Eight Feet Deep

If you happen to be a believer in evolution then you might understand how certain human body structures got the short end of the stick as life made its way up the evolutionary chain. Backs and feet immediately come to mind.

It isn’t hard to imagine how weight could be better distributed by walking on all fours. That is not to say I intend to start doing it. I would last probably three seconds before plunking on the floor. If I were successful at doing it I’m sure there would probably be some long ago city ordinance prohibiting the act which was never repealed and thus the boys and gals in blue would come get me.

So we walk on all twos, if that’s the hand we are dealt.

Walking upright certainly complicates matters such as stress and strain on the spinal column. The spinal column is pretty doggone important to the body machine. So if there is a problem with steering then we can have other problems, say with locomotion (the reference being “moving,” not the song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin which was first recorded by Little Eva and later Grand Funk Railroad), or even with breathing.

Then, there is the feet. Ach ja. Die Füße. You have these two relatively minor platforms on which sits a big ol’ tub o’ lard, or even a Twiggy. I do not know the ratio of pounds per square inch of pressure exerted on the feet. I would perhaps look knowledgeable if I were to look that up and report it here. But one can only do so much with two feet. Also, wouldn’t you think a blog named “eight feet deep” would discuss feet more often than it does? Think about it and write down your answers. But please don’t give them to me.

There is, or was, a point to be made here. It has to do with my feet. Something is wrong with my feet, other than the way the look and the fact that they are just under one foot in length. Yes I have almost foot-long feet. Someone asks my what’s under my shoe, I tell them a foot or almost a foot.

Recently I did something twice that I had never done before. That was to take back two pairs of shoes, first for exchange and secondly for a refund.

I decided it was time for a pair of new hiking shoes. So I bought a pair after trying them on, making sure they fit well and taking the obligatory walk around the shoe section. Upon returning home and taking a walk, my feet felt like they were hit with John Henry’s hammer. My left big toenail is still purple. I thought, this isn’t right. So I return the shoes and exchange them for another pair. I wore them twice and although they still weren’t as painful, they were still relatively Cruel Shoes. I finally returned them and got my money back, deciding to buy a pair elsewhere.

The pair I now have felt as though I was walking on air when I tried them on at the store. That is how a pair of great shoes is supposed to feel. But even as I continue to walk while wearing them, I still have foot pain and today even had some numbness.

I told my doctor about the ordeal last week. I have been buying shoes on my own for more than 35 years and so I know when they fit and when they don’t fit. Or so I thought. But these shoes fit. And they are a nice moderately-priced pair of Timberland hiking shoes, not something I bought at the dollar store. So I figure I have some kind of foot problem. Now I have to wonder, what is the problem?

Well, perhaps the doctor or a podiatrist will have to figure that out. The Web site ePodiatry lists almost 50 different foot problems one might have. It is mystery, I tell you. But we will get to the bottom of this, feet first, or this blog isn’t eight feet deep. And if it’s not, then what am I doing here?

Okay, a little more MSM and otherwise has shed some light on the shooting of a therapy dog for injured Navy SEAL hero Marcus Luttrell.

Apparently the SEAL’s dog, a yellow Labrador retriever was named DASY and not Daisy as I earlier “reported.” (It’s hard for me to use that word these days.) The same article does support my intuition that the chase ended at Lake Livingston. The report mentions the suspects were stopped by police in Onalaska, which is the small town in Polk County (a county I lived in for a couple of years) with several liquor stores and the Lake Livingston/Trinity River bridge. Onalaska is also only a few miles away from the Polusnky Unit, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, or Death Row for the Lone Star State. No symbolism can be applied here for the scumbags who shot Dasy.

PETA and Glenn Beck on the same side?

The stories of Pinky and Daisy are far from similar, not yet at least, and here is hoping the tales of these two animals never merge.

Pinky is what marine biologists are calling the rare albino dolphin that has been sighted a number of times swimming in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, between the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Charles, La. in the extreme western part of the state. The pink marvel has been featured in a number of newscasts and in newspaper stories after a charter boat captain first spotted the dolphin and took its picture. Now Pinky is a star, and scientists hope that people will just leave it the hell alone.

Not such a great fate came recently for Daisy, or Dasy, however its name was spelled. Daisy was a therapy dog for retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. The dog’s name was taken from the names of his teammates who were killed in Afghanistan.

Luttrell was the sole survivor of a four-person intelligence gathering team that was “sneaking and peeking” on Taliban fighters during a 2005 mission. All but Luttrell survived a clash with the Taliban. He later received the Navy Cross for his heroism. He wrote a book about the ordeal called “Lone Survivor” which was a best-seller. The SEAL received severe wounds and later was given the therapy dog, Daisy.

I first heard the story of Daisy’s own ordeal this morning from an unlikely source: Glenn Beck’s radio show. I say it’s an unlikely source because as I have mentioned here before, I think Beck is among the creepiest of the right-wing radio creeps. His most recent rants as mentioned in yesterday’s post: Beck’s insistence FEMA is building concentration camps to house Obama’s detractors.

Nonetheless, I heard Luttrell telling the story about Daisy on the way to work and finally had to turn the radio off because I needed to get inside my office. The jist of what seemed to have happened is that Luttrell is a light sleeper. He saw some headlights near his property and heard a gunshot so he went out, armed, to check it out.

Luttrell discovered some “good ol’ boys who were yukking it up after killing a dog. The dog was, of course, Daisy. The men who shot the dog left and Luttrell called 911 and followed the men in a chase through four counties, which appear to be in East Texas. I say appear because Luttrell mentioned this morning that he chased the men to the “Lake Livingston or (Trinity) river bridge). After learning Luttrell lives in Texas I put the two together since I am familiar with the area plus it would not at all surprise me that the types of yahoos who would shoot a dog for no reason could be found in that particular area.

I have not seen much on the ‘net as far as news stories about Daisy’s death. Not to be cruel but usually reporters will drive over their mothers to do a story about murdered pets (of course as a service-type dog Daisy was much more) because animal cruelty stories — and I say this from experience as a former full-time news person — get more attention from the public than do stories of human deaths. It appears from what little I have read, however, the cops arrested the yahoos and Luttrell is understandably upset both over the dog’s death and the lack of meaningful punishment the men will get if convicted. If I have the intent from that last sentence incorrect, I apologize, I know that is how I would feel.

The Texas Penal Code makes a lot of exceptions when it comes to punishment for animal cruelty so I am not sure how much if any time the men would get for killing Daisy if convicted. From just glancing at the code it would appear the low-lifes who killed the dog probably would get no more than a year in jail and could possibly get a probated sentence. Animal homicides are literally “misdemeanor murders.”

Back to Pinky. I fear that the same type of scum who are so twisted that they derive pleasure from going out and slaughtering dogs or other animals would have no qualms about killing a rare dolphin. I live between Lakes Livingston and Calcasieu and, while I grew up in the area and it has a ton of great people, we have some real losers as well. (See “James Byrd Dragging Death”)

It is doubtful that the law will ever sufficiently punish those who are cruel to animals so whether or not you believe in karma perhaps take comfort that justice sometimes is found in the form of the old proverb: “Do not dig a hole for someone else; you yourself will fall into it.”

Ah fair April! Poets slather you in verse while young love blooms about like an endless promise. Or something, something else. Yes, April has its magical side with the ultra-greens of new life budding and the mythical spring fever restraining energy of those too absorbed by its beauty to move.

But as every action must have a reaction, April too has its dark side. One can surely see April raising its grim head in the death-row-march of history.

Just in the last week or so: Fourteen dead in Binghamton. Three cops killed in Pittsburgh. A father in Washington murders his five children and then kills himself. And you’ve heard of suicide by cop whenever someone manufactures a police standoff so officers will shoot that person? Well, how about suicide by Air Force?

Canadian student pilot Adam Leon apparently stole a Cessna 172 in Ontario and ended up in a high-speed chase with F-16 fighters on his tail, terminating in Missouri. Police said the pilot wanted the military aircraft to blow him out of the sky.

We used to think so innocently about April showers bringing May flowers. But in years past, April has become more of a reign of blood and sorrow.

On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 and wounded 25 at a rampage on the campus of Virginia Tech. Cho killed himself after the attack.

Then who could forget the date April 19? More than 80 people died in Elk, Texas, outside Waco, on April 19, 1993, after flames ripped through the Branch Davidian compound following a 51-day siege. Two years later, 168 are murdered when the Murrah Federal Building is blown up in Oklahoma City, for which murdering domestic terrorist nutcase Timothy McVeigh is executed.

On April 20, 1999, two students at Columbine High School in suburban Denver killed 13 students and teachers, and wounded 23, before killing themselves.

There are probably other April massacres that have slipped my mind not to mention individual murders of note such as that of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who was assassinated on a motel balcony in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

One has to look over this list of mayhem and wonder: What the hell is it about April that makes it such a violent month? I am nobody when it comes to a substantial answer. I am sure some historians and pundits might see various links between the Branch Davidian episode and that of Oklahoma City and possibly even Columbine. But all the recent bloodletting leaves many shaking their heads.

The guy who shot all the cops in Pennsylvania allegedly worried President Obama was going to come get his guns. There also is a lot of buzz and concerns about Obama and his own safety what with all the nutjobs out there such as Republican Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota, who alluded to the need for armed revolution against the Obama government, although she has reportedly backtracked on some of her language.

Then there is talk show host Glenn Beck who is beside himself with fears FEMA is building concentration camps. Also, aging karate dude and TV actor Chuck Norris along with Michigan carpetbagger Ted Nugent now of the Waco area are making noise about how Texas should succeed from the union. The state does have some limited right to do so due to its former status as a republic. However, if one remembers, the state didn’t fare so well with the other states who left the U.S.A. during the early 1860s.

Maybe nothing has to do with nothing when it comes to April and its bloody background. I have always loved the Spring, my favorite season, and April has likewise been one of my favorite months. Now, I don’t know about how you feel but I am about ready for May to get the hell here.

This afternoon I had to get a couple of documents together for a special veterans license plate. I figured the LP doesn’t cost anything but a stamp and anytime you get anything free from the state one should surely take advantage of it.

Although the requirements for the special plate do not mention it by name, I figure they would want a copy of my DD-214 in order to show I was honorably discharged from the service. For those unfamiliar with it, the DD (Defense Department) form 214 is your record of discharge from military service. Once I left the Navy I wisely had a copy filed with the county clerk of the county where I grew up. I say wisely because it is one document that I have had to use many times.

As a matter of fact, short of a driver license I would say I have probably had to provide a copy of my DD-214 more than any other document. One who was never in the service might say: “Why?” The reason is that proof of being a military veteran is pertinent in a number of cases. I have shown the DD-214 with a number of job applications, I had to use it to sign up for GI educational benefits when I went to college and later when I started receiving VA medical care. I received a 5-point veterans preference in my current part-time job with the feds thus requiring a copy of the magical 214 as proof. And the list goes on.

My use of other various records? Well, let’s see. My college transcript. I had to provide a copy when I applied for the fed job and a couple of other jobs, but other than that, not so much. My Social Security card. I’ve used it quite a bit and it has been with me for a very long time now. My FBI record? Well, I once wrote the FBI after leaving the service figuring that I had to have some kind of record to have received a Secret clearance in the Navy. But I guess I was mistaken because they said I didn’t have a record. My military record? I have a full copy but I don’t recall ever having to use anything from it, short of my DD-214. As for my permanent school record. Is there such a thing? I’m sure there is, but if I didn’t use it when I applied to college I doubt I have ever used it for anything.

I also don’t think I ever heard anyone who threatened having something placed on someone’s permanent school record other than on television. But if someday someone threatens to put something on your permanent record, I imagine I would try to be polite, just in case although I don’t think I would get too worked up about it.