writing...

[Bunny]

So I wasn't really sure where to put this so I picked a safe place. Well A little back ground info real fast. Way back when I started to write when I was up set never thought to much about it until one of my friends happen to read an open page of my note book. I've never really shared any of them other then with my closest friends and I thought if they liked them maybe others would also. So I'm testing my theory. Oh also I didn't pay attention in English class so the grammar probably sucks and I'm ok with that.

This one I wrote right after my brother died when I was 16.

I am death.
I take everything.
I take all your cares
all you worries.
I take the air out of your lungs.
I take the beating of your heart.
All the love you've felt,
All your pains, all your lessons learned.
All your good and all your bad.
I take this all from you,
And when everything is gone form you
all the people you left behind
get to feel get to breathe
they get to fight and make it to another day.
So live your life, don't give up.
Because one day I will be at your door
and I wont care if you want to keep going.
If you haven't done everything you wanted to do.
If you haven't said your goodbye's and I love you's.

~Jamie

 

[robin]

that is very beautiful and touching

 

[eyelids]

Great piece!

The best poems come from emotions and happen on the fly; I could feel your pain when I read it so much so that I almost cried...

Yeah I'm a writer too...

 

[Bunny]

I'm glad you guys like it. If I ever try to sit and write with nothing really on my mind it doesn't work. It definitely is the best when it just comes to you and you have to write it right then or it will be gone.

 

[Josh'sGeckoCloset]

Yes I do agree.

 

[bittner_344]

Wow that is really good.

 

[eyelids]

I wrote this a couple years ago and was actually nominated for Poet of The Year by The American Poets Society...

We live in a world
full of problems and many of us think of
ourselves before others. Nonetheless, we set
aside one day each year to recognize what we are
thankful for. One day a year to ease our minds
and see that things aren't so bad. If only every
day could be so simple...


A week later...

With bellies fat and leftovers gone
So goes our thanks
Which we've humbled so long

You speed of to work
With only one desire
If I could
I would've helped
You change your tire

I pull in late to work
To see you in my spot
Why would you take it
With so many free spaces
In this parking lot

I get to the door
To see you standing there
Holding it open
As I push my wheelchair

I thought it was for me
But up from behind
Steps a girl with double-Ds

Who is this guy
Who could he be
I think to my past
It could've been me


You see I was once an arrogant and rather heartless person, but ever since hardship came my way I've been the exact opposite. It's sad that it takes us such tragedy to see things straight, but I feel it happened for the better.​

For those of you that don't know, I broke my neck diving into shallow water in 2000 and became paralyzed from the chest down...

 

[Bunny]

That was really good Mike. It’s amazing the thing that people can live through and how much it changes the view on life and the world. It takes a very strong person to go through such a traumatic event and come out of it with a better outlook on there life.

Your poem reminded me of something I wrote last winter that I think you will appreciate.

We all grow up different, we all have different stories, and we all have different experience’s that make us all unique. But at the End of the day we are all human. We all make mistakes, we all cry and laugh, we all need people to love us and someone to love. It’s not these things that make us different form one another but how we deal and handle what happens to us in our life. The difference of how we view or how we choose to live our life. We all have free will; we all have a desire to live our life to the fullest we can. We all strive for the same thing, to end up somewhere we want to be and to look back with as few regrets as possible and to be happy, loved and accepted for who we truly are. Unfortunately for some that will never happen. But whoever you are or where you are trying to go remember that everyone you meet along the way is just trying to make it through life best they know how, just like you.

 

[eyelids]

I really liked that! Thanks for sharing!

This is my favorite part...

We all strive for the same thing, to end up somewhere we want to be and to look back with as few regrets as possible and to be happy, loved and accepted for who we truly are.

:main_thumbsup:

 

[Bunny]

Thats one of my favorites of mine.

Thanks for taking the time to read mine. At least I know my friends weren't just being nice now.

 

[okapi]

Thats one of my favorites of mine.

Thanks for taking the time to read mine. At least I know my friends weren't just being nice now.

No they were being honest. Your good at capturing emotions with few words.
And 420, your writing is so humble its sad. None of my writings are of the emotional sort, but people in my english classes seem to like them I only kept a few of my papers though....

Heres some of them:

Daniel Smith
English 101
Taunja Thomson
November 10, 2005
Animal Shelters

Almost everyone has a pet, and most people consider their pets to be members of the family. Pet owners support animal care groups, such as the SPCA, but often never give their local shelters a second thought. That is very sad, as animal shelters need the publics support to maintain themselves as benefactors to the community. Even though most people don’t think about it, what would really happen if there were no animal shelters?
Every year millions of stray pets are picked up by animal control officers. And every year millions of pet owners go to their local animal shelters and are relieved to find their beloved pets there waiting for them. Any lost animal from dogs to cats to snakes to pigs all find their way to the local animal shelter. All stray animals brought in by the public or found by animal control officers are held for a set amount of days (the amount varies from shelter to shelter and from species to species) before being put up for adoption. This gives the stray pet’s owner a chance to come and find their pet. Any stray animal that is at an animal shelter longer than the holding period and has no serious health or temperament problems is put up for adoption. If there were no animal shelters how many millions of pet owners would never find their lost pets again? They would have to be really lucky to find their lost pet, especially if their pet becomes injured or has a preexisting health problem.
If it weren’t for animal shelters, unwanted animals would never get a second chance. A lot of people think that unwanted animals at animal shelters have some kind of a problem, and that’s the reason for their being unwanted. It is true that animals available for adoption are what shelter personnel term as "random source", which means shelters accept any unwanted animals with limited or no history, but all incoming animals are checked for symptoms of disease and behavior problems. What would happen to unwanted animals if there were no animal shelters? Many unwanted animals would be dumped somewhere with no food, water, or shelter. These dumped animals would form feral populations and spread disease. Many of these dumped animals would be hit by cars, causing unnecessary pain and suffering.
Everyone knows about animal cruelty and the inhumane conditions of puppy mills. Animal shelters are the voice of the animals. They investigate animal abusers and press charges, often prosecuting the animal abusers in court. Animal shelters also shut down puppy mills, where dogs are kept in small cages and are bred from their first heat until they can no longer produce puppies. What would happen to the mistreated and abused animals if animal shelters did not exist? There would be no laws governing the way animals should be treated. Animal abuse would not be considered a crime, and puppy mills would become more and more common. If animal shelters did not exist animals would have no voice and no protection from evil people.
Every year thousands of pet owners have to have their pets euthanized due to injury or chronic health problems. It is often not the pet owners fault, even though much of the public would want to blame them. Many people don’t have the means financially for the surgery that could save their animals. A lot of Animal Shelters provide people’s pets with veterinary help when the animal would otherwise be put to sleep or forced to live with pain. What would happen to these animals if there were no animal shelters or shelter veterinarians to give them the care they needed? Even though animal shelters are constantly criticized by the public for euthanizing animals, shelter veterinarians do much more than that. If there were no animal shelters unwanted and stray animals would never receive veterinary care. Lost or ownerless pets that are injured or sick would never receive help and be forced to live with pain. Without animal shelters raising money to help people, or offering their veterinary services for free, people without the money needed for their pets treatment would not be able to save their pets.
A lot of people hate animal shelters, and would love to see all animal shelters shut down. These people confuse the public with stories of animal control officers “stealing” people’s beloved pets, and claiming animal shelters “murder” people’s pets for no reason. They use exaggerated stories and play on the public’s misconception of how animal shelters are run. They base their claims on sources provided by those people who have been prosecuted by animal shelters for animal abuse, no abiding by leash laws, endangering the lives of animals, etc. Animal shelters never “steal” animals. They pick up stray animals running loose, or remove animals from owners who have proven they cannot properly care for their pets. And animal shelters never “murder” animals. Euthanasia is only used when an animal is beyond medical care or if there is a lack of space and no one has come searching for their lost pet.
Animal shelters cannot help animals without the support of the public. Many animal shelters are under funded and under staffed, greatly need the public’s support. Without donations animal shelters would be forced to euthanize more and more often. If the public feels so strongly against euthanasia and animal abuse, why don’t they help the animal shelter in every way they can? A lot of people argue that money is needed elsewhere. However millions of dollars go to waste every year. If money is an issue, people can donate their time and volunteer at their local animal shelters. If time is an issue, then people can write to their local government explaining that animal shelters need bigger budgets to better help the community. If more people donated their money, time, or voice to help animal shelters, then animal shelters would be able to provide better care for animals and stop animal cruelty in all its forms.
Animal shelters provide pet owners with a place to find their lost pets and they give unwanted animals a second chance. Animal shelters stop animal abusers, and provide veterinary care to any animal in need. However they cannot do this alone. Animal shelters need the support of the public to in order to help animals. When was the last time you gave your animal shelter a second thought?

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And here is another one about reptiles. This was before I had "The herpetoculture of leopard geckos" so I used a corn snake book for the genetics part... works cited needed to be books for this one.

Daniel Smith
English 101
Taunja Thomson
October 26 2005
Herptiles as Pets

In the past twenty years, the reptile and amphibian pet trade has grown from a few annual shipments of animals from around the world to a multibillion dollar a year business. In the beginning, the exotic pet trade consisted mostly tropical fish, colorful birds, and small mammals. Occationally, shipments would include a frog or a turtle that was caught while the suppliers were looking for other, more popular, animals to sell. The North American and European buyers quickly bought up these "new" exotic animals, which led to a demand for reptiles and amphibians to be included in the shipments. Now, there are more and more herptiles being kept as pets than ever before, for various reasons.
Reptiles and amphibians, or "herptiles," as they are called in Europe, are aviliable to people who wish to have less traditional pets (Siino vii). Most people only think of pet stores when it comes to aquiring reptiles as pets, but there are other places. Pet stores, reptile breeders, reptile expos, and herpetological societies all supply the public with exotic reptile and amphibian pets. Pet stores sell all kinds of animals, including reptiles. Reptile breeders, or "herpeculturists," as they call themselves, not only breed reptiles, but also amphibains and sometimes rodents and invertebrates. Reptile breeders usually have websites, advertise themselves in reptile magazines, and show off their stock at reptile expos. Reptile expos are usually monthly, but sometimes annual, gatherings of people buying and selling reptiles and amphibains. Herpetological societies are groups of people who love reptiles. They contain members with biology or herpetological degrees and zoologists, as well as people who study or keep reptiles. Herpetological societies rescue and adopt out unwanted reptiles to qualified owners.
Companies are now producing herptile related products using information provided by studies on reptiles and amphibains (Palika 6). Reptile and amphibain books, which before the 1980's were very rare and contained little factual information, are now written to provide reptile and amphibain owners with information on their pets (Blair 49). These books are for sale in pet stores, on the internet, in bookstores, or can be checked out at libraries. Aquariums, which were once used exclusivly for fish, are now being produced with reptiles in mind, offering more floor space or height depending on the reptile or amphibain species being kept. Other accessories, such as heat lamps and light bulbs that produce benificial UVA rays, are also on the market, which twenty years ago did not exist. Knowlege of the diet and habits of reptiles and amphibains in captivity, along with captive breeding programs, will help save wild populations of reptiles and amphibains from extinction in the future (Alderton 6).
As more and more reptiles and amphibains are bred every year, new genetic combinations, or morphs as they are called, are being discovered and selectivly bred. Once herptiles became "common" pets, people craved something more unusual. This led to breeders trying to produce albino herptiles. Instead of being plain white, like albino mammals, reptiles with albinism are yellow. This is due to the albino recessive gene blocking dark pigments, not all pigments like commonly thought. So breeders tried to get pure white herptiles next. Through selective breeding to obtain desired traits, corn snake breeders descovered many new recessive genes, such as: amelanism (without black pigment), anerythrism (without red and lacking yellow pigments), hypomelanism (black pigments are replaced by brown), hypomelanism B (muted black pigment), hypomelanism C (lighter overall color), hypomelanism D (lacking dark pigment, but without pink eyes), piebaldism (abnormal pigmentation with random white areas), as well several others (Love 144-212). When these genes are grouped in various combinations new morphs are produced. The "snow" morph is a corn snake which is completly white. This is created by combining amelanism and anerythrism in the same individual animal, which blocks all black pigment, all red pigment, and almost all yellow. There are currently more reptile morphs than amphibain morphs, but selective breeding is being conducted with some frogs and salamanders.
Some people would not consider the increase of reptile and amphibian pets as a trend that is on the rise, but it is. In the 1970's, about 130,000 green iguanas were imported to United States per year to be sold as pets. In the 1990's that number grew to 500,000 (Blair 49). According to Bill and Kathy Love, corn snakes have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their calm disposition, colors variations, small size, and genetics (8-9). No one can disagree with bill and Kathy love, they have been breeding corn snakes for years and have contributed to the discovery of many of the genes mentioned earlier. Philippe de Vosjoli, the author of many reptile and amphibian books, said, "For those of us who worked with snakes since the 1960s, the sudden rise in popularity was not shocking," (Vosjoli 7). Numbers rising from 130,000 to 500,000 and the comments of herpetologists both indicate that herptiles are a growing trend.
Herptiles, like many other animals, make great pets if their owners understand their responsibilities as pet owners. They are avalible to anyone who wishes to obtain them at various locations. There is alot of information for the wouldbe herpetologist to get started on their career. Through studies and captive breeding we are gaining a better understanding of genetics and the way genetic information is passed on. Reptiles and amphibains being kept as pets has changed the way people look at the world.



WORKS CITED

Alderton, David. The Exotic Pet Survival Manual. New York: Barron's Educational
Series Inc., 1997.

Love, Bill and Kathy. Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner's Guide. California:
Advanced Vivarium Systems, 2005.

Siino, Betsy Sikora. You Want A WHAT For A Pet?!. New York: Howell Book House,
1996

Vosjoli, Philippe de. The Art of Keeping Snakes. California: Advanced Vivarium
Systems, 2004.

-------------------------------------------------------
And here is one on banned pets, it was ment to be angry and comical at the same time:

Daniel Smith
English 101
Taunja Thompson
November 3, 2005
The Problem With Banned Pets

Whenever a dog or a cat escapes it's owner's property and finds its way onto public property little is thought of the incident. However, when a twelve foot long African rock python manages to do the same thing, the incident makes the headlines, and the area's lawmakers quickly propose bans on all "dangerous" animals. Ignorance and steriotypical view points are usually their only evidence, but since these views are so common, many well educated and able pet owners must have their beloved pets euthanized as well as face outrageous fines and even prison sentences.
This steriotypical hate and fear is unneccessary, and could easily be ended, but it gains support from people who do not know what they are doing. For example, anyone can go into a pet store and buy a baby iguana which after three years is five feet long, with an unpredictable disposition and "bad" behavior. It whips it's tail at strangers, lunges at the family dog with its mouth open, climbs on furniture with its sharp claws, and eats house plants. The iguana in this example is not behaving badly. In the wild iguana's have two enemies, man and dogs. The tail whipping and lunges are a way of scaring off potential predators. Iguanas are arboreal, which means they live in trees, and in the wild strong, sharp claws are needed for climbing. The iguana in this example is climbing a "tree," which in a house would be furniture. Iguanas, being herbivors, eat plants with house plants being no exception. The owner in this example was not properly careing for their pet, and all of these problems could of been avoided with proper husbandry and a little research on the owner's part. Many animals make great pets if their owners understand their responsibilities as pet owners.
Currently in the state of Kentucky "exotic" animals, such as gila monsters, front and rear fanged snakes, crocodilians, big cats, primates, wolves, prairie dogs, constricting snakes over eight feet in length, elephants, some rodents, poison dart frogs, and other nonnative wildlife, as well as native wildlife, including turkeys, red-eared sliders, and bullfrogs are banned (Pendery). In addition, there is an even stricter ban in the city of Covington, where commissioners approved with a 5-0 vote, to make dozens of "exotic" animals which are "potentially dangerous to human life" illegal to own, buy, or sell (Rutledge). The animals included in that ban are rabbits, mice, hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs. People who already owned these animals as pets had to get rid of them, or face fines of $250-$500 per animal. In some states it is illegal to own any snake that kills its prey with constriction, which would include harmless corn snakes, king snakes, and milk snakes, which are only a threat to mice. Additionally, there are also breed bans which focus on "mean" or "aggressive" breeds such as bulldogs, pit bulls, etc. (Cox). All of these laws were passed with the assumption that they would protect the public and ensure safety. The public's safety should be protected, but not at the expense of responsible pet owners.
These current bans are extreamly easy to get around and rarely enforced. Kentucky's statewide ban states that it is illegal to own, buy or sell constricting snakes over eight feet in length. The idea behind this particular ban is that a constricting snake of that size could possibly kill a child. However, anyone can go to a pet store in Kentucky and buy a burmese python that is seven feet, eleven and three quarter inches long or less, which will some day grow to be twenty feet long. The same law also states that native animals, such as red-eared sliders, are illegal even though they are sold in just about every pet store in Kentucky. Also, with the internet anyone can buy anything from anywhere with just an address and a credit card number. Breeders in areas where their animals are legal can easily mail animals to a state where they are banned. For instance, if a prairie dog breeder mails prairie dogs to a buyer in Kentucky, all they have to do to thwart the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officers is label the box as containing degu or guinea pigs. It is very likely that officers would not be able to tell the difference. Poison dart frogs, which get their name from the native peoples use for the toxic substance in their skin, are also illegal. Even though they get their poisons from eating small insects which are toxic, and loose their poisons when kept in captivity. Captive bred poison dart frogs are completely poison-free because they never had the oppertunity to eat poisonous insects. There is no need for a nontoxic animal to be banned just because it has poison in its name. That is akin to denying someone named Henry Ian Vander medical help, just because his initals are H.I.V.
As stated before, bans are hard to enforce, vauge, and easy to get around, but they are a good idea, they just need to be revised. It should be harder for people to get pets, but not impossible. Pet ownership is a huge responsibility, and one that should never be taken lightly. Animals should not be the ones restricted and banned, people should be. If people are not responsible enough, or do not have the means neccessary to care for animals, they should be banned from keeping them. One good way to ban people from animals they can not possibly care for is with a permit and license system.
For example, when someone wants to drive a car, they are not imediatly given the right to drive, they must apply for a permit and prove they are responsible enough and able to drive safely. People apply for a driving permit and are tested. Passing that test allows them to drive under supervision. Once they have has sufficient experience driving a car under supervision, they can apply for a license. A license allows them more freedom and responsibility. Just like with the driving permit and license system, a pet permit and license system will restrict people who cannot do things responsibly. A similar method is in use at reptile exibits, as well as at virology labs. At reptile exibits in zoos, keepers cannot work with reptiles unless they have biology, herpetology, zoology, or other such degrees. Even then they can only work with safe reptiles, such as small snakes and turtles. Once they have enough experiance working with safe reptiles, they are allowed to work supervised by more experianced keepers with larger reptiles, such as pythons, boas, and crocodilians. After they prove that they can care for those reptiles, they are considered experianced enough to do supervised work with "hot" reptiles, which are venomous ones. After they have thousands of hours of experiance with deadly reptiles, they are considered experts, and can work with any reptile. At virology labs, employees are restricted to which virus they can study. Once they show that they know what they are doing, they are moved up to other viruses, eventually studying viruses like smallpox and ebola which require a lot of responsibility to work around. The permit and license system works.
For exotic pet owners, there would be a test of knowlege on the species they wish to keep. Once they prove they know what they are doing, they are unbanned from that species, and permited to work with it under supervision. After they have sufficent experiance with that species, they are granted a license to own it. This would only aply to those species considered "dangerous to human life," such as hamsters, snakes, turtles, etc., and not to those not banned. To keep banned people from aquiring pets through the internet, buyers should have to provide their license information, and sellers should have to keep records of all animals they sold, as well as mark the box with the animals common and latin name. The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officers should know each animal on the "dangerous" list's common name, latin name, and what they look like. Because the permit and license system goes by species, not size, it will be impossible for people banned from a species to buy them from a pet store. Also pet stores should be required to keep records of all sales of live animals, as well as provide buyers of a species its husbandry requirments. Large animals, such as mammals the size of a cat or bigger, snakes over two feet in length, and turtles over five inches in shell length should also be required to get a microchip by a vet (Rescue). The license would need to be renewed yearly, and the requirments to do so would be a current picture of the licensed animal, vet paperwork, paperwork from when the animal was purchased, the animal's microchip number, and the expired license. The yearly license renewing is no different than the current Kentucky dog licensing system.
Responsible pet owners should not be punished just because there are people who do not take care of their pets. People who want to own "dangerous animals" need to know what they are doing before they do it. This steriotypical hate and fear is unneccessary, but it gains support when people who do not know what they are doing get animals they have no reason to get. Many animals, including those that are considered to be dangerous, make great pets, but only if their owners understand their responsibilities as pet owners.


Works Cited
Cox, Lori. "Pets, pests or simply threats?" 19 May 2004. The Kentucky Post. 3 Nov. 2005 <http://kypost.com/2004/05/19/kylifecover051904.html>
Pendery, Steve. "Chapter 90: Animals." 27 Oct. 2004. The Fiscal Court Of Campbell
County. 3 Nov 2005.
<http://campbellcountyky.org/Dangerous_Animal_Ordinance Copy for%
20First%20Reading.pdf>
Rescue, Arrowhead. "Passive Integrated Transponders." Arrowhead Reptile Rescue.
3 Nov. 2005
<http://arrowheadreptilerescue.org/wildlife/pittaginfo.html>
Rutledge, Mike. "Exotic animals banned in city." 25 June 2003. The Kentucky Post.
3 Nov. 2005
<http://kypost.com/2003/06/25/exotic062503.html>

Lemme know what you think

 

[Bunny]

wow that was a lot of writing. haha. You gave me good info to prove my point with an argument I've been having with my boyfriends friend about albino reptiles. And you got me thinking about care of animals (more then I do) so they are defiantly good and do what they are supposed to.

 

[okapi]

Lol, what is the argument? I can explain more about albinos....

In fact I already did here:
http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=6246&page=2
Post numbers: 18, 21, 24

Albino in the sense of no black pigment, should be called "amelanistic"
Its Latin. In latin, "A" infront of a term means "opposite of" and "melanistic" means alot of melanin (melanin = black/dark pigment). So the whole term translates to the opposite of having alot of black/dark pigment.

 

[okapi]

wow that was a lot of writing. haha. You gave me good info to prove my point with an argument I've been having with my boyfriends friend about albino reptiles. And you got me thinking about care of animals (more then I do) so they are defiantly good and do what they are supposed to.

lol, and the other thing they were supposed to do was get me an A in the class, which they did I happened to have a prof. who loves animals of all kinds. And in another writing class I had a prof. who felt strongly about environmental issues, so I wrote about that in her class