Child Abuse: The Kelsey Briggs Story

This Video, and more importantly this story broke my heart.

If you didn't watch the video above, then you really should it is a powerful tribute to a beautiful little girl who was victimized by her mother and step father.

I decided to write about this story today because it really moved me. It really hurt me to know that stuff like this happens in this world.

An innocent little three year old girl, was abused, and then murdered by her step father. That alone is disturbing and sick enough.

What really boils my blood though, is that this little angel could not be saved. I shouldn't say could not, she definitely COULD have been saved, but this country's justice system is ridiculously moronic.

What judge in his right state of mind would grant this little girls monster of a mother custody, after seeing the bruises and marks she carried from visiting her?

That's the problem, we all think it's so tragic to take a child away from her mother. She gave birth to her, and it's morally wrong to rip away a baby girl from her mothers arms.

That way of thinking is why little girls like Kelsey Briggs suffer for no reason. Not everyone is fit to be a parent, unfortunately that doesn't stop them from reproducing.

Another person or persons, besides obviously the piece of shit step father, and piece of shit mother, who i pin some of the blame on is the grandmothers.

Both grandmothers could see what was happening. Personally, if someone returned my grand daughter to me with two broken legs, whether that be my daughter or daughter in law, I would never allow that little girl to be in the same room alone with them.

"The Last time I saw her, just the way she looked, the way she acted, she looked like she was dying, she was not the same child." -Kathie Briggs (Grandmother)

Why didn't you take her right there and then? Why didn't you contact someone who can protect her? Why didn't SOMEONE DO SOMETHING?

I would have fought tooth and nail to get the abuse documented to protect the innocent child.

They did nothing of the sort, and if they did, they didn't fight hard enough.

Yet another problem in this country, as parents we never find the monster like qualities in our children. We always turn a blind eye to it, because what kind of parents would we be if our kids turned out to be murdering child abuser's... Right?

It disgusts me, to think that this mother allowed her new husband to beat up on a two year old little girl.

The part that destroyed what was left of my broken heart, is when her dad comes back from war, to bury his little girl. Instead of happiness and quality time, he gets the most tragic news he could possibly get.

Parents aren't supposed to bury their children.

If nothing else, this video should show us that sometimes there's a bigger picture. Sometimes we need to put our ego's or public image aside, and take care of what needs to be done.

If someone, anyone would have stepped in and taken this poor little girl from the hands of her murdering horrendous excuses for human beings, mother and step father, maybe today little Kelsey would be enjoying Elementary school, knowing what it was like to have friends. Instead she was put on this Earth to suffer with no just cause.

So let this tragic story allow for us to be the SOMEONE, who takes action and DOES SOMETHING about this horrible problem our world faces.

If you know or see child abuse, take action, because for all you know that could be a life you're saving.

Quote of the Day: Winston Churchill: Courage!

Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.
- Winston Churchill

Today's quote is another of my favorites. I think in its simplest form of interpretation this quote rings very true.

When we delve in a bit deeper its meaning is amplified.

In this life we tend to focus way too much on the negative and not nearly enough on the positive.

Our society has a sick attachment to kicking people while they're down. As a society we love to watch people squirm,and fail. We love watching other people suffer, because it makes us feel better about our own trials and tribulations.

The problem is, if we would learn to focus on the positive and not the negative, we woldnt need to watch people suffer to feel ebtter about our own pathetic lives. We'd realize that simply waking up in the morning and filling our lungs with oxygen is a success all on its own.

Why must we always dwell on negative, and ignore the positives because they're not good enough.

This quote elicits that as long as we continue to move forward even a failure can bring success.

I know what you're thinking, I'm just blabbering on about things that escape the realm of common sense.

But think about it...

Even when we fail at doing something, we still gain something. Whether it be experience, strength, knowledge, or even just learning to appreciate every small success, we gain something.

We progress forward. As long as we fall forward when we get hit, it still counts as a gain.

Life is far too short, and precious to spend it dwelling on something we could not change.

Lets enjoy life, enjoy every opportunity we are given to succeed or fail. Life is about opportunities, and living.

Let us be the minority who do linger in the bliss of small successes, because at the end ofo ur lives those small succeses will add up to something monumental.

I've watched people pass on from this life at both young and old ages. Some of them lived every minute of every day, and others allowed themselves to be complacent.

Let's not allow ourselves to be complacent. Let's push for something special.

If you do this, I promise you that at the end of your days, there will be a smile on your face as you revisit each and every memory stored in your happy bank.

Love yourself enough to be happy. It's worth it.

Quote of the Day: Sigmund Freud

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."

-Sigmund Freud

Today's quote is dedicated to one of my heroes. Someone I've looked up to my whole life.
The man who created me. He who taught me values, and morals. Right from wrong.

My dad has always been there for me. Not just for me, but for everyone in our lives. He never wavers from helping us with our problems, or issues.

He has lived a life filled with dignity and honor.

I am who I am because of his teachings, and his life style.

He is an amazing husband.

A looked-up-to brother.

Successful in his career.

Upstanding citizen.

Passionate about the people he loves.

He is one of the most genuinely, good hearted, men roaming this Earth.

I want to take this opportunity to Thank You Dad, for always being you. For believing in me. For allowing me to always follow my dreams. For giving me advice, for listening to my problems. For being a father, and a friend all in one. For loving me unconditionally, and never judging my decisions, whether or not they are right or wrong.

I only hope, I can one day become half the man that you are. To take care of my family and friends as well as you have. To find a woman to love, as much as you love mom. To be an honest, hard working, Man!

You are who I want to become.

I love you.

Bullying: The Great-American Past Time

A friend of mine posted this video to facebook, and it really affected me.

Bullying has been a major part of our society since the very beginning.

Being different, always threatens the insecure masses to act out, in an effort to make themselves feel better. But when is it enough?

There are so many young people in this world suffering the effects of bullying. They are being hurt emotionally, and physically. Worse still, they are being pushed to hurting themselves.

This topic is close to my heart, not because I was bullied as a kid. Thankfully, I was blessed. I grew up always being bigger than the other kids, but unlike those victimized by bullying, I was never subjected to that treatment. Unlike some others who were spared that treatment, I realize just how lucky I was.

Too many kids and adults alike are not spared, they are victimized everyday, and worse yet, all the anti-bullying bullshit movements, seem to convenient ignore everyday people who are bullied.

It's good for your resume to be apart of such a movement, but that is all it's good for.

I know you've seen the ads on television. Celebrities speaking about anti-bullying, they think that putting a commercial on television is enough. But it isn't!

We raise our children to fear what is different. We pray that they are "normal." Interestingly enough "normal" can not be defined, because NO ONE IS NORMAL!

Instead of talking about anti-bullying. Let's put an honest effort into stoping it. Let's take action, instead of just nodding our heads whenever we see the commercial with our favorite celebrities.

This movement is bigger than celebrities, it is bigger than filling our resumes to portray that we actually care.

The first step to stoping this tragic epidemic, is to raise our children to have open minds, and to be accepting of anyone who is different.

Don't force societal norms, down anyone's throat.

Look into this kid's eyes, see the tears stream down his face. (Don't worry if it's real or fake, that is irrelevant)

Let's do our part to end this. Not just talk about it, not just write about it. I will not only write about it, but I will do my best to put it into action.

I will befriend those who are different than me. I will defend the innocent people who are victimized. I will speak out, and I will teach my children (when I have some) to love everyone equally, and to accept people for who they are.

Christopher Columbus, came to this country, and bullied the Native Americans. They brought this horrible act to a peaceful country. Let's reverse the act, that this country has allowed to become a societal norm.

Just one time, let's do something to better humanity.

The next time you see someone who is different than you are, reach out your hand, and say Hi.

As cliché as it is, one handshake, one spontaneous Hi, Can save someone's life.

Think about it, if all you needed was a handshake and a Hi, to save your life, wouldn't you want someone, anyone, to reach out?

Quote of the day: Brought to you by abraham Lincoln

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

- Abraham Lincoln

Today's quote goes hand in hand with yesterdays post. I have learned that if we do not seize the day, and take advantage of every opportunity we are given to take a breath, then we are doing a grave injustice to ourselves. We must live each day as if it were our last, I know this reeks of cliché, but the meaning holds true.

Far too many of us complain every morning that it's too early to wake up, when we should instead be ecstatic that we were afforded yet another day to truly live. Far too many of us take life for granted, we're going to tell our families that we love them tomorrow, sweep the girl of our dreams of her feet tomorrow, take our vacation time tomorrow, save all of our money for tomorrow, but more times than not, that "dream" tomorrow never comes. That is why we must learn to live in the moment. Don't pass up opportunities to do the things you love. Don't hesitate to take a little vacation time with your family or friends. Don't leave for tomorrow what you can easily do today.

This quote says it all. How many times have you heard an older person tell you, "Man, if I were your age..." Well with all due respect, you were my age, and you had every opportunity to do with your life what you pleased. As a society we should aim to erase the elderly from feeling this way. I for one, intend on doing everything I can to live a full, happy life. So that if I get the pleasure of reaching that golden age, and I'm talking to my grandkids, instead of "Man, if I were your age.." I will instead say, "WHEN I was your age..."

I heard this other quote from, of all things, NFL Total Access, "Youth is wasted on the young." Sadly, I'd have to agree with that. Young people are the worst when it comes to taking life for granted. There some exceptions, but the majority feel as if they'll live forever. The reality is we should enjoy ourselves while we still could. While were young enough to enjoy it. What good is a million dollars going to do you, when you're 80 years old?

So my challenge to both young and old, who happen to read this blog is simply, Live Your Life!

Worry less about what's going to happen tomorrow, and more on what you could control today.

Rainy days come and go, but life is only a one way deal. You only get one chance to live. Don't waste it on the fear of what MAY happen in the future.

Check in tomorrow for another Quote of the day.

Enlightened Life

First let me apologize to my loyal readers for not posting as often as I use to. Your emails have been heard, and I'm pretty sure I've responded to everyone. Thanks for the kind words.

With that in mind, let me begin my new post.

Today I am going to write about something that is very close to my heart. As humans we have this universal weakness that things, in particular, bad things will never happen to us. We hear about bad things happening all over the world every day. We read about it in Newspapers, and we genuinely sympathize for those victimized by tragedy, but still ignorantly we whole heartedly believe that it will not, and could not ever happen to us.

A few months ago, my family and I naively thought the same thing. We believed that all those bad things would somehow magically skip over us and all the people we love. Then the bad finally knocked on our door, my aunt was diagnosed with brain cancer. Our hearts immediately dropped, as we scrambled to find the strength to take this tragedy head on.

Since her diagnosis, thanks to God, and all our family and friends prayer, she has been going through treatment and doing very well. But it left me very pensive about life.

This life we live, is so very precious and fragile. We take every breath of fresh air that enters our lungs for granted. This has given me more perception of the phrase, "live life to its fullest."

Every day really is a gift we receive, and we should take that gift and do something extraordinaire with it every single day. Because from one second to the next we could lose it all.

I feel blessed that we found the cancer early enough for it to be treated. I thank God every chance I get for all the wonderful progress he has allowed my aunt to go through.

Her strength, enthusiasm, and will has not only inspired me and my family, it has given me something to look up to.

Every time I see her smile, every time I watch her fight to walk around, and to get better, a little bit of my soul is empowered.

I know in my heart that together our family and my aunt will over power this cancer.

We have all gained enlightenment from this tragedy though. We have all realized that family comes first. We have learned to live each day as if it were our last.

Life throws us curve balls sometimes, but I am happy that our family has been able to knock those curve balls out of the park.

As the holidays approach, and you begin to spend time with your family, take a minute to look around you, and thank God that you are all able to spend this very important time together. Take the time to tell them how much you care and how much you love them.

Because when tragedy knocks on your door, it will be those times, and those words that lift you up from the mud, and motivate you to fight for just one more gathering.

NaNoWriMo

Today is the first day of National Novel Writing Month!

This will be my first year participating, and I hope to reach the goal of 50,000 words by November 30th.

Wish Me Luck!