Boycott Made In China

Almost two years ago, my husband and I were forced to make the gut-wrenching decision to put our beloved dog, Chiclet, to sleep. She was an amazing dog, and she was an important part of our home and lives. Unfortunately, at only three years of age, she became incredibly ill and developed kidney failure. My husband and I could not understand this. She was young and had been healthy from the time we first brought her home. However, we didn't realize at the time that there were many other dogs around the country that were developing similar health problems. In fact, we didn't even begin to hear about other dogs falling ill until a few months later as the problem began to grow. These dogs were suffering and dying after ingesting Chinese dog food. Of course, my husband and I certainly have no way of proving with 100% certainty that this is the cause of our poor Chiclet's demise. However, out of ignorance, we fed Chiclet a brand of dog food that was later discovered to be dangerous and was recalled. So, we have come to truly believe that this was the cause of her death.

After the tainted dog food disaster began to die down, there were new reports of toys and jewelry containing dangerous levels of lead, children's clothing containing high levels of formaldehyde and lead buttons, toothpaste containing a poison used in antifreeze, toxic fish, dangerous tires, extension cords with inappropriate wiring, and so forth. The list is very extensive and seems to go on and on. Of course, I am ignoring the report of the cardboard hot dogs which one can either believe is a tale fabricated for the benefit of one journalist or was squashed by the Chinese government for the purpose of saving face. I have my own thoughts on that one.

Keeping all of this in mind, I have decided to boycott all Chinese products, and I would like to encourage others to do the same. After the recall of so many brands of dog food containing toxic Chinese ingredients, I began to be much more deligent about what I feed my pets. However, I have decided to extend my list of "do not buys" to include all products from China. If you question the safety of Chinese products, simply run a quick google search. There is plenty of information about the products they like to export. It is a shame that over fifty percent of all recalls in the U.S. and Europe are from China. In my mind, this speaks for itself. If you feel like safety is not reason enough to boycott Chinese products, read up on China's attitude towards human rights in Tibet, Darfur, and within China itself. Then you will be too damn sick to get up and go to the store to buy anything. Either way, that is one Chinese product that hasn't left the shelf.

Hoofin' the Toxic Mile

I would like to offer my admiration, applause, whistles, and prostrations to San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington D.C., Long Beach, Los Angeles and Portland for being the most walkable cities in America. A recent survey by Walk Score ranked the walkability of the top 40 U.S. cities. I'm sorry to say that none of the metropolitan areas close to me are at the top of the list. In fact, I'm sure that the only reason they are on the list at all is because of their size. Of course, I'm not surprised given that my area has no public transportation and boasts the most cars per household in the state.

I can't help but feel somewhat (okay, a lot) envious of the thousands of people who are able to take walks around their own neighborhoods and cities, stopping occasionally to shop at local markets, drink coffee and chat at outdoor cafes, or to simply sit on a park bench surrounded by towering oaks, fragrant blossoms, and the smiles and laughter of other contented citizens. If you are one of the people who get to live in a community like this, give thanks that your city has their local citizens in mind when planning. It is truly a blessing.

In spite of all my whining, I do have a local park close to my home. It is certainly not the best of parks, but considering that gas is about four dollars a gallon and that the next park closest to me is a 15-20 minute drive, it is the one I use. My husband and I walk our dogs every evening around this park. I have come to refer to it as "the toxic mile." There is a track circling a small pond effervescing with duck poo, plastic bags and bottles, old fishing lines, and miscellaneous other types of trash and waste that has made its way into the pond. Unfortunately, the paltry tax dollars brought in by the newly built quarter to half million dollar homes only allow the pond to be cleaned once or twice a year. The rest of the year, the excrement and trash are stirred and frothed by the two bubbling fountains in the middle of the pond. I keep hoping that next year, possibly on one of their tax-sponsored trips to Las Vegas, the city council will come up with a solution to address this problem since they don't like any of the ideas rendered by the local tax base. Meanwhile, I can't help but feel incredibly sorry for the poor ducks who, on top of being chased and hit with rocks thrown by white-trash, undisciplined children, have to call that disgraceful pond their home.

Initial Musings

This is officially my first blog. I have been contemplating the idea of blogging for over a year now, but have failed to take any action towards it because of my sheer lack of technological prowess. Unfortunately, procrastination and lack of initiative in all things involving technology are proven faults of mine. However, I have set goals (in the form of New Year's resolutions that I am just now addressing) to become a little more involved in the Age of Technological Bells and Whistles. I did fail to set goals involving my habit of procrastination because I have discovered, after several decades of failed attempts, that some things never change. So, we shall see how it goes.

I would like to include a farewell to the subject of my favorite blog. She is my primary inspiration for starting my own blog and a woman for whom I have much admiration. Goodbye Olive Riley. You are with the angels now. If you get a chance, check out this blog. www.allaboutolive.com.au/ My thoughts and prayers are with Olive, her family and friends, and those who treasure her thoughts as much as I do.