Punished for Doing The Right Thing

By: Jeffrey A. Solochek

Back in May of this year my son, Jacob, had to return an item he bought from Radio Shack that didn’t work properly. Jacob did not have a drivers license so he asked his friend, Andy, for a ride. Another kid asked Andy if he could tag along for the ride. While Jacob was filling out forms to return the item he had bought, this kid, Jared, stole two cell phones. After Jacob had gotten his money back while they were on their way back home he found out what Jared had done. Jacob then contacted the Head of security of Radio Shack on his own and arranged to get them back the phones.

Fast forward 6 months, my wife and I and Jacob had moved to Georgia where life would be more comfortable and less costly, Jacob was finishing his High School and then had plans to enter Americorps after he graduated. We all of a sudden receive a summons in the mail that the State of Florida has filed Grand Theft charges against Jacob. Just to appear in Florida for court would have cost us at least $500 per trip and I am on Disability. We were able to arrange to do the thing completely by phone. In the police report it says that Jacob was the one to return the phones but the state of Florida is still chosen to prosecute him.

In the state of Florida you are still considered a juvenile until you are 19 years of age. The Judge told us that if the case doesn’t get settled soon that the prosecutor will move it into adult court. Because of this Jacob has to wait on living until this case is over, in the meantime it shows that he is being prosecuted for 2 counts of Grand Theft because 2 phones were originally stolen. Americorp now may never let him join and this will make him fail all background checks.

To hire an attorney for this would cost at least $10,000 and could go as high as $50,000. We are on a budget so we had no choice but to get a public defender. Jacob is very upset over this entire ordeal and truth be told the only lesson he is learning right now is to keep your mouth shut, never do the right thing.

What has this country come to. The United States has a greater number of citizens being prosecuted that any other place in the world yet there are other countries with a much greater population. The reason the authorities have such a large prosecution percentage is because they let these cases go on and on forever until finally, the person being prosecuted, is in a hurry to end this ordeal and they are forced to cop a plea.

No wonder there are so many innocent people in our jails and prisons. There needs to be greater punishment for the prosecutors and police when they wrongfully prosecute someone and they end up losing part of their lives. I can remember awhile back a story about 2 kids who had to do 30 years in a state prison for rape. After 30 years it was found out that they were completely innocent. The state offered them the measly sum of $30,000 each. $30,000 for taking away life that cannot be replaced. These kids had pending college scholarships when they were first accused of this crime, now what has become of them. Were they able to get back the 30 years that they had to spend in prison?

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/family/article_2496.shtml

7 Tips For Organizing Pet Supplies

By: Marilyn Bohn

Tips on organizing for pets:

• Keep all pet supplies handy. In a basket keep all supplies together, brushes, combs, flea collars or powders, soap, leashes, or extra toys. You may find it more handy to keep a brush near where you actually brush your pet, or keep soap under the sink where you bathe your pet. I have used several different brushes and my all time favorite is a rubber brush. They are made for cats and dogs. They last ‘forever’ and really do the job on getting off the cat or dog hair. And it is gentle so they enjoy being brushed.

• Keep the phone number of your veterinarian with your other emergency numbers. If the vet has an after hours number have it as well, rather than waiting for the answering machine to give it to you when your pet is in crisis.

• Keep a can opener near where you open the cans of food; many cans now come with a pop top which is very handy. I think the few cents more per can is worth the time it takes to open a can with a can opener. Use a table knife to scoop out the food. It can simply be scraped off the side of the dish which is nicer than getting your finger dirty in the salmon and bits dinner off the spoon. Or it comes off easily from the knife and the little remaining can be scraped back into the can.

• Keep dry food in a covered container. This keeps the food fresh longer. Or roll the bag down as it is used and secure with a heavy duty clip.

• Keep your pet’s food and water dishes clean. Depending on the size of pet and the type of food served, clean bowls daily or every few days. Be sure to rinse them well so no cleaning residue is left in the bowls.

• Wide self-adhesive packing tape does a great job of removing cat and dog hairs from clothing and furniture. Lint brushes also work well if there is not a lot of long hair you are trying to remove.

• Make a 72 hour kit for your pet. Using a backpack is great as it is easily transported and handy to grab in an emergency.

• Food–both canned and dry if that is what your pet normally eats, include a can opener if one will be needed.

• Water, a gallon is recommended for pets.

• Medicines or a note pinned on the back pack to remind you to take the medicine from the fridge or cupboard.

• A blanket, toy, treat, collapsible food and water dish.

• Keep the carrier in a place you can get to it quickly.

• Vaccination record from your veterinary office. You may need this if you go to a shelter or hotel.

• A list of hotels who will take pets.

• Rotate the food and water to keep it fresh.

• Rope and sanitation bags

• www.bestbeprepared.com is a web site that has survival and emergency kits for animals.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/family/article_2737.shtml

Family Time: Instant Protection Against Dangerous Influences

By: Elena Neitlich

Family time is a necessity for those wishing to build happy and healthy families. Parents that take time out to eat as a family, play, read, and talk together, teach children that they matter, that relationships are worth nurturing, and that strong family bonds breed success.

Setting aside blocks allocated for family time can be very difficult for busy families. By the time everyone is home from work, school, sports, and other outside activities people are tired, playing a board game seems like the least important item on the to-do list. However, playing a board game, metaphorically, is the most important item to cross off of the list.

Family time is valuable time when parents can take time out to observe their children, follow their children, hug and kiss them, encourage, guide, and laugh. Family time is when children feel comfortable opening up to their parents; this is a time when the mood is relaxed and children feel supported, valued and loved.

Eat together

Studies have shown that the family activity with the greatest positive impact on children, is sitting down together to dinner each evening. Benefits for children include learning patience, (family members should wait for everyone to be served before eating and remain at the table until everyone is through), sitting quietly and calmly to eat, and listening attentively and participating in the conversation. If an evening meal is impossible to schedule, families can find a different meal to gather, a fun idea is to set the table later in the evening when everyone is home, and have dessert together.

Children should be included in meal preparation, setting the table, and clean-up. Although table manners must be taught and reinforced, mealtime should be a pleasant experience with a focus on togetherness. Quick behavioral reminders will reinforce good manners and then conversation can be resumed. Parents should choose to be in a good mood and not let the day’s issues weigh down the meal. After all, this is family time!

Creative planning can make the evening meal easier to put on the table and clean up afterwards. Simple meals, and meals prepared in advance and frozen, are good ways to ease the evening scramble and help keep the focus on family time, not on cooking and cleanup. Instead of spending an hour cleaning the kitchen after the meal, simple meals free up some time in the evening for togetherness.

Shut off the television and the computer

Shutting off the television in the evening helps to place the focus on the people in the house instead of the strangers on the screen. The evening hours spent interacting as a family instead of staring at the television will benefit everyone greatly and will help create warm and lasting memories.

Shutting off the television and the computer eliminates the risk that children will be exposed to damaging levels of violence and sexual content. Experts claim that violence and sexual imagery negatively change the brain chemistry of children, resulting in permanent changes in the brain’s wiring.

Set a relaxed mood

Bathe young children and put them in their pajamas. Put on some light music that isn’t jarring or offensive, this often cues a little impromptu dancing from children, always good for a laugh. No arguing, bickering, or crabbiness. Family time should be warm, joyful and happy. Parents should be demonstrative and giving, snuggle, hug, and kiss the kids and each other. Family time like this is ideal for modeling loving, kind behavior.

Find fun games and activities

The nature of children is to be fun loving and flexible and open to many ideas. Coloring, board games, guessing games, acting, playing with dolls or cars, and reading are all fun things to do together. Allow children to help set the evening agenda. One idea based on the Montessori principal of learning suggests observing the child and leading by following the child.

There are other opportunities during the day for family time

The evening is not the only option for family time. Parents should seek out other times to be together. Take the kids on the morning and afternoon dog walk, invite them to join in on gardening, ask them to help wash the car or help with the laundry. It is probably true that activities will be completed slower with kids as helpers, but their happiness far outweighs the inconvenience.

Parents who zone out each evening in front of the television or computer for hours and hours rob children of the necessary family time that they need. It is stingy of parents to choose to channel or web surf over spending time with their kids. In a blink of an eye the kids will be up and out of the house and parents will have the rest of their lives to stare blankly at a screen, alone.

Making a conscious effort to spend quality family time together is vital to the health and welfare of children. Children do not thrive if parents don’t interact with them daily. When parents choose to have kids, they automatically choose to sacrifice their time to raise their kids. Family time is a parenting tool which helps to regulate the content that children are exposed to and introduce healthier activities. Developing strong relationships with children also will build bonds that last a lifetime.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/family/article_2731.shtml