Moo Busted! Charity scammer caught
elizabeth
Charity head under scrutiny: 'Moms' founder accused of breaking
promises
By Janet Burkitt
Seattle Times staff reporter
MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Laura Leach heads the nonprofit Moms on a Mission, a charity that
assists the families of children with serious illnesses.
A year ago, Laura Leach made for the kind of story the media love. A
stay-at-home mother of six, she raised about $70,000 to help
7-year-old Kellen Rice and his family during their struggles with his
inoperable brain tumor.
The spotlight she finds herself under today is much less kind.
Families who turned to her organization, Moms on a Mission, for help
with their ailing children are accusing her of backing out of promises
and using the organization's funds for her own benefit.
She has denied the allegations but said they've received so much
negative publicity that Moms on a Mission might have to close. And
even if the nonprofit continues to operate, Leach doesn't know whether
she'll be a part of it.
"I've been really wounded by this," she said yesterday. "While it
gives me enormous joy to help people, this has been very, very
painful."
One mother went on television recently to say Leach promised to pay
her rent while her gravely ill son was receiving care, but backed out
and bounced checks. Another family said they had been told Moms on a
Mission would find headstones for the graves of their two young
children — a daughter who had leukemia and a son who had a brain tumor
— but the headstones never materialized.
Based on the accusations of financial mismanagement, the Moms on a
Mission board of directors is conducting an audit of its financial
records. The Kirkland Police Department has received a complaint about
the organization but said it is not conducting a criminal
investigation. The state Attorney General's Office is trying to
determine whether it needs to investigate or take any other action
because the group hadn't registered as a charitable organization.
Leach said that the group is now registering and that she didn't know
it needed to do so because it had already registered with the
Secretary of State's Office as a nonprofit organization. She said the
group is also registering with the Internal Revenue Service as a
nonprofit, which she said was always the intention.
Leach said there are things she wishes she had done differently in her
operation of Moms on a Mission but steadfastly denied that she took
money from the organization. In fact, she added, she often put her own
money into it.
Like many fledgling nonprofits, Moms on a Mission has had difficulties
— fund-raisers that flopped, workers who didn't pan out. The former
six-member board has only two representatives left.
But the board conducted a review of the organization's records earlier
this week and in its preliminary findings has concluded that Leach has
done nothing wrong, said Michael Bader, one of the remaining board
members. The other member could not be reached for comment.
Leach's only fault, Bader said, was a big heart.
"She tried to help too many families at once," he said. "She's getting
beat up by these people because she's not a bottomless pit."
Founded by Leach, her sister and another mother, Moms on a Mission
incorporated in July 2000, after the fund-raising effort for Kellen.
Leach said the organization has raised about $72,000 and helped 10 or
11 families since, people whose children faced medical crises, with
support that was sometimes financial, sometimes not.
At times, it was just Leach, researching complex illnesses for
distraught families, shuttling mothers to appointments and giving them
a shoulder to cry on.
"She just said something that I thought was a godsend," recalled
Marcia Jacobs of Sumner, whose 4-year-old daughter Anjuli died of a
brain tumor this summer. "I want you to know that we're here for you
and we're your family now," Jacobs remembered Leach telling her in
March. "I clung to that."
Leach's organization had a wheelchair ramp built at Jacobs' house the
day after the two women met. The group had Jacobs' rosebushes trimmed
and left her potted flowers.
But Jacobs said Leach didn't deliver all she promised. The diapers she
said would be delivered never came; the nursing service Jacobs
expected was never hired.
"I was at my most vulnerable point, and I opened my arms and thought I
bonded with this woman mom to mom," she said. "I just felt that if she
couldn't help us, then she shouldn't have made the promises to help
us."
Jacobs' complaint seems to be at the root of many of the accusations
against Leach and Moms on a Mission: The group came to them when they
were at their most vulnerable, dealing with ill children, only to add
to their woes by failing to deliver on promises, she said.
Leach said that she didn't make promises to people, that she only told
them she would try to help. And Moms on a Mission did help, she and
others said. The family that claimed on television that it received
three months of rent actually received nine, said Bader, who provided
copies of several canceled rent checks.
The woman who didn't receive headstones for her children, Kathleen
Edwards of Enumclaw, said she never had any direct contact with Moms
on a Mission. She said one of her friends contacted Leach for her.
Jacobs said that while she was let down by the group, she believes
Leach's heart was in the right place.
But critics say heart isn't enough to run an organization, even one
like Moms on a Mission.
"I couldn't find out how the money was spent," said Fred Taucher,
founder and chief executive officer of Seattle-based Corporate
Computer, explaining why he resigned from the board several months
after joining. "I think it's a very worthwhile cause, but it's got to
be organized properly. ... They had articles of incorporation, who's
going to do what, an organizational chart, but that's about it."
The group raised about $50,000 this year and $22,000 last year, Leach
said, but a holiday auction it organized was a failure. There was
infighting; her sister left the organization in May, and the two
aren't speaking, Leach said.
Her sister couldn't be reached for comment.
Kirkland police said someone came to the department with concerns that
Leach might be using the group's funds for herself, but that person
dropped the matter, and the department had no reason to believe
anything criminal was going on, said Officer Kevin Murphy. And Leach,
now a Shoreline resident, lived outside Kirkland's city limits anyway.
Police notified the state Attorney General's Office as a matter of
course.
Julie Rice, Kellen's mom, said she supports Leach but wishes she would
have stopped after her efforts for Kellen, who died last year.
"You know, you just can't help everybody," she said. "You can't play
God, and I think she tried."
Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company
MG
All I can do is chuckle at her name: Leach.
MG
*remove the block when replying by email*
Caelan
ittttttttttttt. Nooooowwwwwwwwwwwww...I thought we boooooooooonded. I
want some free shit. Give me some free shit coz I deserve it. </whine>
These selfish Moos should be thankful they got ANYTHING rather than
bitching and moaning about what they didn't get. Everytime I think a
breeder has hit a low, there is always someone who lowers the bar even
more.
Caelan.
ryouseika
<9adac9f9.01090...@posting.google.com>,
dippen...@hotmail.com says...
They... wanted... *headstones*. For their children.
They wanted to take this money which was to help *sick
children* and spend it on their *DEAD CHILDREN*. Am I
the only one still trying to figure this one out?
Didn't people, oh I dunno - make lovely markers by
*hand* long, long ago?
--
flaming cat
(I'm a terrible lurker)
Jim Paradis
>
> They wanted to take this money which was to help *sick
> children* and spend it on their *DEAD CHILDREN*. Am I
> the only one still trying to figure this one out?
>
> Didn't people, oh I dunno - make lovely markers by
> *hand* long, long ago?
Well... on the one hand, I won't begrudge *anyone* a proper
burial. If their policy was to spend their money on the
living, they should have said so up front. Instead, they
seemed to promise everything to everybody and renege on the
promises at the last minute...
On the subject of homemeade grave markers... a few years ago
we bought some acreage which included a cabin with a big stone
fireplace. Two of the stones which comprise the fireplace
bear the inscriptions "T.B." and "H.B. 4". I am told that
these were in the style of childrens' grave markers of long
past... the first indicated one who died in infancy, the second
indicated one who died at four years of age. Thing is, these
were *not* fancy ornaments, but rather plain rocks of the kind
one would find *everywhere* in a New England field. They probably
*were* produced by hand by the family of the stricken children...
--
Jim Paradis "Oh no, not another
j...@gurevitz.org Learning Experience!"
http://www.gurevitz.org/jim/index.html
flaming cat
j...@gurevitz.org says...
> > They... wanted... *headstones*. For their children.
> >
> > They wanted to take this money which was to help *sick
> > children* and spend it on their *DEAD CHILDREN*. Am I
> > the only one still trying to figure this one out?
> >
> > Didn't people, oh I dunno - make lovely markers by
> > *hand* long, long ago?
>
> Well... on the one hand, I won't begrudge *anyone* a proper
> burial.
If the choice is between me getting a lovely marble
headstone, and somebody getting a wheelchair, I'll stick
with a wooden cross.
> If their policy was to spend their money on the
> living, they should have said so up front.
Sorry, must have misread. I thought it said something
about the foundation helping people out while their kids
were sick.
> Instead, they
> seemed to promise everything to everybody and renege on the
> promises at the last minute...
>
> On the subject of homemeade grave markers... a few years ago
> we bought some acreage which included a cabin with a big stone
> fireplace. Two of the stones which comprise the fireplace
> bear the inscriptions "T.B." and "H.B. 4". I am told that
> these were in the style of childrens' grave markers of long
> past... the first indicated one who died in infancy, the second
> indicated one who died at four years of age. Thing is, these
> were *not* fancy ornaments, but rather plain rocks of the kind
> one would find *everywhere* in a New England field. They probably
> *were* produced by hand by the family of the stricken children...
And there's damn well nothing wrong with that. Nor even
the wooden crosses. And a lot more personal too. See,
when people say 'headstones', it brings to mind, for me,
a fancy-schmancy piece of rock saying "look at me! I'm
dead and can't see this, but screw it, I've got a fancy-
shmancy rock!"
But then, I've never cared much for the whole ceremonial
deal over death. And I'm religious, mind you. But for
me, once you're dead, who cares? It's over. A piece of
rock stuck over your 'old clothes' doesn't do anybody
any good. The money spent on it, otoh, could go to
many, many good things.
--
flaming cat
(I, btw, want to be cremated and buried - in a plain old
wooden box - either on the west coast of BC, or in a
little town called Rosebud in Alberta.)
C&S Marta
"flaming cat" wrote:
> (I, btw, want to be cremated and buried - in a plain old
> wooden box - either on the west coast of BC, or in a
> little town called Rosebud in Alberta.)
I fancy a plain cotton shroud, in the woods, so that I can be returned to
the ecosystem as fast as possible.
By the way, how do you know Rosebud? I'm in Alberta, and all I know is
that's it's a sweet little town with a kick-ass theatre company.
Cristabel.
Scott Amspoker
>Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 12:04 a.m. Pacific
>
>Charity head under scrutiny: 'Moms' founder accused of breaking
>promises
>
>By Janet Burkitt
>Seattle Times staff reporter
>A year ago, Laura Leach made for the kind of story the media love. A
>stay-at-home mother of six,
There's her problem.
>she raised about $70,000 to help
>7-year-old Kellen Rice and his family during their struggles with his
>inoperable brain tumor.
That's a helluva lot of money for pain meds.
>The spotlight she finds herself under today is much less kind.
>Families who turned to her organization, Moms on a Mission, for help
>with their ailing children are accusing her of backing out of promises
>and using the organization's funds for her own benefit.
And they expected a moo with 6 kids to get her shit together?
>"I've been really wounded by this," she said yesterday. "While it
>gives me enormous joy to help people, this has been very, very
>painful."
She does it for the joy. Selfish. [note philosophical sarcasm]
>Another family said they had been told Moms on a
>Mission would find headstones for the graves of their two young
>children — a daughter who had leukemia and a son who had a brain tumor
>— but the headstones never materialized.
So the dead children are buried in unmarked graves or what?
>Leach's only fault, Bader said, was a big heart.
Nothing wrong with a big heart. Her fault is a small brain.
>"She tried to help too many families at once," he said. "She's getting
>beat up by these people because she's not a bottomless pit."
Imagine that - a breeder taking on more than she can handle.
>Leach's organization had a wheelchair ramp built at Jacobs' house the
>day after the two women met. The group had Jacobs' rosebushes trimmed
>and left her potted flowers.
Perhaps they should have tossed a bikini wax into the deal as well.
>"You know, you just can't help everybody," she said. "You can't play
>God, and I think she tried."
So here we have yet another "human interest" story with families and
children and moms and illness and medical bills and rent and headstones
and money - no mention of husbands or fathers anywhere. Maybe they're
there, lurking in the shadows or something. Maybe not. They've been
shipped off to the island of unneeded men.
Scott Amspoker | Yields over 30 blasts or
s...@rt66.com | 80 gentle honks per charge!
http://www.rt66.com/sda |
flaming cat
@news2.rdc1.ab.home.com>, csm...@home.com says...
I attended that kick-ass theatre *school* for about a
year. *sniffle* I still miss it. A LOT. It was such
a fantastic town. Actually, I miss Alberta in general.
I'm back on the west coast of BC now, and I'd kill to
find a way to move out there (beyond my resources atm,
unfortunately) again, because I ... I dunno. Something
about the atmosphere was so much better. I've always
been overweight, but when I came home, I found out I'd
lost 40 pounds - and when I got home it all basically
came back again :/
I think my favorite activity was our tubing expeditions
- 5 hour tube ride, 3 hour hike back. :) Or was that
vice versa? Of course, the killer mosquitos ate you
alive on the way back, but it was all worth it.
--
flaming cat
(really, Really, REALLY misses it all)
Scott Eiler
The Lady Nea wrote:
> Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
> in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
>
Actually, I find cemeteries quite pleasant. I just don't understand why the
bereaved don't stick their relatives' remains somewhere more convenient.
>
> The whole "I wanna go visit" excuse is even more creepy. Do people REALLY
> want to go sit on top of their rotting, decomposing loved-ones, in order
> to have a chat? I mean, you can have a chat with them from anywhere
> special. What makes the piece of land where they are being eaten by worms
> so much more special than places you actually spent with the person while
> they were still alive?
Got me. After my parents died, there was some confusion over exactly where in
the graveyard the family plot would be. I still haven't found it.
> Fry me up, grind me up, release me into the wind. I don't want to be
> stuck someplace to rot. Grody!
If I have my way when I die, my remains will be divided into ten parts and
loaded into ten missiles of the U.S. Emergency Rocket Communication System,
originally designed for use in case of nuclear war. The rockets would then be
launched throughout the world, broadcasting music on an FM radio frequency. I
haven't decided what song yet, but the Fools' "Life Sucks and Then You Die"
would be a good choice.
If I can't have that, I don't really care what happens.
> --
-------- Scott Eiler B{D> -------- http://www.eilertech.com
Even Doctor Doom is aware of the awesome power that only milk commands!
It's bursting with nine essential nutrients. And drinking milk every day
helps offer the calcium a human will need! So drink milk - by Doom's
command!
-- Doctor Doom (scripter unknown, working for the National Fluid Milk
Processor Promotion Board).
MG
Nea) wrote:
>Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
>creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
>in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
Personally, I fricking loathe worms and other creepy-crawlies and I'll
be damned if they get to eat me when I die. Fuck the worms, I want to
be cremated.
>The whole "I wanna go visit" excuse is even more creepy. Do people REALLY
>want to go sit on top of their rotting, decomposing loved-ones, in order
>to have a chat? I mean, you can have a chat with them from anywhere
>special. What makes the piece of land where they are being eaten by worms
>so much more special than places you actually spent with the person while
>they were still alive?
Well, what family do for a deceased loved one is for themselves, not
for the dead person; it may just make them feel better to have set up
some sort of publicly-viewable monument to the deceased, a small patch
of land that is dedicated just to them. Also, it's sort of a societal
expectation that death=burial & visits to the gravesite -- even those
who have the deceased cremated will sometimes buy a plot & headstone
to bury the ashes.. I'd rather have my ashes mixed with the soil
around a newly-planted tree, but everyone's idea of what would be best
is different.
Karen Robinson
>
> Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
> in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
>
> want to go sit on top of their rotting, decomposing loved-ones, in order
> to have a chat? I mean, you can have a chat with them from anywhere
> special. What makes the piece of land where they are being eaten by worms
> so much more special than places you actually spent with the person while
> they were still alive?
>
>
> Fry me up, grind me up, release me into the wind. I don't want to be
> stuck someplace to rot. Grody!
If I outlive all my family and friends, I plan to offer my corpse to the
Body Farm for forensic research, assuming they're still around. If I leave
mourners behind, I'll let them do whatever makes them feel the best. I
don't care what happens to my body now, and I'll probably care even less
once I'm dead.
Karen in NC
CatWoman
>
> On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 19:21:44 -0000, n...@grace.speakeasy.net (The Lady
> Nea) wrote:
>
> >Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> >creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
> >in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
>
> Personally, I fricking loathe worms and other creepy-crawlies and I'll
> be damned if they get to eat me when I die. Fuck the worms, I want to
> be cremated.
<aol> Me Too </aol>
Learned from my dad. He was cremated and scattered at sea. We did
the graveyard cleaning thing for my great-grandparents as long as my
grandmother was 'alive' (she had alzheimers, so was not 'alive' long
before she died).
> >The whole "I wanna go visit" excuse is even more creepy. Do people REALLY
> >want to go sit on top of their rotting, decomposing loved-ones, in order
> >to have a chat? I mean, you can have a chat with them from anywhere
> >special.
(snip)
> Well, what family do for a deceased loved one is for themselves, not
> for the dead person; it may just make them feel better to have set up
> some sort of publicly-viewable monument to the deceased, a small patch
> of land that is dedicated just to them.
My SO's mother is buried - the father (and family) would go every
Saturday
to stare at the gravesite, then go to the bar across the road. Wonder
if they would have done it if the bar wasn't there...
The SO stops at the grave on his way home sometimes. I'm not sure if he
does it for himself, or to tell his dad he'd done it.
For me - I find it creepy also. It would *only* make sense to me if my
dad were in the graveyard where the ancesters are. And even then, I
wouldn't be seeing it much (it's up in the Sierra). I find
communication
with him whenever I go walking, or work on my house, or watch a silent
movie, or listen to music, or cuddle with one of my cats - doing the
things that I learned from him - and where I have some connection with
him.
However - doing that is *hard* sometimes. Like looking at pictures of
him - or any of my now-deceased felines. Maybe the reason for the
grave,
or memorial, is to have a place to go where there *are* no real
memories.
Diana
Corine Kling
SJ wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> The Lady Nea <n...@grace.speakeasy.net> wrote in message
> news:slrn9pnga...@grace.speakeasy.net...
> > On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 C&S Marta previously wrote in alt.support.childfree:
>
> > Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> > creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
> > in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
> >
> > The whole "I wanna go visit" excuse is even more creepy. Do people REALLY
> > want to go sit on top of their rotting, decomposing loved-ones, in order
> > to have a chat? I mean, you can have a chat with them from anywhere
> > special. What makes the piece of land where they are being eaten by worms
> > so much more special than places you actually spent with the person while
> > they were still alive?
> >
> > Yick!
> >
> > Fry me up, grind me up, release me into the wind. I don't want to be
> > stuck someplace to rot. Grody!
> >
> > --
> > The Lady Nea <nea AT speakeasy DOT org>
>
> Plain & simple for me. Burnt crispy in the cheapest container possible.
> Small hole dug in ground. Ashes dumped in, tree planted.
>
> Sparrow
I really want a sky burial, barring that I'll take extra burnt no embalming.
(Although I'm also considring the frozen solution)
Cori
flaming cat
miss.c...@fetusfelcher.com says...
> On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 22:19:48 GMT, flaming cat <flami...@home.commm>
> wrote:
>
> >I attended that kick-ass theatre *school* for about a
> >year. *sniffle* I still miss it. A LOT. It was such
> >a fantastic town. Actually, I miss Alberta in general.
> >I'm back on the west coast of BC now, and I'd kill to
> >find a way to move out there (beyond my resources atm,
> >unfortunately) again, because I ... I dunno. Something
> >about the atmosphere was so much better.
>
> one of several areas that Pete and I are considering relocating to.
>
> Grim
> Proprietor, www.altsupportchildfree.com and #childfree on Dalnet
Well, let's do a list of pros and cons, shall we? :)
Pros:
It isn't called Beautiful BC (oh aren't they clever?
they must have thought all of 5 minutes to get that one
:) ) for nothing. I have photos of Cathedral Grove and
Long Beach that you might like to see. I live about
half a day's drive from those places, and they're well,
well worth the drive. Cathedral Grove (renamed
MacMillan National Park, but in a fit of artistic
protest, I have resolved never, EVER to be caught dead
referring to it as such) is the site of some of the
biggest, oldest trees you can see on the island. And
when I say big, I mean BIG. I had a friend visit who is
fairly tall (around 5'7) and when she stood next to the
root system of some of the old, fallen trees, she looked
like a dwarf. What really upsets me is there are now
plans to *BUILD A PARKING LOT* out there. Why? WHY???
I've NEVER run into parking problems out there. It's in
the middle of nowhere, and people park alongside of the
road and wander right in. Right now it's fairly
untouched (well obviously except for the highway) except
for the cutting down of some of the REALLY old trees
that were dead and would eventually have fallen (and
perhaps killed someone) anyway. Um - where was I? Oh
yeah. Protesting. Anybody taking bets on whether it'll
be pay parking only? And whether or not "No Parking"
signs will suddenly spring up on the side of the road?
Well, BITE me, roads decisions people. Your idea
stinks. Leave it alone!
I think I wandered into cons, there :) The best thing
is to get there in the summer, nearing the evening -
when the sun starts to set and you can see it's rays
streaking through the branches - then you know *why* it
was called "Cathedral" Grove.
Long Beach is one of four beaches on the east coast of
Vancouver Island. It's not the Long Beach of the US,
obviously :) But it's very nifty - the surf is good
enough so the surfers are happy, but not so rough that
people (including children but if you wander away from
the bathrooms, you can usually find a nice, quiet spot)
can't enjoy it. The same friend I took to the Grove, I
took here - it was a 5 hour drive, we got there late the
first day, when I jokingly suggested coming back the
next day she excitedly agreed. Oops. :) It was a
long, looooong couple of days for me, not enjoying
driving, but even *I* had to admit it was well worth it.
It's wonderful. Lots of fun to take a couple of inner
tubes with you and play in the water *g* And miles and
miles and miles and MILES of sand to stretch out on, go
for a long, quiet walk, reflect - and photographic
opportunties galore. The one downside is they don't
allow you to take anything off the beach (well, assuming
they *catch* you... *whistles innocently*) and you can
sometimes find some nifty stuff (you know those glass
balls from fishing nets? there used to be tons of those
around there - of course everybody picked em up and took
em home ;) so now they're pretty rare).
Those are just a couple of examples of heaven you can
find out here. A few other pros are: they still haven't
built the bridge from Vancouver to Vancouver Island, so
we haven't become one giant bedroom community - yet. :)
We have several small communities with a couple of large
communities, so there's a nightlife not *too* far away.
Downsides: to get on and off the island, you have to pay
BIG time. The ferry fares are fairly painful. On
weekends there are often 'sailing waits' (for you non-
island-people, that's where you get to sit in the car in
the middle of July and watch 3 big boats take off with
everybody but you in them - ALWAYS take a book and a
cooler full of drinks with you when taking your car onto
the ferry :) )
The larger communities aren't *that* large, compared to
some. I often wish I could visit Vancouver, but the
travelling costs (in time and money) make it difficult.
I've also often wanted to try joining community groups,
but my tastes and their tastes don't exactly coincide.
I'm looking for, say, medieval dancing, they're
recruiting for the 4H club. :/ Okay it's not THAT bad,
but the best I've seen while looking for something to do
this year was a watercolor class, which is fairly plain
and simple in larger cities. I have a friend who lives
in Tucson, and I often feel very jealous at the
opportunties she has, living close to Phoenix - *and*
Mexico. :) I loooooove Mexico.
You should also be prepared to deal with 'redneck
syndrome', in which a good sized population of the
island doesn't realize what century they're in. Amazing
how many there are when you look around. Lots of fairly
backward communities out there still. Of course, if
your hobby is to mentally bitchslap the ignorant, then
feel free - I'll show you around ;)
Now the biggest two reasons for me are that where I live
- too hilly and dense. I like wide open spaces. I
absolutely loved standing on the edge of a field full of
miles and miles of blooming canola. I loved the good
windstorms you could get, even living in a valley. I
loved being able to walk ten miles, go "oh crap, I'm
lost", turn around, and see where you came from :)
Second reason: I hate the weather here. It's damp,
damp, all the time damp. Alberta has harsh winters,
it's true, but the houses there are built to withstand
them - and it's easy to dress against a dry winter - you
put on a few layers and you're ready to go. Here, you
throw on a winter jacket and it's still kinda chilly.
Throw on a couple layers *under* that jacket and you're
sweating up a storm inside. And I can NEVER get the
electric heat in our home to the temperature I like it.
I either wake up never wanting to leave my blankets in
the winter, or I wake up with all my blankets on the
ground, lying in a pool of my own sweat. Not pleasant
:)
Rosebud was, in particular, a good place for me, because
I thought I HATED living in a small town until I
realized what a small town really *was*. There was
nothing there, but a 30 minute drive away you had a 24
hour grocery store, and an hour and a half's drive away
was Calgary - there were often sign-up sheets in the
school's office, for all kinds of different plays and
dances and such. And if you didn't know what to do, you
could wander over to one of the dorms and see what
everbody *else* was doing. There was never *nothing* to
do. There was a campfire at *least* once a week,
frequent camping trips, movie nights galore, trips to
the nearest thrift and craft stores to try something
new... I mean, *that* is a community. I still live in a
small town, but if you asked me to name three neighbors,
I couldn't do it. Come to think of it, I can only name
one. I don't like it. And I don't like living in a
community that, despite it's trying to *look* big, it's
still small, but has all the problems of a big city (and
I swear to god, if they build ONE MORE FLIPPING FAST
FOOD RESTAURANT, I WILL BURN IT DOWN).
Ah, for babbling. How's that for answers? :) In short:
BC is a nice place, but I wouldn't want to live here.
--
flaming cat
flaming cat
Ruh...@gcentral.com says...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> The Lady Nea <n...@grace.speakeasy.net> wrote in message
> news:slrn9pnga...@grace.speakeasy.net...
> > On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 C&S Marta previously wrote in alt.support.childfree:
>
> > Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> > creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
> > in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
> >
> > The whole "I wanna go visit" excuse is even more creepy. Do people REALLY
> > want to go sit on top of their rotting, decomposing loved-ones, in order
> > to have a chat? I mean, you can have a chat with them from anywhere
> > special. What makes the piece of land where they are being eaten by worms
> > so much more special than places you actually spent with the person while
> > they were still alive?
> >
> > Yick!
> >
> > Fry me up, grind me up, release me into the wind. I don't want to be
> > stuck someplace to rot. Grody!
> >
> > --
> > The Lady Nea <nea AT speakeasy DOT org>
>
> Plain & simple for me. Burnt crispy in the cheapest container possible.
> Small hole dug in ground. Ashes dumped in, tree planted.
>
> Sparrow
Hmmm - maybe we should take the famlee route and try out
some *recipes* for our passed-on loved one's ashes >:)
--
flaming cat
"Ooh, this is good, what is this?"
"Baked Alaska With Dan"
*spit*
Scott Amspoker
>On Mon, 10 Sep 2001 03:38:05 GMT, flaming cat <flami...@home.commm>
>wrote:
>
>> I have a friend who lives
>>in Tucson, and I often feel very jealous at the
>>opportunties she has, living close to Phoenix - *and*
>>Mexico. :) I loooooove Mexico.
>
>Heh. Arizona (Tucson or Phoenix) also has a place on the relocation
>list.
As much as I like Arizona, the summer heat gets very old very quickly (as
I was reminded on my recent road trip). By the time I arrived in Phoenix
after driving across the desert from Oceanside, I was in a state of heat
shock. That's OK for a day or so but I can't imagine living with it for
months on end. (I normally visit Arizona in non-summer months).
At least the New Mexico desert doesn't have quite the extremes.
flaming cat
Ruh...@gcentral.com says...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> Corine Kling <ckl...@kevinkling.tzo.com> wrote in message
> news:3B9C206D...@kevinkling.tzo.com...
>
>
> > > Plain & simple for me. Burnt crispy in the cheapest container possible.
> > > Small hole dug in ground. Ashes dumped in, tree planted.
> > >
> > > Sparrow
> >
> > I really want a sky burial, barring that I'll take extra burnt no
> embalming.
> > (Although I'm also considring the frozen solution)
> >
> > Cori
>
> Sky is good, but the one thing I seriously miss is the ocean. If my ashes
> could find their way to the ocean, that would be good, too.
>
> Sparrow
How about embalming and *then* sky burial? >:)
"Hey, what's th--"
*SPLAT*
... I think I need to re-write my will :D
--
flaming cat
(religious about death, I ain't)
flaming cat
s...@rt66.com says...
> Grim <miss.c...@fetusfelcher.com> wrote:
>
> >On Mon, 10 Sep 2001 03:38:05 GMT, flaming cat <flami...@home.commm>
> >wrote:
> >
> >> I have a friend who lives
> >>in Tucson, and I often feel very jealous at the
> >>opportunties she has, living close to Phoenix - *and*
> >>Mexico. :) I loooooove Mexico.
> >
> >Heh. Arizona (Tucson or Phoenix) also has a place on the relocation
> >list.
>
> As much as I like Arizona, the summer heat gets very old very quickly (as
> I was reminded on my recent road trip). By the time I arrived in Phoenix
> after driving across the desert from Oceanside, I was in a state of heat
> shock. That's OK for a day or so but I can't imagine living with it for
> months on end. (I normally visit Arizona in non-summer months).
*ahem*
I should also mention that my Arizonian friend complains
every so often about the monsoons. Apparently, every so
often, God practices in case he needs another 40-days-
40-nights rain episode. :)
--
flaming cat
Seth C. Triggs
Scott Amspoker wrote:
>
>>she raised about $70,000 to help
>>7-year-old Kellen Rice and his family during their struggles with his
>>inoperable brain tumor.
>>
>
>That's a helluva lot of money for pain meds.
>
Apparently they're gourmet medications or else Rice lives in a rural
area and must have it mailed.
>>The spotlight she finds herself under today is much less kind.
>>Families who turned to her organization, Moms on a Mission, for help
>>with their ailing children are accusing her of backing out of promises
>>and using the organization's funds for her own benefit.
>>
>
>And they expected a moo with 6 kids to get her shit together?
>
"Well, cuz, motherhood is the MOST IMPORTANT JOB and Mothers are our
heroes!"
>>"I've been really wounded by this," she said yesterday. "While it
>>gives me enormous joy to help people, this has been very, very
>>painful."
>>
>
>She does it for the joy. Selfish. [note philosophical sarcasm]
>
"And, like, it's nice to see my name in the paper, but you know, I don't
want them to... I just want to do it for the joy"
>>Another family said they had been told Moms on a
>>Mission would find headstones for the graves of their two young
>>children -- a daughter who had leukemia and a son who had a brain tumor
>>-- but the headstones never materialized.
>>
>
>So the dead children are buried in unmarked graves or what?
>
The other thing I wonder about, why not get cremation or something?
Actually, since I am not dying, I don't know how the thing works.
>>Leach's only fault, Bader said, was a big heart.
>>
>
>Nothing wrong with a big heart. Her fault is a small brain.
>
Same with the recipients. Too many hands held out instead of doing work.
>>"She tried to help too many families at once," he said. "She's getting
>>beat up by these people because she's not a bottomless pit."
>>
>
>Imagine that - a breeder taking on more than she can handle.
>
Five'll get you a ten that nobody will ever admit that.
>
>>Leach's organization had a wheelchair ramp built at Jacobs' house the
>>day after the two women met. The group had Jacobs' rosebushes trimmed
>>and left her potted flowers.
>>
>
>Perhaps they should have tossed a bikini wax into the deal as well.
>
>>"You know, you just can't help everybody," she said. "You can't play
>>God, and I think she tried."
>>
She can barely help herself, let alone another person. At the very least
she should take Charity Organization 101 and learn how to document spending!
>
>So here we have yet another "human interest" story with families and
>children and moms and illness and medical bills and rent and headstones
>and money - no mention of husbands or fathers anywhere. Maybe they're
>there, lurking in the shadows or something. Maybe not. They've been
>shipped off to the island of unneeded men.
>
I guess they just couldn't come to the terms that they (and the fathers)
seriously fucked up their lives. For whatever reason, the fathers aren't
around, and the moos just can't *ditch* the kids. I see some Lil'
Sizzlers in the works here!
Notice that her surname is Leach? I keep thinking, "leech, leech"
-Seth
--
______
Seth C. Triggs The World According to Lefty
P.O. Box 1601 http://www.svamcentral.org
Buffalo NY 14240-1601 AOL IM- SethTriggs . ICQ- 8365635
"Don't drink and park, accidents cause people." -- Unknown
Corine Kling
flaming cat wrote:
Nahh, the turkey vultures would just end up spitting you out.
(You know formaldahyde's got to be bad if it makes you too foul for vultures to
eat!)
Cori
I think I'm going to have to be shipped to Nepal frozen to have this happen....
Ron Sullivan
Kling <ckl...@kevinkling.tzo.com> wrote:
x-no-archive: yes
...
>>
>> The Lady Nea <n...@grace.speakeasy.net> wrote in message
>> news:slrn9pnga...@grace.speakeasy.net...
>> >
>> > Fry me up, grind me up, release me into the wind. I don't want
> >>to be
>> > stuck someplace to rot. Grody!
Nuh-uh, that's not how I feel. I'm a gardener. I'd rather be
compost than air pollution. Hey, it's eternal life, or close
to it.
and Cori:
>
> I really want a sky burial,
Now that there are condors of a sort flying around again, I
could go for that too. I've quoted Robinson Jeffers' vulture
poem here before: "...What an enskyment!"
Ron Sullivan
Garden Editor
Faultline Magazine
www.faultline.org
--
If Eve was an afterthought, why was Adam created with a
penis?
Luha, a.r.c.
Debbie the Gruesome
youshould...@hotmail.com says...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> I also remember hearing about a company that will encase your ashes
> into fireworks and you can really go out with a bang :)
>
> no, really, I'm not kidding ...
> http://www.wowwhatawaytogo.com/options.html
You guys just aren't thinking big enough. This is what I want
(I actually contacted them because I wanted to send my Mom's
ashes up, but my sister and father vetoed it).
http://www.celestis.com/
--
---
Debbie the Gruesome d...@spamcop.net
"Poodles are space aliens who think they've disguised
themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl
Veronique
> > Plain & simple for me. Burnt crispy in the cheapest container possible.
> > Small hole dug in ground. Ashes dumped in, tree planted.
> >
> > Sparrow
>
> Hmmm - maybe we should take the famlee route and try out
> some *recipes* for our passed-on loved one's ashes >:)
Wouldn't that be gritty?
If you're cremated, you could have the ash mixed into a powdered
ceramic glaze AND the clay and thus *be* the urn.
V., favoring fossilization.
--
Veronique Chez Sheep
Love will get you like a case of anthrax.
Joann Evans
>
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> I also remember hearing about a company that will encase your ashes
> into fireworks and you can really go out with a bang :)
>
Oh hell, you can go all the way into space, if you want (Though I'd
*rather* have that ride when I can enjoy it...!).
Me, I prefer to be frozen (cryonics), but can't afford the life
insurance policy to pay for it, as yet. Otherwise, a simple, local
burial will be fine, thanks.
Joann Evans
>
> On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 19:21:44 -0000, n...@grace.speakeasy.net (The Lady
> Nea) wrote:
>
> >Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> >creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
> >in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
>
> Personally, I fricking loathe worms and other creepy-crawlies and I'll
> be damned if they get to eat me when I die. Fuck the worms, I want to
> be cremated.
Interesting. I have a friend who feels quite the opposite. The idea
of having her body toasted, even though she fully understands that she
won't be aware of a thing. She'd take conventional burial, or even
burial at sea, over ashes, anytime...
flaming cat
n...@grace.speakeasy.net says...
> On Mon, 10 Sep 2001 flaming cat previously wrote in alt.support.childfree:
> >
> > How about embalming and *then* sky burial? >:)
> >
> > "Hey, what's th--"
> > *SPLAT*
> >
> > ... I think I need to re-write my will :D
>
> exit one's body via the nasal passage!
Tee hee ^_^ My apologies. Next time I drop my imaginary
dead body on you, I'll make sure you're eating Chicken
*Ceasar* Salad.
--
flaming cat
flaming cat
@posting.google.com>, veroniq...@yahoo.com says...
> flaming cat <flami...@home.commm> wrote in message news:<MPG.1605d690a6cce7c29896c7@shawnews>...
> If you're cremated, you could have the ash mixed into a powdered
> ceramic glaze AND the clay and thus *be* the urn.
>
> V., favoring fossilization.
Ooh, good idea! "My what a beautiful glaze." "Stop
groping my great-aunt!"
*crash*
--
flaming cat
(Somehow, my mind just *always* goes the wrong way)
Critter
> > >Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> > >creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set
aside
> > >in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
> >
> > Personally, I fricking loathe worms and other creepy-crawlies and I'll
> > be damned if they get to eat me when I die. Fuck the worms, I want to
> > be cremated.
>
Rot for a good cause:
http://beacon-www.asa.utk.edu/special/bodyfarm/page2.html
flaming cat
n...@grace.speakeasy.net says...
> > veroniq...@yahoo.com says...
> > > If you're cremated, you could have the ash mixed into a powdered
> > > ceramic glaze AND the clay and thus *be* the urn.
>
> > groping my great-aunt!"
> > *crash*
>
> to have her made into the appropriate object:
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/stone/1232/Kitsch067.jpg
*sigh* Fortune City won't let you view individual
pictures (I HATE THEM for that)
--
flaming cat
MG
wrote:
>Rot for a good cause:
>
>http://beacon-www.asa.utk.edu/special/bodyfarm/page2.html
Aaaaaaiiieeeeeee!! Talk about a job I would NEVER want.
Veracosa
> Body Farm for forensic research, assuming they're still around. If I leave
> mourners behind, I'll let them do whatever makes them feel the best. I
> don't care what happens to my body now, and I'll probably care even less
> once I'm dead.
I've considered this alternative. I'm a believer in organ donation,
since we all know once you're dead, you don't *need* those body parts.
Also donation to science is a novel concept, but would be impossible
to consider if my husband were still alive. He'd be worrying about
"perverted med school students" or something :)
All in all, I favor cremation and either the
keeping/scattering/planting of the ashes someplace signifigant. If my
husband goes before me, I wouldn't want him buried (don't actually
know what he'd like yet...hmmm) because I like to move around a bit.
I'd rather just take him with me! Heh. That's pretty weird, too!
Considering that these days you're embalmed and when you're buried
you're supposed to be put into a vault (coffin inside a concrete
casing) I don't have the problem with "the worms crawl in, the worms
crawl out." I think modern embalming is creepier than nature taking
its course. Maybe I should be buried in the Egyptian desert! Nature
and embalming all in one!
Kathy
(who has never thought about post-life decisions this much)
Gallilea
> Plain & simple for me. Burnt crispy in the cheapest container
>possible.
> Small hole dug in ground. Ashes dumped in, tree planted.
GMTA. That is exactly what I've wanted my whole life. Cremated and buried,
with a flowering tree planted on top of me, so I can fertilize something that
will beautify the world. My parents think that makes me a freak. I'm glad I'm
not the only one who sees the beauty of this very simple plan.
Gallilea
Laurel
neaN...@NOSPAMspeakeasy.orgIE wrote:
> Am I the only one in the world who finds the whole "burial" thing a bit
> creepy? Rows and rows of rotting, decomposing, former-people, set aside
> in giant zombie farms... *shudder*
Not creepy so much as impractical. Why do I need to be taking up space
once I'm dead?
> The whole "I wanna go visit" excuse is even more creepy. Do people REALLY
> want to go sit on top of their rotting, decomposing loved-ones, in order
> to have a chat? I mean, you can have a chat with them from anywhere
> special. What makes the piece of land where they are being eaten by worms
> so much more special than places you actually spent with the person while
> they were still alive?
I would have agreed with you until a couple of years ago when I went to my
great grandmother's grave with my mom. My mom had wonderful memories of
going to the cemetary with her grandmother and tending the graves of
various relatives. It gave her a sense of connection to go tend her
grandmother's and her uncle's graves.
--
Laurel
flaming cat
n...@grace.speakeasy.net says...
> On Mon, 10 Sep 2001 flaming cat previously wrote in alt.support.childfree:
> > >
> > > Now, now. If you are going to do that to your great-aunt, you REALLY need
> > > to have her made into the appropriate object:
> > >
> > > http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/stone/1232/Kitsch067.jpg
> >
> > *sigh* Fortune City won't let you view individual
> > pictures (I HATE THEM for that)
>
> their site. Go here:
> http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/stone/1232/kitsch.htm#pinup
> And then click the fourth "Click here for picture" link in that section.
Unfortunately, most free providers seem to do that these
days. I know angelfire does it too, and I believe
Crosswinds does. Y'know why? Because people were
linking *directly to pictures*! I hear you gasp in
horror. No, it's true. Those cads! They've ruined it
for us all.
--
flaming cat
flaming cat
ct.news.cs.com>, mdon...@cs.comnospam says...
Question: would ashes actually *fertilize* something?
--
flaming cat
Gallilea
<flami...@home.commm> writes:
>> GMTA. That is exactly what I've wanted my whole life. Cremated and
>buried,
>> with a flowering tree planted on top of me, so I can fertilize something
>that
>> will beautify the world. My parents think that makes me a freak. I'm glad
>I'm
>> not the only one who sees the beauty of this very simple plan.
>
>Question: would ashes actually *fertilize* something?
Good question. I know a fair amount about the human body, but not specifically
what's left of it in the "cremains" state. It would, after all, still be
organic matter, which I assume would do *some* good. I do know there's often a
fair amount of solid bone left over, which has to be smashed, so I would assume
I could at least provide calcium, although I assume most of the hydrocarbons
would be long gone.
Gallilea
flaming cat
cn.news.cs.com>, mdon...@cs.comnospam says...
Well in that case, let's have our bones smashed and then
poured into the drum of some kiddy health pills >;)
--
flaming cat
(all for the sake of making them feel *better*, of
course)
Veronique
I read or heard just the other day that cremains are actually not
particularly environmentally friendly: heavy metals are released on
burning.
But someone has come up with a way to freeze and dehydrate the body,
then crush it to powder. The application is, I believe, perfect for
composting. Bone meal is great for bulbs, so I imagine the technique
would be especially good for literally pushing up daisies.
V.
flaming cat
less...@muc.de says...
> flaming cat wrote on Tue, 11 Sep 2001 03:58:06 GMT,:
> >In article <20010910223302.26848.00000249@nso-
> >Question: would ashes actually *fertilize* something?
> cremation. I just read in a New Scientist that there is a Swede who's
> working on a mix of high-speed freezing and composting for cadavers and has
> already asked the swedish government to be allowed to bury humans this way.
> It seems the government has no problems with that.
>
> THAT i the way I'd like to go, compost me and plant a great tree over me or
> give "me" to a wonderful bed of plants or something like that.
>
> Greetinx
> Aleks
> P.S.: But first, take away any organ that could save a life or two...
Humm... yup, this looks like the perfect way to go.
Organ donation, followed by fertilizing (Screw kids, I'm
saving MY fertility for the trees! - oh, that sounds
nasty ^_^;) a beautiful tree.
--
flaming cat
(of course, my PREFERRED methods are implosion,
spontaneous combustion, or going through a black hole -
just because I'm curious about what each of those would
feel like)
Cato
You know, Great Southern Life will write you a policy without any
physical. That is how I got my cryonics life insurance policy.....
Veronique
You understand, of course, that the downside of cryonics isn't the
money to keep your head in storage or the dubious science behind it,
but the fact that someone must be found who is interested in restoring
the frozen ones to life?
I lived with a couple of cryonics dopes. They'd do better to live in
this life and not worry about procrastinating until the next one.
Noelle
news:3c499a9e.0109...@posting.google.com...
> You understand, of course, that the downside of cryonics isn't the
> money to keep your head in storage or the dubious science behind it,
> but the fact that someone must be found who is interested in restoring
> the frozen ones to life?
>
> I lived with a couple of cryonics dopes. They'd do better to live in
> this life and not worry about procrastinating until the next one.
The comic book "Transmetropolitan" dealt with the issue of cryonics in an
interesting (and I think, realistic) manner. The story of Mary, a woman who
died in her sixties in contemporary times and was frozen, was told. She was
resurrected in a distant future, where the world had changed so much that
the first glimpse of it almost always sent the "revivals," as they were
called, into near-catatonic shock. There were hostels for these people, and
they were not generally well regarded by the rest of society. Yes, they were
restored, by people who couldn't care less, and no effort was made to
re-integrate them into society. The *science* part of it worked, but the
*psychology* part had been ignored.
It is one way that things could turn out.
--
I tell myself tomorrow brings me things I would not dream today.
--Jethro Tull
http://www.fastlane.net/~gnoelle
Ryenna
>interesting (and I think, realistic) manner.
Also, Larry Niven deals with cryonics in a good number of his short stories. I
believe he coined the term "corpsicles" in one.
-Ry
--
"Hey kids, check out my BONE SAW!"
-Manny Calavera "Grim Fandango"