Bye Bye, Betty 

Television broadcast networks began the full-scale upgrade from black-and-white to color transmission in 1960. It was the 70’s when color TV’s outsold black-and-white or units. So, when you do the math my birth year of 1960 combined with my formative years, and 10 years an only child make the television, and the 3 major networks and 2 UHF stations my siblings. And wow did I love them. My TV cravings remain powerful to this day. Social media, On-Demand, streaming, et al will never overtake my fixation for episodic, talk, game, cartoon, and variety shows which filled my days and nights with emotion, color, and wit. Perhaps that is why the death of Betty White, and we knew it was coming, has delivered such a gut punch, I am certain I am not alone here. Upon reflection, her passing on New Year’s Eve was a perfect closing scene to a career dedicated to humor, activism, and self-effacing style. 

I was the kid who ran home from the bus stop, as not to miss but a few minutes of Merv Griffin. I ran particularly fast if Totie Fields or Joan Rivers were booked. I was the kid who learned snark from the Hollywood Squares. I was the kid for whom they invented Saturday cartoons. I was the kid who would charm my parents to please stay up to watch Johnny Carson and later insisted my sister, 10 years my junior did the same. She did not succumb to the dependency on television as deeply as me, I do recall however her Sesame Street and Saturday cartoon hankering as pretty strong. But nothing like my desire to be in front of that tube taking in every show of every type I could.  

Woven into those shows, Betty White was omnipresent; a clever game show player, a perennial guest on the myriad of talk shows, guest spots on the plethora sitcoms of the day that filled our screens. So, her passing has allowed me to reminisce, and she’d be fine with that.  

Hey 55+ somethings, yeah you. Close your eyes and remember, the time with family watching Bonanza, Flipper, I spy, The Fugitive, Bewitched, Deam Martin’s Roast, Jackie Gleason, The Honeymooners, Mary Tyler Moore, Alice, Merv, Johnny, Dinah Shore, The Carol Burnett Show, Good Times, All in the Family, Hill Street Blues, just to name a few.  

Gone are the days of the busy signal, lying about homework assignments to increase TV time, not knowing who was calling and answering the phone anyway, two-hour phone conversations with classmates, family dinners, repeat TV season (Google it), playing outside completely unsupervised until dusk or when your mother would yell for you from the front door, or the fire horn sounded. These precious memories are wrapped by that awesome sibling, the TV and our favorite shows, personalities, and a place to learn good things and inappropriate things for kids our age. We loved it, we survived, and we have the skills to prove it, the art of conversation, argument, confession, forgiveness, sarcasm, comedic timing, and being present for all of it.  

Betty White’s passing has given so many of us the chance to remember, reminisce and rejoice in the fact we shared time on the planet together. We boomers need to hang together, as the culture of our collective spaces changes so rapidly. We cannot live in the past, but we can certainly acknowledge how lucky we were to have TV as a dear friend, and Betty White reminded us how special it was. So long, Sue Ann, Rose, Elka and Betty, and thanks for the memories.  

p.s. Say Hi to Allen for us! 

Deja Vu, All Over Again

It’s Déjà vu

---

 All Over Again

16 years ago this July, John Edwards delivered a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention, as he endorsed the nominee, John Kerry. Before you cringe, which has become a wide spread feeling when we think of Edwards post the 2004 election. Those uncomfortable thoughts aside, John Edwards delivered remarks which have stayed with me long after  the failed Kerry bid and the unfortunate unraveling of Edwards himself.  That moving oration has been memorialized as, The Two Americas Speech”. Prophetic, searing and wise, and in the 16 years since, I am sorry to report, America has progressed little. The Obama Presidency certainly moved the ball down the field, with ACA, and measures to lift the working poor. Alas, the incremental movements combined with a powerful Senate blockers, America is bitterly divided and not even at mid field. We are two Americas, still and now they are stoked with acrimony, resentment and hatred.

It is worth a look back, in order to truly take stock in the winding road which has carried us seemingly in circles. And, it is not lost on me that the Presidential Election of 2004 witnessed the birth of the swift boating of a political candidate. The success of the swift boat campaign saw its spread far and wide right down to local elections that realized slash and burn tactics, work. Sadly, the tactics have grown into a cottage industry of vile, fact less, insult hurling and debased election processes. And, here we are; name calling, Twitter clashes,  FB feuds and simply being manipulated by bots, targeted posts and paid shills, as the divide grows increasingly cavernous.  John Edwards was right then and he’s right now.

Edwards put forth the disparity in clear terms, Wealth gap, healthcare gap, education gap, housing gap and through his eyes, as a child of the south the concepts smacked with stark truth. This wretched coronavirus has revealed and amplified those stark truths in no uncertain terms.

Edwards said on healthcare,  “We can build one America. We can build one America where we no longer have two healthcare systems. One for families who get the best healthcare money can buy and then one for everybody else, rationed out by insurance companies, drug companies, and HMOs. Millions of Americans who don't have any health insurance at all. It doesn't have to be that way”.   Yet, the disparity remains and has accelerated under the current administration, as they move to gut the ACA in court. It is easy to observe the disparity in real time, with the lack of access to care, the brutal reality that race and poverty correlate to mortality, and  the lack of PPE and support at the front lines resulting from an over burdened healthcare system, and a feckless federal supply chain response, to name a few glaring examples.

Edwards said on Education “We shouldn't have two public school systems in this country: one for the most affluent communities, and one for everybody else. None of us believe that the quality of a child's education should be controlled by where they live or the affluence of the community they live in. It doesn't have to be that way”.  Yet the disparity remains, as we witness in real time what distance learning has revealed; the lack of opportunity and access to the internet for the working poor, the realization for many, that the role and importance of our underpaid teachers, and the function school systems play in providing nutritional support to students and their families, just to name a few.  

Edwards said on the wealth gap.  “I mean the very idea that in a country of our wealth and our prosperity, we have children going to bed hungry. We have children who don't have the clothes to keep them warm. We have millions of Americans who work full-time every day to support their families, working for minimum wage and still live in poverty. It's wrong. These are men and women who are living up to their bargain. They're working hard, they're supporting their families. Their families are doing their part”. Yet they are, and the big corporations are still taking advantage of them for the bottom line, at every turn.   In a recent piece by Jessica Lussenhop for BBC news (I urge a read)   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52311877. “These jobs for essential workers are lower paying than the average job across America, in some cases by significant margins. So home health aides, cashiers - absolutely essential, on the front lines, have to physically report to work," said Adie Tomer, a fellow at the Brookings Institute. "They are more predominantly African American or Hispanic than the overall working populations.”

16 years after The Two Americas speech we find ourselves progressing little but more importantly being revealed by a silent invisible enemy. Will systemic change emerge as the silver lining? I only hope, as I would not want to visit this on the next generations, the burden has been heavy. Perhaps the time is now to treat both the virus and the republic. The time might be now to reset and begin in earnest, the will and desire to rebuild one America.       

--

Carol Anne Costa 

DeVos Failed the Open Book Exam

DeVos Failed the Open Book Exam

Being shaken by the goings on in Washington, happens with greater frequency these days, as the election of the disrupter in chief is akin to a bull in a china shop. As I write this, Mr. Tillerson was shown the door. With that acknowledgment, I am confident the republic will withstand the pressure and pace of the chaos and America emerge bruised and well positioned to make meaningful moves ahead for the greater good, as I am a forever optimist, particularly about this nation.  So, as the public education of our youth took center stage on a “60 Minutes” interview featuring our Secretary of Education, Betsey DeVos, I was reminded of the value and absolute necessity to the general public, public education remains. Betsy knew of this interview and failed miserably in her preparation, as America was left with more questions than answers after Leslie Stahl’s examination.

What is striking is the complete avoidance of the opportunity to speak freely and openly about public education and school choice.  If only ideology could take a back seat for a while to have a discussion on the merits, I am confident that the differences would be dwarfed by the common goals. But let’s face it, when the arena gladly welcomes the blood sport, little can be accomplished, as the spectacle becomes preeminent in the Trumpian age of instant gratification.

Historic reminders

A gentle reminder from John Adams may help to frame the matter at hand, in a letter penned in 1785 Adams is unequivocal, “The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it.  There should not be a district of one-mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves.” Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a debate. This is a bedrock principle. How we get there is a matter for each person, taxpayer, state, city, and town to manage, fund and deliver.

The Education Industrial Complex

Education is faced with challenges each and every day. Sadly, some of the solutions, “so-called” have included broad brush, and bloated bureaucracies, bearing down on classrooms and teachers, which redound to our children. In the past several decades more pronounced tribal alliances have surfaced, which lead nowhere, except to a system pitted against itself, through antiquated governance. The creation of top-heavy administrations, enabled by phifedoms built and maintained in every corner of the nation also hobble teachers.  Not to mention, the curriculums handed down from on high, developed by “who knows”, as the education industrial complex grew and mutated into a behemoth, at the expense of our kids. Textbooks, resources, and software are no longer tools for teachers, they represent wealth to these gargantuan conglomerates which are tied to Wall Street, hedge funds and family fortunes wrapped in trusts. Far too often these companies dripping in money are perceived as saviors for school districts that are desperate for funding. Often times the immediate gratification of a short-term infusion of resource or money is too hard to resist, but those funds come with giant corporate strings and become like crack to the junkie and districts and administrators are hooked.  Yet, amongst all of that greed, it remains all too easy to blame the teachers unions and unfortunately, that push back resonates.  

Meet Betsey

Ms. DeVos represents more than disruption, she represents a moneyed and singularly focused assault on public education; quick to blame teachers and teacher unions and gin up the base who buy into the notion that fair labor practices are anathema to good learning environments.  DeVos and her family of billionaires set forth to reform education and broaden the school choice movement in America. DeVos comes from Michigan, as a member of the wealthy Prince family, her father a mogul in the auto parts industry. So, with regard to the Betsy DeVos “60 Minutes” interview, even I became somewhat pessimistic and for certain, shaken by her lack of rudimentary principles of education and its roots in the founding of this nation.

When asked to weigh in on varied subjects including, institutional racism, the underperformance of Michigan’s schools, funding and test scores. Her responses amounted to platitudes. Responding to pointed questions about Department of Education reforms DeVos offered this, “We need to ensure that all students have an opportunity to learn in a safe and nurturing environment. And all students means all students.”  DeVos also admitted she never visited an underperforming or troubled school in 13 months as Secretary, and this should alarm all of us. Perhaps, the 50- 50 Senate confirmation vote, with the Vice President rushing down from the US Naval Observatory to deliver the tie breaking confirmation was a harbinger of things to come.    

DevVos’s bio lists her as a politician, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and activist. Let us not forget her brother, Eric Prince, the founder of Blackwater, a colossal military contractor whose wealth burgeoned with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He now is the subject of questionable meeting with Russians in Seychelles. Make no mistake, this family’s political ties run long and deep.  A veracious GOP fundraiser, she earned the GOP National Committeewoman title in 1992. Her wealth allowed her to reach the upper echelons of GOP party politics and to her credit; she used her money and megaphone to grow the charter school and school choice movement in Michigan; arguably, a failing venture. This by no means is a criticism, as for a being woman in a man’s world she amassed and used her power for personal gain, wealth building, activism, and philanthropy. But, nowhere in her biography is the mere mention of real classroom experience or actual school administration experience.

Teachers and Parents are the Answer

My roots in the classroom began in the classrooms of the City of Providence in the early 80’s and then migrated to the parochial system when given an opportunity to teach in a Catholic High School. Neither of these experiences; public or private, would I trade for the world.  My respect for teachers in both educational forums remains immense I am proud to have served with them; they are the lifeblood of the republic. Although the bulk of my teaching experience came in the Parochial system, I value my contributions to education overall. As Thomas Jefferson, he himself an education reformer, reminds us of the value of the students in the public system, “…“to work out their own greatest happiness, by showing them that it does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed them, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.”

Inasmuch as the friction between the teaching communities is touted; parochial vs. charter vs. public vs. independent, it too is a red herring, as any good teacher (public, private, parochial, independent) will tell you, “It is in classrooms that the magic happens.”

If you truly want to fix the education system, beckon the teachers and honestly engage the parents and leave the bureaucrats to create spreadsheets.

My $.02

Carol  

Mad Mad Mad March

It's a MAD,MAD, MAD March...

I have some thoughts on Brackets....Read more on GOLOLOCAL PROV

Is it me, or is everyone just twisted? I am beginning to think we are taking the March Madness theme way too literally. If only it was just the basketball driving us to frenzy; but alas, it is much, much more. With each cold morning and gloomy dark day, I feel I’m beginning to morph into The Shining’s lead character, Jack Torrance…Heeere's Carol! This eternal winter is growing more maddening each day. And, guess what? It’s March Madness, so perhaps I will fit right in. Look, I hope not to step on any toes here, as GoLocal’s John Rooke is a master at sports analysis, but I shall wade into the waters of sports analogy if you allow me. Come on; let’s have some fun! Crimea, health care, politics, and the stagnant RI economy will sadly still be there tomorrow. Let’s see how the political brackets shape up.

Tourney Time

In my view the NCAA bracketology and political bracketology are kinfolk, as they share a spirit and many characteristics. They both have drama, bubbles, big money, a squishy selection process and my personal favorites, underdogs and the ever-captivating Cinderellas. And oh how we root for them—be it basketball, candidates, or campaigns—we get invested. Whether for voters or fans, the post-selection analysis and post-election analysis is always a head scratcher.

The bracket for the big dance is set and the battles underway, not unlike the madness taking place in the political brackets. While there is no North, South, East and West, there exist the brackets on the domestic and world fronts.

New brackets include the Healthcare Bracket (HC), Midterm Bracket (MT), Hot Races Bracket (HR), and the Wild Putin Bracket (WP). So let’s take a closer look...

Healthcare Bracket

Seeded in the Healthcare Bracket (HC) are the Millennials. They are a young, fresh, and seemingly invincible group, but it is their undisciplined approach that could be their undoing. However, they remain a fiery mass ready to run at Obama and the GOP. These young guns can make or break the ACA. They really don’t liked to pushed around in the paint and take every chance to return the elbows. They are a strong and unfocused group, but I consider them a real threat as they are poised to make a big statement in the national discourse. Look for an exciting finish, as the shot clock is running.

Midterm Bracket (MT)

This one promises to come down to several double and triple overtimes. The top seed in this bracket is clearly the GOP, but big questions lurk. Which lessons were learned last season? Have they beefed up the bench? Is that Christine O'Donnell I see riding the pine…? Better hope no one fouls out. Will those with the ball in the end be ready to make the money shot? In this bracket, the seeds are literally playing for the whole magilla: the Senate and the House. The eager GOP is drooling over Senate control and it is not out of reach. They lean heavily on the guards known as repeal and replace, and plan on a strategy of running out the clock. So the question is, can they pick and roll their way to victory? Tick tick tick…

Hot Races Bracket (HR)

Get your tickets now, as the early rounds in this bracket will be chock full of knockdown, drag-out excitement. Raimondo, Tavares, and Pell will be the premier showdown. Not to be outdone, the early rounds featuring Magaziner, Caprio, and Almonte promise to deliver as well. The always steady Kilmartin could get rattled in this one, as a guy named Hodgson has been practicing with all due diligence. Seeded here too are the many of the Cinderellas the underfunded, the dreamers, the idealists, and conversely, the big dogs and the Goliaths. Lots to cheer for and against in this baby—real smash mouth competition will be on the docket. Expect lots of fouls perhaps even a technical or two as they will play hard and for keeps.

Wild Putin (WP) bracket

This is clearly the most intense bracket. My intel tells me the practice sessions are old school shirts and skins, and we know what practice team ole Vlad is running with—skins all the way. He had to be told he couldn't play in 2 brackets at once; he is a selfish little man. The Putin plan is to overwhelm, take up lots of ground, hold the ball, spread the floor, and play an ever-extending zone. But this strategy could very well backfire, as his greedy style of play could energize and mobilize domestic adversaries (wake up DC) in hopes to quash the progress of a common enemy. It seems John McCain is in the house and he is constantly berating the officials. At first blush, #1 seed Vlad seems to have full control and a steady path to victory, but this is the bracket where the underdog American society may rise up with a cold war temperament and shock the shirtless Russian leader. This bracket is ripe for surprises and intensity.

Good Luck Friars

Sending much luck to our very own PC Friars as they take on NCU in the first round tomorrow in San Antonio at 7:20 pm. The one game prediction I can make with certitude is that Jim Hummell will be tied in knots…but I digress. It seems many will have meetings outside the office this week. Fret not, everyone knows and as stealthy as you think you are being, let’s just say timing is everything! I can hear the prognostications from here—everyone has a nuance, everyone has a Cinderella, everyone has deeply held thoughts and beliefs on how things will proceed, all in the hopes of either winning the office pool or cheering for their favorite 5. Time to enjoy the madness, as we await warm spring weather. GO PC!

Political Redemption RI Style...

RI is no stranger to scandal and redemption even though our RI scandals are old school (no Tweeting involved) they remain none the less juicy. Take our Buddy for example, he has risen from the ashes like the ultimate Phoenix over and over again; spousal infidelity, fistfights, fireplace logs, and Plunder Dome all in Buddy’s past. But, it is his knack for returning to limelight, prominence and politics that is nothing short of Poli Sci textbook material; the professor of the comeback by Vincent “Buddy” Cianci. Do the crime, do the time, spin it like a champ, write a book and move forward. He never shies away from a camera or microphone and uses media platforms to rebuild his brand on his own terms. His methods to date seem to work.
                              READ MORE on GOLOCALPROV

I hold these truths to be self evident…

I hold these truths to be self evident…

For those of you who know me, you are well aware of my propensity to opine.  I consider, in this order, my priorities, aunt, sister, niece, teacher, a public servant, citizen, and activist and usually it is the case my opinions are born from these which I also consider my duties.  But, I have remained decidedly and deliberately quiet on Newtown, as I heard very clearly, the voice of my father who endured my voluminous and boisterous opinions from when, I am pretty sure I could speak. He told me,  as he often had to do, “Be quiet and look and listen.” I am sure his wisdom and advice have tempered my thoughts throughout my lifetime.  Probably as much, since his passing. So, I have held my tongue for a bit in this devastating chapter of our history.

As the story of Newtown began to unfold and the details proved amorphous from the very start, I listened and watched. I did so with a physical ache in my stomach. I paid quiet attention as an aunt, sister, teacher and citizen.  Many times the coverage was too much to bear; I monitored it in fragments often while shedding bitter tears. I listened as veteran FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt broke down on MSNBC. I listened as Newtowns’s,  Monsignor Weiss spoke through tears to tell us of a tiny victim who was to be an angel in the Christmas pageant. I shivered as my niece said, “Oh Aunt, their presents are probably under the trees.”  I listened as a young grieving father described his daughter as a bright, creative and loving.  I listened as Victoria Soto’s family and friends described her courage and dedication to her kids until the very end of her life. I watched as pundits and decision makers of varying perspectives sat together on Meet the Press and quickly and easily found common ground, the discussion proved meaningful and free of rhetoric.   I watched closely as the pro-gun politicians and spokespersons for the NRA absent themselves from the conversation.  I watched so many reporters and broadcasters struggled with emotions in order to deliver this ever-changing and evolving story. I listened and watched our President console a town, state and nation, and I was buoyed by his willingness to draw the line in the sand and by doing so spurring more Americans to action.  I spent a great deal of time watching and listening and processing these events. It solidified many of my already held opinions and evolved others, but it also revealed many of my opinions as new truths. I took my dad’s advice and kept my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut, as this horror unfolded. 

But, the time has come to weigh in; as aunt whose niece and nephew are the world, as a sister who shares the pain and unimaginable grief of these families and our nation, as a teacher who spent a decade in a classroom and know too well the efforts those brave educators endured until the end, as a veteran courtroom clerk who worked each day with the possibility of being a victim of violent act ,  as a citizen and gun owner who is ready now to join the conversation and undertake and support the efforts to address the violence, sickness, cultural and gun issues facing each of us. I stand ready to act.

From the time I could hold a 20 gauge shotgun I spent every warm Sunday at the rod and gun club with my dad.  He was an avid sportsman. He respected guns and taught me, a young girl in the 60’s to respect and use them responsibly.  I learned to shoot a variety of guns; revolvers, handguns, rifles and shotguns and became pretty darn good at trap.  I sold the shells, I loaded the clay pigeon machine in the underground trap, I spent many a day commiserating with my dad ‘s compatriots, and yes I was an anomaly back then, a gun toting gal with a bouncy bob haircut and I am told,  an infectious smile and a wicked dead eye.  I developed a respect for guns and a respect for gun sports. 

With good those foundations, I can tell you without doubt or hesitation the following: No one wants to take my guns. It is an assault weapon. No one needs or should posses an assault weapon (if you are desirous to fire one join the military). No one needs or should posses high capacity clips and or armor piercing ammo. Gun shows are not a loophole they are a canyon. Everyone should wait some value of time to obtain a legally purchased gun. Guns are not solely responsible for this and these recent tragedies. Children belong to all of us, whether in a classroom in suburbia or in a public housing project in the inner city, each is a precious gift who brings promise to this world.

This is a multifaceted issue and we must examine all facets of this problem. Our culture is fraught with violence and in too many households the violence is welcomed in, into our family rooms and children’s bedrooms via video games, movies, smartphones and laptops. Stigmatization of diagnosing and dealing with mental health challenges coupled with the rise of domestic violence and bullying in our schools, looms large. Multimillion dollar firearms and ammunition companies who hide behind the NRA and empower its long reach to do their bidding are cowards. Our leaders have proved to be feckless over and over again.  Our Congress remains constipated and dysfunctional filled with weak pols who are concerned with raising money, serving special interests and planning the next election cycle rather than making principled choices. Deep cuts from the social services safety nets will only leave more at risk people with reduced treatment and evaluation. 

This conversation must continue on many levels and we all share the responsibly to return a wholesome debate and action plan to the fore. The time is now for action going forward. I end this rant with this question…The last time you dropped your child for a play date or a study session, did you ask the adults in that particular household “Do you have a gun or guns or weapons in the house?”  What you do with the answer is yours alone as a parent or guardian but, let us start this action in the grassroots of our own lives.

    

May their deaths not be in vain
Rest in Peace

Charlotte Bacon, age 6

Daniel Barden, age 7

Olivia Engel, age 6

Josephine Gay, age 7

Ana M Marquez-Greene, age 6

Dylan Hockley, age 6

Madeleine F Hsu, age 6

Catherine V Hubbard, age 6

Chase Kowalski , age 7

Jesse Lewis, age 6

James Mattioli, age 6

Grace McDonnell, age 7

Emilie Parker, age 6

Jack Pinto, age 6

Noah Pozner, age 6

Caroline Previdi, age 6

Jessica Rekos, age 6

Avielle Richman, age 6

Benjamin Wheeler, age 6

Allison N Wyatt, age 6

Rachel Davino, age 29

Dawn Hochsprung, age 47

Anne Marie Murphy, age 52

Lauren Rousseau, age 30

Mary Sherlach, age 56

Victoria Soto, age 27

Be Present

A Fall Day in RI…
When Alice Walker penned the line so masterfully delivered in The Color Purple by the dynamic Shug Avery, “I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it.” I wonder if she knew it would be a thought that remains so clear and so provocative, it would last like a diamond? For me, that line is etched to my persona. It reminds me time and time again we have to stop and take notice of our world. It demands that we all respect the earth in all its glory. It begs our consideration, our loyalty, our stewardship and our lingering admiration.

Today, I packed away my work and my politics and took a date with my camera, in my little corner of the world. It occurred to me that so many autumns, I have the great privilege, on daily basis of passing through one of the most beautiful corners of Rhode Island. I ambled about the Northwestern corner of RI and it delivered! It provided the chance to consider the vistas and vignettes of a beautiful place. When I happened upon the gentleman farmer tending his flock of chickens and the woman picking last minute flowers from her garden, it reminded me of just how hard folks work and worked to tend their land. It reinforced my constant contention to buy local. I passed several farms displaying coolers filled with eggs, a cigar box and hand written signs that saying: $2.50 a dozen, a robust bunch of dried hydrangeas with a jar that says “donate what you can”, a family out driving 2 majestic percherons hauling a gorgeous wagon, a family of tenacious pigs grunting and playing happily in a sty, and the idle wheels of tractors that help farmers grow our food.

Do I love the fact that I live where honor boxes are still used? Is it still very cool that I can run into noble steeds doing the jobs they were bred for? …You betcha!

Enjoy the photos and remember don’t walk by a field of purple or a herd of cattle, or a healthy forest or a hopping bunny without taking notice. It pisses God off!