Zach Bonner is Superman!

A friend of mine, an EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SUPERHERO, Named Zach is the President of The Little Red Wagon Foundation. When Hurricane Charley hit Florida, Zach was about six and he was moved to raise money and got donations of toys for the children affected. He jumped to action after Hurricane Katrina, too.

Then Zach organized fund raising to buy backpacks filled with necessities like toothbrush and toothpaste and snacks for HOMELESS Children.

Currently, Zach is holding an auction on eBay to raise money for these and other projects. The money will be given to children in need all over the country.

If you are moved enough to help him in his cause, I would really appreciate it. You can view the items for bid at this link:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlittle_red_wagon_foundationQQhtZ-1

I also invite you to meet Zach for yourself by following this link: http://www.littleredwagonfoundation.com/

There is a link to join his website and you will receive eNews from him and his site. You will discover how dedicated to helping children that he is.

In this world, and especially in the circumstances that we face after natural disasters and September 11th, we are in need of genuine heroes. Zach is one such hero.

Thank you!

~Renee

Nancy Grace's smoking gun

Trenton Duckett is missing. His mother said that he was sleeping soundly in his crib when she checked on him at 7 p.m. on August 26th. Trenton's mommy's name is Mindy Duckett.

Mindy said that she had shopped all day with her two-year-old son. When they returned home, she stated that she placed him in his crib around 6:30 p.m.

According to the police report, Mindy told police that a couple of her friends came over to watch a movie. At 9:30, she went to check on her toddler, but he wasn't in his crib. Mindy called the police.

The police were shown a cut screen in the baby's room and a picture that had been knocked off of the windowsill. The police began the search for little Trenton.

I do not know the events that brought about Mindy's appearance on Nancy Grace's show, but I know that outcome of it. Mindy Duckett, 21, shot herself to death after a very disturbing exchange with Nancy Grace.

The blonde former prosecutor is well known for her fist pounding declarations of guilt aimed at guests on her show. I think the 21 year-old didn't know what she was getting herself into when she agreed to appear on the show. I wonder how many times Grace accuses someone of doing something and they actually are guilty? It is thought provoking.

Grace made Duckett trip all over herself during a cross examination that ended with the blonde host accusing the 21-year-old of something sinister...Not in so many words, but there was no doubt what Grace was insinuating.

It is highly likely or perhaps highly probable that Mindy Duckett played a role in the disappearance of her son. Statistics prove that when a member of a family goes missing, it is often a family member who made the other "disappear."

Remember Jenny Jones? Another blonde talk show hostess who played a role in a death that occurred after a guest appeared on her show? There are some things that do not belong on television, but the problem is that viewers watch shows like this. A jury held Jones accountable for the death of a 32 year old guest after he revealed a secret crush on a heterosexual guest. Three days after the segment was taped, the man who was "humiliated" on the show killed the guest who had a crush on him.

Mindy Duckett may have known what happened to her little boy, but Grace crossed a line. The only person who might have been able to find Trenton has taken any information that she had to her grave.

Trenton's mom was an orphan from South Korea. She was a gifted student, by all accounts. Her grandfather insists that she told him that she didn't have anything to do with her son's disappearance. There are times when this kind of blind faith proves unwarranted, but does that justify the means? Not to me.


I hope that Duckett's family takes Nancy Grace to task for the suicide of Mindy Duckett. Mindy could have helped authorities find her boy; if she had anything to do with his disappearance, she might have been coaxed to revealing that given time. Instead, when Mindy pulled the trigger to shoot herself, Nancy Grace might as well have been standing beside her with her finger on the trigger. That is not good television. That is a travesty of justice especially for Trenton Duckett.

Marcus Fiesel's plight was known

Although the digital picture isn't of the best quality, it is easy to see how cute this little boy is. Candy is smeared around his mouth. His eyes are deep and expressive. He looks like any other little boy. Unfortunately, this isn't just any other little boy. Sadly, this is Marcus.

Marcus had a disability of some sort. I do not know what his disability is, nor is it important. He is a cute boy. I look at this picture and want to hug him tightly.

I wish that I could change Marcus' name and bring him home, but it is too late for that. He died when he was three years old. He was a child in the foster care system. On Tuesday, August 30th, 2006, his foster parents were charged with his murder.

His so called foster parents had a family reunion to go to. Rather than take this adorable little boy with them, they decided to leave him behind. If only they had done simply that. Instead, his foster parents rolled him up in a blanket with his hands pinned behind him. Then they wrapped him up in the blanket with duct tape and placed Little Marcus Fiesel in a closet. They left him there for two days. Upon their return from the reunion. Little Marcus was dead.

When his "foster parents" discovered his body, they had no more mercy for this little boy then they did when they placed him in the closet. This man and woman took his body to a remote location. Then the couple "made several attempts to burn Marcus Fiesel's body and concocted an elaborate sham to cover up the boy's death, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Tuesday (August 30th)."

I do not know why it is so easy for foster parents to be approved to provide shelter to children and then abuse, abandon, neglect, torture and murder them. I do not know why we stand for it. I do not understand why there are so many people opposed to adoption by alternative life style living parents who want a child so very badly.

The government doesn't believe that gay couples should wed or be given the privilege of being parents. Meanwhile, it apparently believes that the foster care system is a safe haven for children.

This is Liz Carroll. Her husband, David Carroll, Jr. Helped murder Marcus. They stood before cameras and begged that he be returned home. Then they repeatedly returned to his body and tried to burn his remains. They pleaded for his safe return. But they never cared about his safety at all. To them Marcus was nothing more than a paycheck. In essence, the foster care system is the "puppy mill" of children. Trade services for money without regard to the living or death conditions of the helpless victims.

It is beyond time to fix the foster care system. Innocent children are dying. No one listened to Marcus Fiesel's whimpers. No one could hear him, yet the district attorney knew that this wasn't the first time that he had been left alone. Marcus Fiesel's plight was known, but someone choose to ignore it and now little Marcus Fiesel is dead.

New 9-11 video

I cannot believe that anyone was able to keep this to themselves for five years. This is the new perspective on the WTC tragedy. The view is just from the side of the front doors of the North Tower.

The woman filming is holding an infant. My heart ached as I listened to her commentary. It is a stunning sight. Shocking moments caught in time. I think it is important that the couple released this because with the aid of digital technology, someone may be able to identify some of the emergency workers prior to the fall of the towers. This might provide some closure for their families.

It is not easy to watch. I didn't watch any of the "anniversary" coverage from five years ago. I did watch this and it is a poignant reminder that we must be on-guard. Not paralyzed, but on-guard and watchful. Not frightened, but empowered to do all we can to prevent another attack on our shores.

On September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush did the best that anyone could under the circumstances to pull our country together after a terrifying event. The tears in his eyes were genuine. I think that it is easy to forget that he was moved by the plight of the families that lost loved ones on that dark day. Whether you or I support the President is unimportant right now. We need to remember that he led us on a very dark day. On September 11, 2001, I was proud that he was our President.

You can argue many things about our government right now, but on that awful day all I could see for miles and miles was raw courage under fire. I mean that from the blind man who made it all the way out from the 78th floor to the hundreds of emergency services workers who marched in and met their fate.

This is a link to the newly released video: http://www.revver.com/view.php?id=59686 I originally linked it here so you could see it, but my blog won't load with it. You won't be able to look away. I don't know why that is. Perhaps it is because all of the video shot of the WTC event showed the buildings and people running from them. This shows the people "marching into hell for a heavenly cause..."

9/11

Five years ago, I distinctly recall wondering why I was three months pregnant with Little Big Boy. Why was I bringing a child into a world where people would take civilian planes and use them as bombs all over the eastern United States? Why was I bringing a child into a world where treachery and insanity appeared to reign?

A lot of time has past, but the images from September 11th are fresh in my mind. The most disturbing of all of the images that I recall from that fateful day are the ones that show people jumping from the WTC windows. What in God's name was so awful that the person preferred to jump from almost or over 100 stories up? How could jumping be preferable to staying put? My imagination tells me the answer to this question and it is almost as disturbing as the pictures from the event itself.

I'd like to say that I went on courageously after the events of 9/11, but I didn't. Over the next few months and even years, I became paralyzed. I was so certain that another attack was eminent that I kept myself from living. I justified it by believing that I was protecting my family from a fate such as the one faced by the thousands who died on 9/11.

I know now that there is nothing that I can do to protect my family or myself from terrorists. God's will is His will. It is nothing more and nothing less than God's will. That is not to say that it is His fault or doing. No! It is only to say that if I am called to Heaven, I have to answer that call no matter what circumstances take me there. And it is the same for my family.

When I was a child, my parents could assure me that I was safe. I have lived through and survived enough to know that I wasn't safe, but I have also learned that it wasn't anyone's fault. It was simply what was.

I spent a lot of time trying to make sense of my past-of real, live bogeymen. I talked it over and tried to purge it all from my very soul. In the end, I realized that no matter how much I talk about it, it isn't going to change. I can only change my perception of the events.

I look at September 11th now as a time when people ran from the WTC. Maybe people ran from the Pentagon, too. And even from Flight 93 as it plummented to the ground in Pennsylvania. But while others ran away from the horror, there was a select group of people who ran toward and walked toward and marched toward the scenes of the terror and crimes. And five years later, I can honestly say that I have resolved to be one of the people who walk toward it, instead of run from it.

It isn't a death wish, either. It is a LIFE wish. I choose to live my life inspite of the terror and horror that exists in the world. I choose to believe that there is a greater good. I choose to believe that we can stand up to those who try to control us with fear. I believe that I can show my courage and defiance. They can come here and attack innocent civilians. I know that now, but I'm not afraid of it anymore. I am ready to look them in the eye. Checkmate.

Too much

There are far too many things going on that I would like to comment about. Some good. Some bad, but far too much blog fodder! It makes me wish that I had kept up with daily blogging. So this is going to be another multi-post.

1. I was so sad to hear of Lightfeather's loss...so much has happened this year. I am praying that she will have a much brighter future...filled with acceptance, peace and love.
2. My hubby knows the family of the little conjoined male twins-separated about two days ago now. The boys are doing as well as they can following the marathon surgery.
3. Both Number One Daughter and Little Big Boy started school on Tuesday. It is always nice when school starts AFTER the holiday and not before. It gives the temps a chance to become more mild so the students don't have to sit in stifling rooms.
4. Menopause sucks-whether it is brought on by age or by surgery like mine, it just sucks. There is too much information about the side effects of hormones and all that. You'd think that there would be something safer that works. (I love Whoopi's comment about menopause in her HBO special.) If pharmaceutical companies can solve the terrible and dreaded ED...why can't they find a way to ballance out hot flashes! I mean really!
5. Another foster child has been murdered at the hands of his foster parents. That is not a story suitable for this post, but I have his picture and the awful story to tell. I will post it soon. It is just too painful to write for now. I still think that if these murderers are the best foster parents that can be found that someone ought to head up to Capitol Hill and kick some ignorant butts. There are real loving families awaiting children and their only crime is that they live an alternative life style. In this day and age, that seems too trivial to worry about. Again-the parents who are murdering foster children have been approved by the same entity that opposes gay foster parents. Is it really so awful to have gay foster parents that it is better to subject children to torture, abuse and murder? Who is making these laws anyway!!!??????