Continuing from Yuku regarding Gender...

[Crispin's Crispian]

Since I can't violate my own principles of...whatever they are...I'd like to add some point to the Gender discussion over here.

Dav wrote:

Maybe I hang out in a weird crowd but with most of the couples I know the household duties are shared equally or the male member does most of the traditional "women work" type things like cook clean and laundry. For example, I probably do about 75% of the cooking in my home and 50% of the cleaning but I'm not allowed to do laundry other than easy things like blankets. I am capable of doing it but my fiance likes to do it instead. I wouldn't say your crowd was weird, but I would say they were abnormal. My wife belongs to a "moms" group, and the vast majority of them are stay-at-home moms who do all the housework and take care of the kids. The division of labor is incredibly stark, and I sometimes wonder if I'm the only father/husband around who tries to be egalitarian about it all.

I will agree with you Dav, that fathers are consigned to a less important role in the media, but I strongly disagree with this:

We do not live in a patriarchal society right now...in fact the pendulum is swinging far into the complete neutering of males of any legitimate role as a father in the familial unit.

In every job I've had*, the ultimate authority is male (owner, boss, VP, manager, whatever), and if the women are not specifically hired for "support" or "adminstrative" positions, they almost always end up fulfilling them in one way or another. The women that don't perform these roles usually have to work very hard to earn the respect that the men get almost automatically.

I would argue your point above by saying that fathers are emasculated only inasmuch as the media wants us to think that women should be the main caregiver and in charge of family support. If men participate in "home" work (child care, cooking, cleaning, etc.), they are typically said to "help out," implying that it's still the woman that is and should be doing all the work. It's a reinforcement of the traditional roles: woman as homemaker, man as breadwinner. The breadwinner still has the power in our society, and it's still patriarchal.



* I will admit that the President of the university I worked at was a woman (at least for a few years), but men ultimately ran all the departments beneath her.

[Davian93]

First off, welcome to Theoryland Crispin!...at least the message board portion of it....wait a minute...you smell familiar Mr. 10000 posts!!!

My wife belongs to a "moms" group, and the vast majority of them are stay-at-home moms who do all the housework and take care of the kids. The division of labor is incredibly stark, and I sometimes wonder if I'm the only father/husband around who tries to be egalitarian about it all.

Maybe my social group is odd and maybe Vermont is unique compared to the rest of the country. The company I work at is close to 60/40 female to male in ratio and most of the supervisors are female. I remember interviewing for a position where all 5 managers I would be working for were female as well as most of my fellow supervisors. I also went to exam for a gov't job with a total of 40 people taking the test. 36 out of 40 were female and there were only 3 other males in the room with me. Most of the "housewives" I have met do almost none of the so-called "housework" but instead either order out every day or have their husband work and do all the chores while they go and shop all day. My portion of Vermont is definitely not male-dominated by any means.

The breadwinner still has the power in our society, and it's still patriarchal.

That's not exactly a true statement and I'm sure most wives (if they are not the breadmaker) would disagree with you. The male might make the money but the female is almost always in charge of spending it and commercials simply reinforce this concept. Watch TV tonight and pay attention to the commercials. See how many times the "Husband" is made into a 3rd child or "he doesn't know anythign about kids cause he's a man but I'm a mother and know better about kids, cleaning, cooking, mini vans etc" Really pay attention and you'll see what I'm talking about...or just watch the news for 20 min. How many female college students go missing? How many male college students go missing? Why do we almost always hear about it if its a "pretty white female" that goes missing but its ignored if she is of another race or if its a guy. Most of the major news organizations would have us believe that only white blonde females ever go missing. We had a boy go missing from college here in Vermont a couple of months ago and he was given a 2 sec blip on the local news and in the local paper and then promptly forgotten about. The search was called off after 2 days and he is presumed dead. If it had been a "Natalee Holloway" type female, we'd still be hearing about it from CNN, Fox and MSNBC. Its a very troubling trend in society.

[Uno]

I agree with the point you're making about the husband being turned into a third child. It's quite clear that the notion that men are overgrown children is a pretty prevalent image of masculinity of today, not just in regard to the woman being more capable, but also in that men supposedly behave like children; that is, they are thoughtless, display pride at their own bodily functions, only think of having fun and wasting time with buddies, have to have useless and expensive toys and gadgets, are impulsive and unable to control their emotions, and so forth. This is, I would say, a pretty negative image of masculinity, but in the mass media it's being promoted as a positive; to be manly means acting like a 40-year-old teenage boy.

As to the attention given to the disappearance women in the media, I think it's fair to say that European culture (broadly conceived) has for a very long time found it more problematic when women come to harm than when men do. It's essentially an expression of the idea that women need more protection than men, which, I would say, is an aspect of patriarchy. "Women and children first," after all. The vulnerable people. The dependents. The ones in need of shelter from men.

[Davian93]

Thank you Uno for making my point far clearer than I could.

[Crispin's Crispian]

The breadwinner still has the power in our society, and it's still patriarchal.

That's not exactly a true statement and I'm sure most wives (if they are not the breadmaker) would disagree with you.I think you are missing my point. I'm not saying it's right, or that should be true, I'm saying that men currently have more power in society than women. That makes it more patriarchal. It's also true that men are typically expected to be, and are portrayed as, the breadwinner by the media, and maybe by society at large.

I completely agree with (and am also disgusted by) your point about the "comical" image of the idiot, farting, beer-swilling, wouldn't-know-what-to-do-with-a-vacuum-even-while-standing-in-front-of-a-pile-of-dust husband. But I'm saying that this image is supporting the patriarchy by reinforcing the traditional homemaker role for women.

Men need women to cook, clean, and change diapers because they are incapable of doing it themselves. And if women are doing all that, they can't be out working and keeping the family fed and making the "tough decisions" now can they? Nevermind the millions of women who do both every day. :rolleyes:

As to the disappearing women thing--yeah, it's obviously racist and sexist. When was the last time you heard about a black woman going missing? Do some research and you'll find it's pretty common. I think the image discussed above is partly to blame for the lack of attention on missing men. They must be either out sewing the wild oats, or just don't want to be found. Men may be stupid, domestically impotent, and unclean, but they sure as hell can defend themselves against any and all harm that might befall them.

[Davian93]

As to the disappearing women thing--yeah, it's obviously racist and sexist. When was the last time you heard about a black woman going missing? Do some research and you'll find it's pretty common. I think the image discussed above is partly to blame for the lack of attention on missing men. They must be either out sewing the wild oats, or just don't want to be found. Men may be stupid, domestically impotent, and unclean, but they sure as hell can defend themselves against any and all harm that might befall them.

I see your point Sdog.

Another interesting illustration of this subconscious racism is the whole Jessica Lynch thing. Did you know that there were 2 females captured behind enemy lines? One was "American Sweetheart" PFC Jessica Lynch, a WASP from West Virginia, who was promptly awarded a Silver Star for her courageous actions under fire. Heck they sent an entire SF team in to rescue the poor lass. The other was SPC Shoshanna Johnson, an African american female. No one heard about her and they didn't even consider sending a rescue force for her nor did she get a Silver Star and college scholarships and free cars and parades like Private Lynch. Both were captured in the same ambush and both contributed about the same to the mission. SPC Johnson was actually able to fire her weapon unlike PFC Lynch who hadn't actually cleaned her M-16 so it jammed when she attempted to use it. Lynch essentially became an "American Hero" by crashing a Humvee, not cleaning her weapon, F@##*ing her supervisor and breaking her legs in the above crash. Way to go Private!!! Shoshanna Johnson was left for dead essentially and she was released by the Iraqis a couple of weeks later along with some helicopter pilots because as a black female she wasn't news worthy. A sad commentary on our society.

[Ishara]

Dav, try this as an example of the fact the we live in a partiarchal society:

A candidate runs for the presidency and is questioned for fitness based on her gender. "Is America ready for a female president?" Um, why wouldn't it be? Why should that even be called into question? I know you called into question her crying as nefarious - but really, if a male candidate had cried (like Brett Favre cried, say), woud it have been as sensational? No.

This same candidate has been accused of not being able to manage the country based on the fact that she couldn't control her husband. Really?! (I can't tell how sick that statement makes me..)

And frankly, you can say that we've swung towards an equal society because you're a man. I have a fabulous job for an enlightened employer, make more money than my partner, do almost no housework (not that he does), manage my own money (he manages his) - and I still face basic, simple reminders every day that remind me that while we're making progress - no denying that - society is still patriarchal.

[Uno]

The denial of true femininity to black women goes back to the days of slavery, so nothing new there. "Aren't I a woman?" Sojourner Truth asked more than 150 years ago. If black women aren't true women, black men aren't true men, so these twin images worked to reinforce and legitimize white supremacy.

[Davian93]

Dav, try this as an example of the fact the we live in a partiarchal society:

A candidate runs for the presidency and is questioned for fitness based on her gender. "Is America ready for a female president?" Um, why wouldn't it be? Why should that even be called into question? I know you called into question her crying as nefarious - but really, if a male candidate had cried (like Brett Favre cried, say), woud it have been as sensational? No.

It's not that she cried so much but that she deliberately plays the "I'm a level headed woman and better than a man at making decisions" card and claims that she doesnt bring up gender. Like all those "In the kitchen heat" references she has made and her campaign has made. She basically has used her gender as a shield until Obama was able to use his race as an even better shield against personal attacks.

This same candidate has been accused of not being able to manage the country based on the fact that she couldn't control her husband. Really?! (I can't tell how sick that statement makes me..)

Not really, its more to do with them bashing her on family values. i.e. why didn't she leave him? did she stay with him purely for political means etc?

And frankly, you can say that we've swung towards an equal society because you're a man. I have a fabulous job for an enlightened employer, make more money than my partner, do almost no housework (not that he does), manage my own money (he manages his) - and I still face basic, simple reminders every day that remind me that while we're making progress - no denying that - society is still patriarchal.


How so? What would examples be? I'm reminded 100 times a day that I'm supposed to be an overgrown child but I don't act that way.

[Gilshalos Sedai]

Actually, Shoshanna Johnson got a full article in Glamour magazine, a year before PFC Lynch decided to deny her "heroship."


And you're wrong about the no rescue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshana_Johnson)thing. And she recieved the Bronze Star. Which is what Lynch recieved also. But you're right, she was not treated fairly by the VA or the media. (http://www.alternet.org/story/17189/)


Monica Lin Brown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Lin_Brown) is who you may be thinking of with the Silver Star. Or perhaps, Leigh Ann Hester. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leigh_Ann_Hester)

[Crispin's Crispian]

Tangentially, I don't like the vbulletin "rolleyes" smiley. Too happy and friendly by far...

[Terez]

I was just thinking earlier about how much more I like vBulletin's eye-rolling emote...though I'm sure there will be a couple of instances in the future when I wish I had ezBoard's back...but that's what Photobucket is for. :D

[Ishara]

But Dav, why should either one need to use their race or their gender as a shield? Why should it set them apart, make them less or more able to do the job? It DOESN'T. And I'm sorry, but what the hell do family values have to do with politics?! If she chose to stay with her husband after his very public infedelity it would be nothing but unbelievable speculation to claim that anyone knows the true reasons. No one can know them, although god knows everyone is supposed to feel free to judge them...:rolleyes: (I hate this smiley.) (and you know this is not directed at you ;p)

Examples of patriarchical society - just in my workplace:

I'm 25. A young looking, short, busty 25 with a childish voice. Guess how many people take me seriously when I'm advising them of their legislative duties, or their need to follow the collective agreement when I'm wearing a sweater? Oh, but how does that number change when I wear a severe suit?

I was chairing a meeting where I was delivering some fairly bad news (story of your life when you work in HR), and a male admin assistant asked me who I thought I was to be contacting Director directly, that the meeting could have gone badly, but that I had "such a pretty face" that it was fine. Not that I was the expert (which I am), or that I delivered the meeting in a professional manner, without getting baited by snark, by acknowledging the shitty situation and still making them laugh (which I did). I'm DAMN good at my job, but you wouldn't know it to look at me.

I had a client tell me that he was "sorry, but don't expect me to take you or your advice seriously. I have daughters older than you."

Our own lawyer has tried to send me to make photocopies.

It's all BECAUSE I'm a young woman. End story.

I could choose to be the hard-nosed bitch that some older women had to be to get ahead. And they are the ones who are as hard or even harder on young women in the reanks (whether because we threaten them, or they resent us for the opportunities and environment we work in now, I don't care). I don't need their approval to get ahead, but there's no denying that I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for their hard work being hard-nosed bitches in the workplace in the 70s-80s. Watch Anchorman and move beyond the jokes - it happened. I choose not to be like those women, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate their work paving the way for me. I get more flies with sugar than honey, and if I'm going to be successful I'm not above using people's assumptions against them and letting my actions and performance speak for themselves.

[GonzoTheGreat]

This same candidate has been accused of not being able to manage the country based on the fact that she couldn't control her husband. Really?! (I can't tell how sick that statement makes me..)
To be honest, I think that this is not really a sign of gender inequality.
Suppose that mr. Pelosi (whoever that is) were to run for office, and it became known that Nancy had been shagging an intern while she was Speaker. Would he really be taken seriously, do you think?

[Ishara]

I'm not sure I can answer that - has it ever happened before? I'm so tempted to say that if a similar situation was to happen with a male candidate that he'd probably be mocked, but there wouldn't be correlations made to his ability to run a country....but that's just me.

[Davian93]

Gil wrote: And you're wrong about the no rescue thing. And she recieved the Bronze Star. Which is what Lynch recieved also. But you're right, she was not treated fairly by the VA or the media.


I was misremembering it or perhaps I misspoke...;) I'll be completely honest in that I was going off the top of my head from what I remembered when it happened and all the crap we heard about it in the military when it was happening and how mad we are were at the "staged" rescue when they knew that there were no Iraqi military in the area and we all knew that the reports of her "going down shooting" were complete BS. I wasn't aware of the Bronze Star for SPC Johnson I'll easily admit...probably because no one in the news cared about her and she didn't make a huge scene about it. She did get treated much differently than the whitebread girl from WV though and it was wrong.

[Gilshalos Sedai]

No, Ishara, there would be correlations, at least on that respect. After all, Gerald Ford was criticized for his wife's boozing, and Regan was criticized for his daughter's being out of control. The whole microcosm = macrocosm is not a new criticism in politics, nor it is held to just women.


She did get treated much differently than the whitebread girl from WV though and it was wrong.

Dav, I totally agree. But Johnson has her supporters. I wish I'd kept that issue of Glamour so I could scan it in for you.

[Davian93]

****I'm 25. A young looking, short, busty 25 with a childish voice. Guess how many people take me seriously when I'm advising them of their legislative duties, or their need to follow the collective agreement when I'm wearing a sweater? Oh, but how does that number change when I wear a severe suit?****

That's the same for anyone though. If I were to come to work in jeans and a tshirt, they'd assume I was a maintenance person instead of a manager. So I wear nice shoes, slacks and button up shirts at a minimum. I'm 26 and look young...especially for a manager. Some of my subordinates are in their 40's. Its a tough situation for them but I'm more qualified than them so they deal. Looking the part is no different for a guy or girl.

****I had a client tell me that he was "sorry, but don't expect me to take you or your advice seriously. I have daughters older than you."****

I've had the same crap as that by being young in a professional field with lots of oldre people. Alot of people look at me as that nice young guy who can help carry stuff...especially older females who have "sons older than me" or "you remind me of my jason...blah blah blah". There's one older female (in her 60's) HR person who I still carry stuff for because she's too bloody nice for me to say no and my office happens to be right down the hall from HR and the door is always open.

****I could choose to be the hard-nosed bitch that some older women had to be to get ahead. And they are the ones who are as hard or even harder on young women in the reanks (whether because we threaten them, or they resent us for the opportunities and environment we work in now, I don't care). I don't need their approval to get ahead, but there's no denying that I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for their hard work being hard-nosed bitches in the workplace in the 70s-80s. Watch Anchorman and move beyond the jokes - it happened. I choose not to be like those women, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate their work paving the way for me. I get more flies with sugar than honey, and if I'm going to be successful I'm not above using people's assumptions against them and letting my actions and performance speak for themselves.****

You could be but its better to simply be professional and be the best person in the office despite your age or looks. I have older women hit on me all the time at work and I ignore it. I also have had female subordinates who thought they could flirt with me or start crying to get out of trouble..."I'm sorry I'm late again for the 50th time but...sniffles starts fake crying". I don't think your major issues are all because you are female but rather that you are young...the same as me. I agree its annoying as hell to be taken for something else purely based on your appearance.

[JSUCamel]

Sweaters can be professional, given the right circumstances. They generally not comparable to jeans and T-shirts.

I think the point Ishara was making was that, in general, women who dress to the same level of professionalism and act in the same manner as men in the same situations will often be treated with less respect than the male counterpart would.

[Ishara]

Precisely. Thanks Camel. Dav, I'm not talking cable-knit sweaters here. I'm talking anything that's not a suit jacket and a bun.

[Davian93]

Precisely. Thanks Camel. Dav, I'm not talking cable-knit sweaters here. I'm talking anything that's not a suit jacket and a bun.

Not accusing you of anything at all but I would say that women dress far less business like at the office on average than men do...especially if they are overweight. Alot of places I've been, the really overweight females would simply come in in sweatpants and big tshirts despite there being a set dresscode...whereas I would get bad looks if I decided not to wear a tie. The other end of the spectrum is where a female comes it trying to dress like Heather Locklear on Melrose Place and that's just as bad. As a male supervisor I'm sometimes terrified to correct a female worker on anything to do with the dresscode or personal hygeine (like extreme body odor) even when there is a set policy in place to use. Its kinda like Foxnews (shudders I hate foxnews) where all the women wear extremely short skirts and the men wear full suits. Its ridiculous.

[Terez]

I don't see anything wrong with short skirts, unless they're really short. Miniskirts can be very professional-looking.

[Gilshalos Sedai]

Don't ever work in an office, Terez.

[Davian93]

Don't ever work in an office, Terez.

LOL...Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear) was very professional on Melrose Place...I wouldn't have minded working under her in that office...

~starts grinning~

Seriously though, mini-skirts are never professional. Normal skirts are very professional as is pretty much anything sold in a Brooks Brothers store for male or female...which includes lots of nice sweaters, skirts, blouses etc along with suits, shirts, ties for the menfolk.

[Terez]

Don't ever work in an office, Terez.
I'm not planning on it...but I don't wear miniskirts either. :p Seriously, anything above the knees is considered a miniskirt where I'm from, and I've seen even higher ones that are professional-looking.

[Ishara]

Really, skirts should come to the knee for the office, with no skanky slits.

I know you're not talking about me (;)), so I'll explain that usually I wear pressed dress pants, and blouses or dress sweaters on days when I'm just in the office with no meetings. On days when I have to interact with clients it's always, always a suit. For casual Fridays it's dark jeans and the same dress sweaters. Never t-shirts, sadly. I miss t-shirts!

[Davian93]

We had a boy go missing from college here in Vermont a couple of months ago and he was given a 2 sec blip on the local news and in the local paper and then promptly forgotten about.

Prove me wrong kids...prove me wrong:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/28/missing.student.ap/index.html

Well I guess my foot is in my mouth.

[Gilshalos Sedai]

Not only that, he's Hispanic.


My heart goes out to his parents. And Dav... not sure about where things USUALLY stand where you are, but we get missing persons bulletins regardless of race or gender. But then, police suspect we have an unlocated serial killer in the southern I-45 cooridor between Houston and Galveston. And with that Railroad Killer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Maturino_Resendiz), Angel Maturino Resendiz that operated out of Houston in the past, the press and authorities tend to try to be vigilant about that sort of thing, always looking for the next psycho.

Last year, there was one African American girl that went missing. Bulletins went out, press was alerted, she was never found. Turns out, her ex-bf murdered her and cut her up and burned her body in a grill. He then put the bones in separate trash bags and dropped each part off in a different Dumpster around town. It was a media circus till he was sentenced.


Point of trivia: Resendiz is often the biggest example here in Texas against Illegal Immigrants.

[Davian93]

****not sure about where things USUALLY stand where you are, but we get missing persons bulletins regardless of race or gender****

Oh we do too...I was referring to the national media's tendency on going nuts typically if its a blonde female or soemthing like that...basically Natalee Holloway syndrome. Its seems like you hear alot more about those types than other races overall. I could very easily be wrong.

[Crispin's Crispian]

There has been a young, white mother missing from Portland for a couple of weeks now, and her story has received almost no headlines and no more than a few seconds coverage on local TV news.

Police ask for help in finding missing woman (http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/03/police_ask_for_help_in_finding.html)

It might not be that strange, but she has been completely out of touch with any friends or family. There is a whopping $1,000 reward for information. I suppose if she were 20 years old, or perhaps in college or high school, this would make national news?

Or does the level of media coverage depend on the tenacity and resourcefulness of the loved ones of the missing person?

[Gilshalos Sedai]

I think so, Muttley. The Arican American girl's family had our local black activist running around fighting for her.

[Sei'taer]

The Dog looks so sweeeeet! How could I argue with widdle himmy whimmy???

Do your kids know you stole their avatar?

[Crispin's Crispian]

The Dog looks so sweeeeet! How could I argue with widdle himmy whimmy???

Do your kids know you stole their avatar?
I haven't told them yet, but my wife will get a kick out of it. You all should read the story--it's very fun.

You cand find the text online in various places, but it's not as fun without the pictures.

[Ivhon]

I haven't told them yet, but my wife will get a kick out of it. You all should read the story--it's very fun.

You cand find the text online in various places, but it's not as fun without the pictures.

The moment I get caught reading children's lit online or in a book is the end of life as I know it. So I wont be reading that anytime soon. :D

[Terez]

Why Muttley Is No Longer a Braindead Liberal (http://conblogeration.blogspot.com/2006/02/why-i-am-conservative.html)

MISTER DOG
The Dog Who Belonged to Himself
By Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrated by Garth Williams

Once upon a time there was a funny dog named Crispin's Crispian. He was named Crispin's Crispian because-
He belonged to himself
In the mornings he woke himself up and he went to the icebox and gave himself some bread and milk. He was a funny old dog. He liked strawberries.
Then he took himself for a walk. And he went wherever he wanted to go.
But one morning he did not know where he wanted to go.
"Just walk and sooner or later you'll get somewhere," he told himself.
Soon he came to a country where there were lots of dogs. They barked at him and he barked back.
Then they all played together.
But still he wanted to go somewhere, so he walked on until he came to a country where there were lots of cats and rabbits.
The cats and rabbits jumped in the air and ran. So Crispian jumped in the air and ran after them.
He didn't catch them because he ran bang into a little boy.
"Who are you and who do you belong to?" asked the little boy.
"I am Crispin's Crispian and I belong to myself," said Crispian. "Who and what are you?"
"I am a boy, " said the boy, "and I belong to myself."
"I am so glad," said Crispin's Crispian. "Come and live with me."
They went to a butcher shop-"to get his poor dog a bone," Crispian said.
Now, since Crispin's Crispian belonged to himself, he gave himself the bone and trotted home with it.
And the boy's little boy bought a big lamb chop and a bright green vegetable and trotted home with Crispin's Crispian.
Crispin's Crispian lied in a two-story doghouse in a garden. And in his two-story doghouse, he had a little fur living room with a warm fire that crackled all winter and went out in the summer.
His house was always warm. His house had a chimney for the smoke to go out. And upstairs there was a little bedroom with a bed in it and a place for his leash and a pillow under which he hid his bones.
And there was plenty of room in his house for the boy to live there with him.
Crispian had a little kitchen upstairs in his two-story doghouse where he fixed himself a good dinner three times a day because he liked to eat. He liked steaks and chops and roast beef and chopped meat and raw eggs.
This evening he made a bone soup with lots of meat in it. He gave some to the boy and the boy liked it.
The boy didn't give Crispian his chop bone, but he put some of his bright green vegetable in the soup.
And what did Crispian do with his dinner?
Did he put it in his stomach?
Yes, indeed.
He chewed it up and swallowed it into his little fat stomach.
And what did the little boy do with his dinner?
Did he put it in his stomach?
Yes, indeed.
He chewed it up and swallowed it into his little fat stomach.
Crispin's Crispian was a conservative. He liked everything at the right time-
Dinner at dinnertime,
Lunch at lunchtime,
Breakfast in time for breakfast,
And sunrise at sunrise,
And sunset at sunset,
And at bedtime-
At bedtime, he liked everything in its own place-
The cup in the saucer
The chair under the table
The stars in the heavens,
The moon in the sky,
And himself in his own little bed.
And then what did he do?
Then he curled in a warm little heap and went to sleep. And he dreamed his own dreams.
That was that the dog who belonged to himself did.
And what did the little boy who belonged to himself do?
The little boy who belonged to himself curled in a warm little heap and went to sleep. And he dreamed his own dreams.
That was that the little boy who belonged to himself did.

GOOD NIGHT AND SWEET DREAMS

[Crispin's Crispian]

I did another websearch for information on Heather Dawn Mallory, the missing woman I ref'd above. Nothing has happened. There have been a couple news stories in Seattle about her, because her parents live in Gig Harbor, but that's it. No blogs, no updates, no new information.

She disappeared fully and completely and no one seems to care except her parents.