By Rachel Campbell
As a woman in want of children, I find myself a student of parenting. Often I observe parent/child interactions, determine what I would do in that situation, and then file the result in the recesses of my mind. On occasion, I will come across a parental fluke so atrocious that I feel compelled to comment.
I must begin with an explanation. There has been much controversy over the content of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, mainly in its appropriateness for children. Perhaps the simplest answer to this debate can be found in the Motion Pictures Association of America's (MPAA) rating of the movie: PG-13. In other words, "some material may be inappropriate for children under 13." If a parent is going to take their child under the age of thirteen to a PG-13 movie, then that parent should not be surprised if some (or all) of the movie's content is inappropriate for children. They have been warned; that is what the movie ratings were created to do.
Indeed, in my research on this topic, I have found quite a few movie theater employees that can relate at least one instance in which they had sold a ticket for a R rated movie to a patron with a young child in tow, only to be confronted by the same patron demanding a refund because the movie contained content inappropriate for children. They knew the rating; they had been warned.
This said, I move on to the disturbing parental incident that began this whole thing. While sitting in the theater waiting for The Dark Knight to start, a grandfather and a young couple with their four year old son sat down next to me. This couple began bragging rather loudly that their son had watched movies such as Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs, and several other gruesome horror movies, so Batman would not bother him at all. These people were actually proud of this. I was horrified.
When we saw a society allow our children to be desensitized by permitting them to watch content inappropriate for their age, it is no surprise that their concept of reality, their defining line between fiction and corporeality is so radically obscured.
We are responsible for rearing the children that will shape the next generation of society, so the question I pose to you is this: What kind of society do you want to live in?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Questions and Answers
Q: I own a small parcel of land in Gunlock and everytime I come up to stay for a bit, I see more and more abandon vehicles in yards lining the street into Gunlock. Could you find out the County ordinance against keeping abandon autos on your property and what we can do to ask the owners to please respect the beauty of this little village!
_Bonnie Gabriel
San Diego, CA
A: The Washington County Code's definition of a junk car is "any used car or motor vehicle not in the process of reconditioning, which has been abandoned for use as a motor vehicle on a public highway and which is in unsafe operating condition and shall have remained in such condition for a period in excess of thirty (30) days; or portions of junk cars, such as hoods, fenders, radiators, rims, motors, hubcaps, etc., not being immediately utilized in the repair of a motor vehicle."
The regulations state "storage of rubbish prohibited: no person, firm or corporation shall deposit, store, maintain, collect or permit the storage, deposit, maintenance or collection of any junk, junk cars or rubbish, or cars that are unregistered or cars with expired license plates on his own premises or any premises it or they own or use under his or their control, or in any other place within the county, except as is expressly provided by law."
After speaking with a Fifth Circuit Court judge, it was confirmed that, as stated in the County Code, that this is a blue law to make sure that people get rid of their old cars which they are not going to use anymore. Those that are restoring vehicles do not fall into this category. There are advertisements in several local papers that say they will pay you to haul off your junk vehicle. Contact Sara Laub for more detailed information.
Q: Why are there so many dogs running loose, unattended in Gunlock? I just want to know what the county codes are for pets.
_Ann Gasparac
Gunlock
A: The Washington County Code states that every dog and cat has to be vaccinated for rabies and wear their rabies tag on their collar by four months of age if they are on public property (i.e. sidewalks, streets, parks, etc.). Owners are to keep their animal(s) off the premises of another person. A note to the wise, if an animal is causing a problem, mainly destruction or is a threat, on another person's property, that person has the right to call the pound, police, or take care of the destruction of the animal themselves. Diseased or injured animals must be taken care of and not allowed to roam, otherwise they will be deemed abandoned are to be destroyed by the owner with precaution to preventing the spread of illness.
Rodeo Photography Contest
Congratulations to our Rodeo Photography Contest
Grand Prize Winner: Chene' Powers!
Photo title: The Moment
The First Lemuel and Laura Leavitt
Submitted by Jane Osmond
In celebration of Pioneer Day and since several families here in Gunlock are direct descendants of Lemuel and Laura Leavitt; I thought the town would enjoy this courageous and highly interesting pioneer story.
Lemuel Sturdevant Leavitt arrived in the Salt Lake Valley to make preparations for his family beginning in 1849. At age 22, he found himself attracted to a Mormon lady named Laura MelvinaThompson (16). She was introduced as his fiancee to his mother and siblings at their arrival in August, 1850. Lemuel and Laura were wed on October 15, of that year. Within the next month, Lemuel set about making a new cabin for them at Pine Canyon, just east of Tooele. It is presumed he also helped his brothers, Dudley and Thomas in building their cabin at Pine Ca
nyon. Their first four children were born there:
Laura Melvina 4 Aug 1851
Lemuel Sturdevant Jr. 6 Nov 1852
Edward Washington 1 Jan 1854
Deborah Jane 15 Jan 1856
"In 1856, Lemuel assisted in planting the first grain in Cache Valley. He located at Santa Clara, Utah, 1857. There, Laura gave birth to their addition four children:
Thomas Dudley 8 Nov 1857
Orange Decater 10 Dec 1859
Lovisa (twin) and 22 Oct 1861
Lovina (twin) (d 22 Oct 1862)
Of Laura, her future daughter-in-law wrote, "Hard work proved too much for her. Her health failed. She was the mother of eight children under twelve years of age. …She would pick cotton with the help of her older children, pick our the seeds by hand, cord and spin and weave it into cloth to make their clothes. It proved too much for her. She died on the 8th of
October 1862 when the twins were eleven months old. One followed her in three weeks."
The following year, Lemuel was called to take his ox team to accompany and assist emigrants making their way to Utah from Council Bluffs. Among the group he assisted was a Danish girl, Betsy Amelia Mortensen. He brought her to Santa Clara, where they wed October 13, 1863. Their only child together would be:
Mary Matilda 6 Nov 1864
In celebration of Pioneer Day and since several families here in Gunlock are direct descendants of Lemuel and Laura Leavitt; I thought the town would enjoy this courageous and highly interesting pioneer story.
Lemuel Sturdevant Leavitt arrived in the Salt Lake Valley to make preparations for his family beginning in 1849. At age 22, he found himself attracted to a Mormon lady named Laura MelvinaThompson (16). She was introduced as his fiancee to his mother and siblings at their arrival in August, 1850. Lemuel and Laura were wed on October 15, of that year. Within the next month, Lemuel set about making a new cabin for them at Pine Canyon, just east of Tooele. It is presumed he also helped his brothers, Dudley and Thomas in building their cabin at Pine Ca
nyon. Their first four children were born there:Laura Melvina 4 Aug 1851
Lemuel Sturdevant Jr. 6 Nov 1852
Edward Washington 1 Jan 1854
Deborah Jane 15 Jan 1856
"In 1856, Lemuel assisted in planting the first grain in Cache Valley. He located at Santa Clara, Utah, 1857. There, Laura gave birth to their addition four children:
Thomas Dudley 8 Nov 1857
Orange Decater 10 Dec 1859
Lovisa (twin) and 22 Oct 1861
Lovina (twin) (d 22 Oct 1862)
Of Laura, her future daughter-in-law wrote, "Hard work proved too much for her. Her health failed. She was the mother of eight children under twelve years of age. …She would pick cotton with the help of her older children, pick our the seeds by hand, cord and spin and weave it into cloth to make their clothes. It proved too much for her. She died on the 8th of
October 1862 when the twins were eleven months old. One followed her in three weeks."The following year, Lemuel was called to take his ox team to accompany and assist emigrants making their way to Utah from Council Bluffs. Among the group he assisted was a Danish girl, Betsy Amelia Mortensen. He brought her to Santa Clara, where they wed October 13, 1863. Their only child together would be:
Mary Matilda 6 Nov 1864
Florence Nightingale-The End
By Sara Laub
Upon their arrival, she learned immediately that she had no control over the affairs of the hospital and the sanitary condition was horrifying. The hospital had been converted from an artillery barracks and had insufficient equipment, medicine, cleaning supplies, the food was inapt and the water was contaminated, among other problems. Many trials were endured by Florence as she patiently waited for circumstances to change, and then the hospital dramatically got worse and the doctors were looking for help. They realized Florence was capable and had connections to bring the hospital to order. As soon as she was given a small amount of authority, she immediately bought cleaning supplies, and continued to improve the hospital step by step. Florence became the wounded soldiers’ favorite because she did everything in her power to give them the care they needed, and spent endless hours at their bedsides. She even helped them receive better pay as a wounded soldier by contacting Queen Victoria and making her aware of the situation. Flo knew the hospital was improving but it was still not up to sanitary conditions, and was glad to see the sanitary commission from England come and investigate the soldiers’ hospitals. They were shocked at the unsanitary condition and found dead animals in the water supply, and gases coming from the privies that left the soldiers beds fatal that were next to them, among many other problems. These problems were corrected, and Flo was encouraged by the progress but ended up leaving Scutari to go to the other hospitals, since the doctors continued to make matters complicated for her authority. She ended up sick and forced to lay in bed for a time, but was immediately back at work when she was able and continued her service until the last soldier checked out of the hospital at the end of the war.
As she returned to England, she was a hero to many and to others she was a criminal. Rumors had spread that she had stolen from the soldiers and other ridiculous accusations were made. She was especially not happy that she was famous, since she knew it would hinder her work in making nursing an acceptable profession for women. After an investigation, they found that Florence had been the hero and not the criminal, and she had started making a higher standard for health care.
Florence continued to work to make health care better for the nation and did most of her work through other people. There were many personal visits Flo had with Queen Victoria and other high esteemed people. She wanted to make sure that the soldiers’ hospitals would be up to standard and went through years of writing letters, proposals and pamphlets, just to have most of them rejected or forgotten. There were successes, but Florence did not recover from her failures and became obsessed with them. She became ill many times and then became an invalid. This did not stop her work, she even helped India create an adequate health care system through letters. She would not let up on her goal to create a place in the world for women nurses, and she designed and opened the Nightingale Training School. She wrote many books and notes to continue the cause of nursing and helped a man organize a hospital he was sponsoring.
Florence did return home to her family, since her parents were old and needed assistance. She became closer to them through this experience and ended up reconciling with them. This was a healing for Florence and she became a different person, as she was able to look past her failures and she was also able to have better relationships with family and friends. Over the next 30 years Florence continued working on hospital reform but at age 79 she was slowly going blind. She continued to have visits with her family and friends, but only received them one at a time. She ended up dying at age 90 when she laid down for a nap around noon. Her tombstone only says "F.N. Born 1820. Died 1910." at her request.
Upon their arrival, she learned immediately that she had no control over the affairs of the hospital and the sanitary condition was horrifying. The hospital had been converted from an artillery barracks and had insufficient equipment, medicine, cleaning supplies, the food was inapt and the water was contaminated, among other problems. Many trials were endured by Florence as she patiently waited for circumstances to change, and then the hospital dramatically got worse and the doctors were looking for help. They realized Florence was capable and had connections to bring the hospital to order. As soon as she was given a small amount of authority, she immediately bought cleaning supplies, and continued to improve the hospital step by step. Florence became the wounded soldiers’ favorite because she did everything in her power to give them the care they needed, and spent endless hours at their bedsides. She even helped them receive better pay as a wounded soldier by contacting Queen Victoria and making her aware of the situation. Flo knew the hospital was improving but it was still not up to sanitary conditions, and was glad to see the sanitary commission from England come and investigate the soldiers’ hospitals. They were shocked at the unsanitary condition and found dead animals in the water supply, and gases coming from the privies that left the soldiers beds fatal that were next to them, among many other problems. These problems were corrected, and Flo was encouraged by the progress but ended up leaving Scutari to go to the other hospitals, since the doctors continued to make matters complicated for her authority. She ended up sick and forced to lay in bed for a time, but was immediately back at work when she was able and continued her service until the last soldier checked out of the hospital at the end of the war.
As she returned to England, she was a hero to many and to others she was a criminal. Rumors had spread that she had stolen from the soldiers and other ridiculous accusations were made. She was especially not happy that she was famous, since she knew it would hinder her work in making nursing an acceptable profession for women. After an investigation, they found that Florence had been the hero and not the criminal, and she had started making a higher standard for health care.
Florence continued to work to make health care better for the nation and did most of her work through other people. There were many personal visits Flo had with Queen Victoria and other high esteemed people. She wanted to make sure that the soldiers’ hospitals would be up to standard and went through years of writing letters, proposals and pamphlets, just to have most of them rejected or forgotten. There were successes, but Florence did not recover from her failures and became obsessed with them. She became ill many times and then became an invalid. This did not stop her work, she even helped India create an adequate health care system through letters. She would not let up on her goal to create a place in the world for women nurses, and she designed and opened the Nightingale Training School. She wrote many books and notes to continue the cause of nursing and helped a man organize a hospital he was sponsoring.
Florence did return home to her family, since her parents were old and needed assistance. She became closer to them through this experience and ended up reconciling with them. This was a healing for Florence and she became a different person, as she was able to look past her failures and she was also able to have better relationships with family and friends. Over the next 30 years Florence continued working on hospital reform but at age 79 she was slowly going blind. She continued to have visits with her family and friends, but only received them one at a time. She ended up dying at age 90 when she laid down for a nap around noon. Her tombstone only says "F.N. Born 1820. Died 1910." at her request.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Intellectual Nourishment
Responsibility: A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.
_Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
_Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
Gunlock Town Events for August
Aug 12: School Starts
Aug 14: Fire Meeting @ 7:00pm
No GSSD meeting this month
Burn season will not begin until after October
Aug 14: Fire Meeting @ 7:00pm
No GSSD meeting this month
Burn season will not begin until after October
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
