Hickory Dickory Dock...

If I made a clock it would almost look this good.

WHAT TIME IS IT?
It's time for Ahmed's 15 minutes of clock fame to be over.

#IDONTSTANDWITHAHMED #ISTANDWITHPOLICE #ISTANDWITHTEACHERS

I am genuinely irritated with this clock kid. Well, not just the kid but all the media outlets, CEO's, and US Presidents making this kid out to be boy wonder. He's not. He's also not a victim.

This is not your father's America. Horrendous things happen every day and we can not afford to ignore suspicious circumstances. I don't know what a bomb looks like, but if something is in a case that looks like a briefcase and it ticks I'm calling the police. A concerned teacher reports a suspicious item to the authorities - she did EXACTLY what she should have done, as did the principal, and the police.

Police described Ahmed as being “passive aggressive” in his answers to their questions, and didn’t have a “reasonable answer” as to what he was doing with the case.  Ahmed is telling what happened during his interrogation and people are believing it. If I'm choosing between believing the police or believing a 14 year old kid, I'm going with the police. Teachers and police - 2 groups underpaid and overworked and we choose to trust the kid.

The face of a kid that just hit the Victim jackpot, 

I don't know the whole story here. I have heard (and it seems pretty legit) that he actually didn't even "invent" this clock. What I DO know is that we are deterring people from speaking up when they are uncomfortable about a situation that could be dangerous. The next person that happens on something that makes them wary might just choose to ignore it. And what if it's a bomb? If we vilify the people willing to step up and speak out and celebrate the "victim" then we are setting ourselves up for potential violence. Here's the thing - you can either be safe or you can be sorry but you can't be both.

The kid now will be making the rounds, Google, Facebook, the White House. I wonder, if he had arrived at Facebook with his "pencil case" asking to see Mark Zuckerberg if security would have let him pass? Could he have taken a tour of the White House with it? And yet, he now gets to do those things. His family will sue the district and already 2 gofundme accounts are open for him, How must that teacher and those police officers feel? He's a rock star and once again we illustrate how we feel about the police in our society. He gets to roam the country trash talking the school and the police and we just watch it happen.

When I see this kid I don't think Muslim. I think of a kid and his family that are taking full advantage of a situation that was totally in their control and it is turning out much better than they could ever imagine. You want to call me Islamaphobic - go ahead, I've been called worse but why do we so quickly jump to racism and assume that he's a victim? What did he do to deserve our respect over those of the teacher and the police? Nothing. He did absolutely nothing to deserve it and yet he's getting respect and SO much more. Makes me sick.

Clue Drew Latham 1999-2015

"Daddy, the cat is turning pink."
"What?"
"He's turning pink."
"Amelia, why is the cat turning pink?" Paul sees Clue. "Amelia, you painted the cat?!"
"Just the white parts."

Clue had a pink tinge from the marker for a few weeks and a favorite family story was born.

We lived in a modified feudal system in our household. Clue held the rank of nobility and we in turn were both vassal and peasant. The dogs were a pestilence he chose to ignore. Everyday, Winky, our eternally optimist dog, would attempt to befriend Clue. She would try to kiss him every morning and every morning for 10 years he would slap her. Except, one day last week, in one blissful doggy moment Clue allowed Winky to kiss him. I imagine that was his reward to her for her years of  'doggedness.'

Until he got really sick we had a strict daily routine. After Paul's shower he would have to play with Clue for several minutes. If Paul didn't provide the obligatory play time Clue's displeasure was evident. After playtime, I would let him in to the front part of the house so he could drink his water out of the dog's bowl - which of course was actually Clue's bowl that he was allowing the dogs to use. Yes, he had his own water in the back but it was more entertaining to drink the dog's water because while he was slowly drinking the dogs could only observe. They were not allowed to drink at the same time as the lord of the Latham  manor. The water had to be fresh (of course) and any delay in providing the fresh water was met with loud remonstrations.

Yes, I'm saying that he was a diva. Yet he was also the most loving cat I've ever had the pleasure to be around and our lives were more interesting with him in it.

As his health continued to deteriorate despite daily IV fluids we knew our remaining time was short. Clue was an indoor cat only but the last 2 days we took him outside to get some fresh air and he really enjoyed it. We cuddled with and coddled him even more than usual. The look in his beautiful green eyes became sad and tired.

All four of us were available for his final vet visit. Dr. Falagrady explained to us each step and what we should expect. Her voice was calm and soothing. She gave him a shot to relax him and then they took him to insert an IV that would be used for an anesthetic and for the final barbiturate. It was so peaceful. She told us when his heart had stopped beating. She continued to pet him gently after he was gone. We left him in her trusting hands. Hopefully he passed quickly into God's trusting hands and we will see those beautiful green eyes once again.