We should learn from the past not condemn it

In my book reviews blog you may have noticed at times I have been critical of other reviewers when their comments condemn a historical genre book based on the stories it relates and its descriptions of attitudes and lifestyles. The reviews can contain anything from criticism to the total abhorrence of events in the story that actually took place.

Whether they are fiction or non-fiction books, providing the author has stuck to the truth, this reaction, I believe, is unjustifiable and unfair. Sorry, but if you can’t handle the truth don’t read books set in eras where attitudes are very different to today.

If you feel comment of cruelty, hardship and extreme sadness must be included to convey the storyline to readers then why not consider statement like “the author clearly depict the hardships of the time” or “this book serves as a reminder that xyz people where harsh in their treatment of ……”

I believe that we must read history in its context. We must take into account the views, attitudes and knowledge of that time. This does not mean we should condone the actions of our forebears. It means we need to understand history so we can learn and be better people today.

I have noticed that this also happens in social media where a post depicts a negative event from history and condemns that event. That is fine, but don’t expect to change what happened – just do all you can to contribute to the world to ensure it doesn’t and won’t happen again.

Please keep your cat inside

I don’t hate cats, I have been owned by several in my life, but I do hate what they do when allowed to roam free, especially at night.

First some small scale peeves against cats. I hate to have to sweep the mulch back onto the garden every morning because someone’s cat is allowed to roam at night. I hate it especially because the cat has piddled in my garden, killing the third lot of plants and it stinks each morning I walk out the door.

Further up the scale, I got so angry if I had caught the cat I may have throttled it; this time the cat killed the three baby blackbirds in my camellia bush. Now I know in Australia blackbirds are not native but we had been enjoying the parents’ songs and became very attached to them. We were overjoyed that they nested in our bush at eye level where we could check on their progress every day. That is until the blasted cat came along.

Now for the off the scale doings of cats, and this is what I really want cat owners to think long and hard about. Domestic cats that are not controlled can go feral. I found the graphic below on Facebook. It clearly shows the harm cats do to our wildlife – and that is just lizards and insects. Feral cats catch and kill birds, fish, and even small native mammals.

Please, train your cat to use a litter box so it doesn’t have to go outside into your garden, or the neighbour’s, to do its business.

If you feel your cat needs some fresh air and exercise, buy it a lead and collar and go for a walk with it. I did it with my Burmese cat, Sultan. We had wonderful walks together and made many new friends who didn’t know a cat would walk on a lead.

The other alternative is to build a cattery. There are some excellent ones that link to an opening in a window and your cat can come and go as it pleases.

Why did you buy the cat in the first place? Because it was a cute and cuddly kitten and the kids nagged you?

Now the kids are bored and no one wants to look after the cat so you let it roam and find food elsewhere. If you are not committed to a fully mature cat that will live for 15 years you should not have one.

Is your cat desexed? Did you know that one cat and her mate together, and through their offspring, can produce over 11 million offspring? This is based on each female giving birth to 2.8 kittens twice a year. Scary isn’t it?

When you are next tempted to buy that cute kitten because the kids are crying for it, please consider the responsibilities not just to the cat but to local wildlife and neighbours’ gardens.

Please share if you agree with me.

A chuckle to warm

It is winter here in Australia. The wind is blowing and the temperature is dropping. A good laugh always helps to cheer so I thought I would share some of my favourite funny posts from Facebook to warm us up.

Do we euthanize our pets too soon?

You often hear “We had to put our dog to sleep to put them out of their misery”. 

I recently had an occasion to ponder if this might be something I had to do for my dear old girl.

She developed an enormous cancer that required, for us, an expensive operation for breast cancer. 

It was a case of finding the money or have her put down. 

The vet assured me it was a simple operation with a very unlikely chance of recurrence. As difficult as it was we found the money and it was a complete success.

About a month later I woke to find she could not move her back end and was dragging herself along the ground. We had to lift her bottom so she could go to the toilet. Then with tears in my eyes expecting the worse I took her to the vet.

It was a slipped disc and evidently, unlike people, was not operable but he gave her an injection and some tablets and warned me she might have to be on them the rest of her life. Within 24 hours she was mobile although she was limping badly and dragged one foot rubbing the top of it along the ground.  

The tablets gradually helped but haven’t given a complete recovery and she was still very stiff in her movement and still had a bit of a limp.

What to do? Was she suffering? Should we have her put down?

Her movement was limited and she obviously had some pain. Were we just keeping her alive and easing her pain with medication for our own selfish reasons? Was it time to say goodbye to my beautiful 13 year old Sassy?

Then I thought. I am not young any more. I have pain and stiffness and I will also be on medication the rest of my life but I am enjoying life and I certainly am not ready to be “put out my misery”.

I don’t believe Sassy wants to end her life yet any more than I do.  

And so, each day, my beautiful Sassy and I take our medication. At times we both hobble around with stiffness and pain but most of the time we just take things slowly and we are both happy.  She is still the matriarch of our dogs but now is our time to leave things to the younger ones.

How you can avoid those annoying telemarketers once and for all

I am reproducing this article from the Starts at Sixty website because I believe it is an important topic particularly for the aging

When Aussie journalist Adrienne Tam received repeated calls from one number, she began to feel “stalked”. 

Here’s how she turned the tables on those pesky telemarketers.

“Every day, be it a work day or the weekend, early in the morning or late at night, my mobile would light up with a number now stored in my consciousness”, Adrienne said in her newspaper column.

Complicating matters further, the telemarketers were in fact working on behalf of a charity. As Adrienne explains, “nobody likes saying ‘No’ to charities”.

“Images of starving children and trapped bears run through your mind on repeat”, Adrienne said. “But if we said ‘Yes’ all the time to every charity which calls us, we’d likely be broke”.

Charities are exempt from the National Do Not Call Register, a secure database where people can “opt out” of receiving telemarketing calls.

This makes their phone calls harder to avoid. Apart from asking the charity telemarketer not to phone you again, sometimes it may be necessary to write a “Cease and Desist” letter or email.

Charities are obliged to respect your wishes, or else they can receive a fine from the Australian Communications and Media Authority. So keep a copy of any correspondence you send.

However, as Adrienne discovered, the easiest way is to donate to charities directly, cutting out the telemarketers. “That way, you’re sure your money is going to the charity, and not to a third party”, she says.

Next time telemarketers call Adrienne, she says she’ll “(simply explain) that I already donate to that charity directly”. Ahh, the power of saying ‘No’ hey!

Do telemarketers repeatedly phone you? What actions have you taken to prevent pesky phone calls?

http://startsatsixty.com.au/living/how-you-can-avoid-those-annoying-telemarketers-once-and-for-all

There is only one problem I see with this advice