone, with someone around to keep an eye on things...
The best thing the judge did was to order them into parenting classes together. The second best thing he did was to order her, alone, into parenting classes. He needed to get K-Fed in there too, since his parenting skills, in his mind, are directly related to his bank balance. (I got to say, I really hate even using the term K-Fed since it's really so ridiculous, but I don't have the energy to write out his whole name either so...)
Anyway, K-Fed's bringing in a litany of "witnesses" who are testifying to her unfitness as a mother, she brings in counter witnesses who testify the people saying she's a bad mother have never had any contact with her to know these things. The judge buys into the crap K-Fed's slinging like it was water and he's dying of dehydration. Seriously?
The latest rampage his attorney's are on is that Britney is purposely generating media attention by going out in public. Um, what? She can't go anywhere without the media following her. She walks to the pool, there's the paparazzi in the trees outside her estate. She goes to the grocery store, again, there they are. She leaves her driveway, again... This kid can't catch a break right now because the paparazzi are hounding her so badly. Maybe she needs to get some kind of court order forbidding the paparazzi of coming within 500 feet of her. She needs to rest and can't, thanks to her ex-husband... I think he's intentionally doing this to her, hoping to drive her over the edge so he can say, "See?" This is one of the signs of an abuser... They are the single most passive-aggressive people you'll ever meet. I wouldn't put it past her ex to be the one keeping the paparazzi on her tail.
I long for the day Brit gets her act together and removes those kids from the life of their deadbeat, cheating, lying dad before they grow up and become even less productive members of society than he has been.
But, I'm sure the press will keep us all posted. I mean, gawd, this girl farts and it's headlines.
I decided to finally give my thoughts on Britney Spears and her legal issues.
First, I feel sorry for this girl. She's spent her entire life being surrounded by people who couldn't give a whit about her, parents included. She has been everyone's ATM for so long, and all the adoration that goes along with it, she wouldn't know a good person if they jumped up and bit her on the behind. (TIP FOR BRIT: a GOOD person wouldn't bite you on the behind.)
Second, as a result of her poor people skills, she chose a husband who was REALLY in it for the money. He's a viper and a leech and his sole interest in retaining any kind of custody at all is because of how much interest he can obtain with his high yield, high interest bearing accounts. This guy is ALL about the money... If he were any kind of father at all, he would never have left his current girlfriend (at one time his ex-girlfriend) pregnant with his first child. This guy is a L-O-S-E-R from top to bottom, side-to-side...
To be sure, Britney has been on a self-destructive streak lately. She shaved her head a few months ago and it's seemed to have gone on from there, but K-Fed is really running her through the wringer, over and over again. Brit needs to be ordered into therapy, the judge needs to issue some kind of order forbidding anyone in her family to contact her AT ALL and she needs to spend some time with her kids, alone, with someone around to keep an eye on things...
The best thing the judge did was to order them into parenting classes together. The second best thing he did was to order her, alone, into parenting classes. He needed to get K-Fed in there too, since his parenting skills, in his mind, are directly related to his bank balance. (I got to say, I really hate even using the term K-Fed since it's really so ridiculous, but I don't have the energy to write out his whole name either so...)
Anyway, K-Fed's bringing in a litany of "witnesses" who are testifying to her unfitness as a mother, she brings in counter witnesses who testify the people saying she's a bad mother have never had any contact with her to know these things. The judge buys into the crap K-Fed's slinging like it was water and he's dying of dehydration. Seriously?
The latest rampage his attorney's are on is that Britney is purposely generating media attention by going out in public. Um, what? She can't go anywhere without the media following her. She walks to the pool, there's the paparazzi in the trees outside her estate. She goes to the grocery store, again, there they are. She leaves her driveway, again... This kid can't catch a break right now because the paparazzi are hounding her so badly. Maybe she needs to get some kind of court order forbidding the paparazzi of coming within 500 feet of her. She needs to rest and can't, thanks to her ex-husband... I think he's intentionally doing this to her, hoping to drive her over the edge so he can say, "See?" This is one of the signs of an abuser... They are the single most passive-aggressive people you'll ever meet. I wouldn't put it past her ex to be the one keeping the paparazzi on her tail.
I long for the day Brit gets her act together and removes those kids from the life of their deadbeat, cheating, lying dad before they grow up and become even less productive members of society than he has been.
But, I'm sure the press will keep us all posted. I mean, gawd, this girl farts and it's headlines.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Halloween is fast approaching and with it...
Come the stories of haunted houses.
Hello all and sorry for the long break between posts. I've been out of town for a story about Cripple Creek, CO. Lovely town and I'll tell you about it in another post, for this one is about Halloween.
Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. That all changed three years ago when my mother died on Halloween. However, it being a favorite of my mother, I can't think of a better time to go. It is also on this day we received affirmation of life after death:
My oldest brother, Charlie, died in 1986 from cancer. He was 28 and it almost tore the family apart. I tell you this in order to tell you the rest... On the day my mother died, my sister had already had to have her revived following her heart stopping. Later in the day, much later, Mother kept trying to get out of bed, with my sister finally admonishing her to stay, given she had so many tubes coming out of her for various reasons. After a couple hours of this back and forth, my mother finally said to her, "Lynne, you don't understand. Charlie's here and he says it's time for me to go."
My mother was lucid when she said this, having paid her bills earlier in the day from her hospital bed. My mother was NEVER given to hallucinations or imagining things. If my mother said Charlie was there, then he was there, no question.
But this is a side story to my main intention for this post: Haunted houses.
I'm not talking about fake hunted houses, the ones that open each Halloween season. I'm talking about REAL haunted houses. I lived in one when my husband was stationed in Aurora, CO. We lived in the base housing associated with Lowry AFB and man was our unit haunted! I was locked out more than once when I would go to get the mail. And it wasn't a matter of accidentally closing the door with the lock engaged; I wouldn't even close the door but I would come back and not only was it closed, it was locked, both the door AND the deadbolt! The ghost didn't like me for some reason. There were other things like faucets turning on at night, the dog acting strangely, the front door standing wide open when my husband would be the first one home. To be honest, we were never afraid. The ghost never hurt us nor did it hurt any of our animals, but after we moved out we started hearing stories about our unit. See, after we left, no one moved in after us; Lowry AFB was closing. Our neighbors, though, stayed until the base closed since the wife was part of the base closure group. They had to call the MPs more than once due to noises from out unit; LOUD noises. I'm talking windows opening and closing, doors being slammed shut, feet trampling their way up and down the stairs (these were adjoining units, with just a firewall between them) and one night, the husband, awakened by all these noises, stood in disbelief as he watched out the back upstairs window, while our back door opened and closed, with no one there. Then, his back screen door opened and he heard "someone" trying to get through the locked back door.
Haunted Houses can be scary when you're the one living in it. When you tell others about it, they all have the same response, "I think it would be cool to live in a haunted house." No, it's not. I can look back on it now and think, "Okay, we lived in a haunted house." But at the time, well, it's the not knowing that gets to you. For a long time, we dismissed quite a bit of what was happening, living in denial I guess. It wasn't until we were close to leaving when we finally came to grips with it all. We never told the kids what was happening, but kids being kids, they did figure it out. The single, biggest thing the ghost did, regularly, was to lift the seat of the toilet so I would yell at my husband for it. We DID have an event that proved it wasn't my husband and I won't bore you with the story here. Suffice it to say, it was PROVEN!
I never got the chance to research the place in order to find out who died there. I did go to the MP station once to see records and they all acted like I was nuts. When we moved out, I mentioned it to the housing office woman and she didn't act like I was nuts so she might have heard it before. I was in Aurora a couple weeks ago and the house is no longer there, having fallen to the wrecking ball to make way for executive homes, so now no one will ever truly know what happened there.
Anyway, if you have a haunted house story, and I mean a real one, post it here in the comments of this post.
For a listing of REAL haunted locations, click the link for this article's title. This is a really good book which is part of a series.
For a listing of "fake" haunted locations, see here.
Oh, and Happy Halloween!
Hello all and sorry for the long break between posts. I've been out of town for a story about Cripple Creek, CO. Lovely town and I'll tell you about it in another post, for this one is about Halloween.
Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. That all changed three years ago when my mother died on Halloween. However, it being a favorite of my mother, I can't think of a better time to go. It is also on this day we received affirmation of life after death:
My oldest brother, Charlie, died in 1986 from cancer. He was 28 and it almost tore the family apart. I tell you this in order to tell you the rest... On the day my mother died, my sister had already had to have her revived following her heart stopping. Later in the day, much later, Mother kept trying to get out of bed, with my sister finally admonishing her to stay, given she had so many tubes coming out of her for various reasons. After a couple hours of this back and forth, my mother finally said to her, "Lynne, you don't understand. Charlie's here and he says it's time for me to go."
My mother was lucid when she said this, having paid her bills earlier in the day from her hospital bed. My mother was NEVER given to hallucinations or imagining things. If my mother said Charlie was there, then he was there, no question.
But this is a side story to my main intention for this post: Haunted houses.
I'm not talking about fake hunted houses, the ones that open each Halloween season. I'm talking about REAL haunted houses. I lived in one when my husband was stationed in Aurora, CO. We lived in the base housing associated with Lowry AFB and man was our unit haunted! I was locked out more than once when I would go to get the mail. And it wasn't a matter of accidentally closing the door with the lock engaged; I wouldn't even close the door but I would come back and not only was it closed, it was locked, both the door AND the deadbolt! The ghost didn't like me for some reason. There were other things like faucets turning on at night, the dog acting strangely, the front door standing wide open when my husband would be the first one home. To be honest, we were never afraid. The ghost never hurt us nor did it hurt any of our animals, but after we moved out we started hearing stories about our unit. See, after we left, no one moved in after us; Lowry AFB was closing. Our neighbors, though, stayed until the base closed since the wife was part of the base closure group. They had to call the MPs more than once due to noises from out unit; LOUD noises. I'm talking windows opening and closing, doors being slammed shut, feet trampling their way up and down the stairs (these were adjoining units, with just a firewall between them) and one night, the husband, awakened by all these noises, stood in disbelief as he watched out the back upstairs window, while our back door opened and closed, with no one there. Then, his back screen door opened and he heard "someone" trying to get through the locked back door.
Haunted Houses can be scary when you're the one living in it. When you tell others about it, they all have the same response, "I think it would be cool to live in a haunted house." No, it's not. I can look back on it now and think, "Okay, we lived in a haunted house." But at the time, well, it's the not knowing that gets to you. For a long time, we dismissed quite a bit of what was happening, living in denial I guess. It wasn't until we were close to leaving when we finally came to grips with it all. We never told the kids what was happening, but kids being kids, they did figure it out. The single, biggest thing the ghost did, regularly, was to lift the seat of the toilet so I would yell at my husband for it. We DID have an event that proved it wasn't my husband and I won't bore you with the story here. Suffice it to say, it was PROVEN!
I never got the chance to research the place in order to find out who died there. I did go to the MP station once to see records and they all acted like I was nuts. When we moved out, I mentioned it to the housing office woman and she didn't act like I was nuts so she might have heard it before. I was in Aurora a couple weeks ago and the house is no longer there, having fallen to the wrecking ball to make way for executive homes, so now no one will ever truly know what happened there.
Anyway, if you have a haunted house story, and I mean a real one, post it here in the comments of this post.
For a listing of REAL haunted locations, click the link for this article's title. This is a really good book which is part of a series.
For a listing of "fake" haunted locations, see here.
Oh, and Happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
New York Woman Dies at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
It would seem Phoenix is in the news, now, in a big way.
A few days ago, Carol Gotbaum, an alcoholic woman from New York, was on her way to rehab in Tucson. Along the way, she got incredibly out of control, so much so she threw her PDA at a passerby, nearly hitting them. What set her off? She was late making her connecting flight and got irate when they wouldn't bring the airplane back to the terminal for "her majesty".
I don't know how they do things in New York, but here, announcements are made repeatedly and short of saying, "Hey, dumbass, we mean you! Your plane's boarding!" people are generally responsible for getting themselves to the terminal on time. Once the terminal doors close, it's bye-bye time for the plane. I'm not sure what caused Carol Gotbaum to miss her connecting flight. I have heard conflicting stories that she was calling home and that she was in the bar getting an alcoholic beverage. I can't say that any of this is true since no one knew who she was prior to her meltdown. To speculate is irresponsible. Given the state of air travel in today's world, I'm leaning towards her flight from New York being late.
Ms. Gotbaum refused to accept that the laws and rules governing air travel as they pertained to her and she blew up in the terminal, necessitating that airport and airline personnel contact the police. As I said earlier, she was throwing things at other passengers, she was screaming, ranting, raving and generally making a huge nuisance of herself - a definite no-no in today's post 9/11 world. Once the police arrived, they tried to calm her and she refused to listen, becoming more obnoxious with each passing second. Finally, the officers had no choice but to attempt to handcuff her. In typical fashion of those who believe they are above the law, Ms. Gotbaum intentionally collapsed, thereby causing problems for the police trying to cuff her, since she was now proving to be a danger to others. They had to drag/push her to detention since she refused to walk, locking her legs in an attempt to forestall the inevitable. She also didn't have her shoes on... What's that about?
The city of New York, however, would like us to believe Ms. Gotbaum did nothing wrong, whatsover. The New York Times is attempting to paint Ms. Gotbaum as a bon-bon eating SAHM with no problems at all, emotional or otherwise. Some articles written by a couple New York City newspapers are here:
Motherly Act Began Events That Led to Gotbaum Death
Gotbaum Twist
Betsy's In-Law Puzzle
Now, the middle link above is incredibly interesting. Apparently, a witness came forward saying they saw the whole thing and went on to say Ms. Gotbaum was "non-combative". What makes this so interesting is that the video was released today showing the whole thing and Ms. Gotbaum was anything BUT non-combative. She fought the police tooth and nail the whole way. I have to wonder if perhaps there isn't a Phoenix attorney who is doing more than slinging accusations against the Medical Examiner's office? Was a "witness" found via personal acguaintances of the Phoenix attorney who is representing the Gotbaum family? Does money buy justice if your last name is Gotbaum?
I also saw some of this story on yesterday morning's Today show. The Phoenix attorney was on there discussing this. At one point he made a statement to the affect that Carol Gotbaum had never had alcohol until three years ago and 36 months later she had a problem severe enough to require medical intervention. What does this say about Carol Gotbaum that she has such an addictive personality that she can become THAT attached to alcohol she needs to fly across the country for help? Also, where was her family in all of this? Carol Gotbaum apparently attempted suicide more than once in the past yet her family didn't think enough of her to send someone with her, ensuring she made it okay? Had a loved one been with Carol instead of everyone abandoning her at her greatest time of need, would things have turned out differently? Would someone she knew been able to calm her fears when she missed her plane?
All I can say to all of this is: PUH-LEEZE! This woman was completely out of control in an international airport, screaming at the top of her lungs, "I am not a terrorist." It seemed to me she suffered some kind of mental break and CLEARLY needed to be removed from the area, either willingly or unwillingly. Ms. Gotbaum let the police know, in no uncertain terms, that she had no intention of going willingly.
I have watched the video and read all the news reports on it. Without having been there myself, witnessing the entire scenario as it unfolded, I have to say my opinion is that that Phoenix police didn't make any mistakes, procedural or otherwise, and Carol Gotbaum's death is an unfortunate circumstance related to the consequences of her actions.
Instead of making this a media circus, all done with the intent of extorting money from the city of Phoenix, the Gotbaums need to quietly return to the solitude of their homes and gather with their loved ones. They need to mourn the loss of an obviously once great woman and come to terms with the fact that she had fallen so deeply into the depths of her own emotionally damaged mind that she killed herself unintentionally. It's sad to lose a loved one and so easy to blame others. Carol Gotbaum killed Carol Gotbaum, and no one else. To say otherwise is not just irresponsible but ignorant.
But who am I? This is just my two cents.
A few days ago, Carol Gotbaum, an alcoholic woman from New York, was on her way to rehab in Tucson. Along the way, she got incredibly out of control, so much so she threw her PDA at a passerby, nearly hitting them. What set her off? She was late making her connecting flight and got irate when they wouldn't bring the airplane back to the terminal for "her majesty".
I don't know how they do things in New York, but here, announcements are made repeatedly and short of saying, "Hey, dumbass, we mean you! Your plane's boarding!" people are generally responsible for getting themselves to the terminal on time. Once the terminal doors close, it's bye-bye time for the plane. I'm not sure what caused Carol Gotbaum to miss her connecting flight. I have heard conflicting stories that she was calling home and that she was in the bar getting an alcoholic beverage. I can't say that any of this is true since no one knew who she was prior to her meltdown. To speculate is irresponsible. Given the state of air travel in today's world, I'm leaning towards her flight from New York being late.
Ms. Gotbaum refused to accept that the laws and rules governing air travel as they pertained to her and she blew up in the terminal, necessitating that airport and airline personnel contact the police. As I said earlier, she was throwing things at other passengers, she was screaming, ranting, raving and generally making a huge nuisance of herself - a definite no-no in today's post 9/11 world. Once the police arrived, they tried to calm her and she refused to listen, becoming more obnoxious with each passing second. Finally, the officers had no choice but to attempt to handcuff her. In typical fashion of those who believe they are above the law, Ms. Gotbaum intentionally collapsed, thereby causing problems for the police trying to cuff her, since she was now proving to be a danger to others. They had to drag/push her to detention since she refused to walk, locking her legs in an attempt to forestall the inevitable. She also didn't have her shoes on... What's that about?
The city of New York, however, would like us to believe Ms. Gotbaum did nothing wrong, whatsover. The New York Times is attempting to paint Ms. Gotbaum as a bon-bon eating SAHM with no problems at all, emotional or otherwise. Some articles written by a couple New York City newspapers are here:
Motherly Act Began Events That Led to Gotbaum Death
Gotbaum Twist
Betsy's In-Law Puzzle
Now, the middle link above is incredibly interesting. Apparently, a witness came forward saying they saw the whole thing and went on to say Ms. Gotbaum was "non-combative". What makes this so interesting is that the video was released today showing the whole thing and Ms. Gotbaum was anything BUT non-combative. She fought the police tooth and nail the whole way. I have to wonder if perhaps there isn't a Phoenix attorney who is doing more than slinging accusations against the Medical Examiner's office? Was a "witness" found via personal acguaintances of the Phoenix attorney who is representing the Gotbaum family? Does money buy justice if your last name is Gotbaum?
I also saw some of this story on yesterday morning's Today show. The Phoenix attorney was on there discussing this. At one point he made a statement to the affect that Carol Gotbaum had never had alcohol until three years ago and 36 months later she had a problem severe enough to require medical intervention. What does this say about Carol Gotbaum that she has such an addictive personality that she can become THAT attached to alcohol she needs to fly across the country for help? Also, where was her family in all of this? Carol Gotbaum apparently attempted suicide more than once in the past yet her family didn't think enough of her to send someone with her, ensuring she made it okay? Had a loved one been with Carol instead of everyone abandoning her at her greatest time of need, would things have turned out differently? Would someone she knew been able to calm her fears when she missed her plane?
All I can say to all of this is: PUH-LEEZE! This woman was completely out of control in an international airport, screaming at the top of her lungs, "I am not a terrorist." It seemed to me she suffered some kind of mental break and CLEARLY needed to be removed from the area, either willingly or unwillingly. Ms. Gotbaum let the police know, in no uncertain terms, that she had no intention of going willingly.
I have watched the video and read all the news reports on it. Without having been there myself, witnessing the entire scenario as it unfolded, I have to say my opinion is that that Phoenix police didn't make any mistakes, procedural or otherwise, and Carol Gotbaum's death is an unfortunate circumstance related to the consequences of her actions.
Instead of making this a media circus, all done with the intent of extorting money from the city of Phoenix, the Gotbaums need to quietly return to the solitude of their homes and gather with their loved ones. They need to mourn the loss of an obviously once great woman and come to terms with the fact that she had fallen so deeply into the depths of her own emotionally damaged mind that she killed herself unintentionally. It's sad to lose a loved one and so easy to blame others. Carol Gotbaum killed Carol Gotbaum, and no one else. To say otherwise is not just irresponsible but ignorant.
But who am I? This is just my two cents.
Monday, October 01, 2007
I am a freelance writer and...
My first BIG article came out today in a large magazine, Home & Away Magazine. This magazine is with AAA, the car travel people, though they do so much more now than in the past.
I'm rather proud of my article, Haunted Cochise County, and it's been a part of my life for some time now.
If you'd like to visit my article, the web address is http://www.homeandawaymagazine.com/content.cfm?a=591.
Tell me what you think and leave a comment here or there.
Anyway, just wanted to lead you there.
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