Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Movement to Disbar Mary N. Kellett

This article is utterly amazing, sadly for the wrong reasons. This madness has to stop. Thank God that Scarecrow got this audio clip.


And yet her Husband was charged??

Here is the article in it's entirety, it has to be read.

The Movement to Disbar Mary N. Kellett

by Paul Elam on March 29, 2011

by Paul Elam
[Special note: I urge and implore all bloggers, anywhere on the internet, to reprint this article in its entirety with a link back to this page. Please help me get this event in front of as many eyes as possible. Thank you – PE]

There are often times that we shake our heads at injustices in the world. Sometimes it seems to be all we can do.  And with so many problems in modern life, and their often systemic, intractable nature, it can be difficult to choose what battles to fight and when.  Because of this we have increasingly become a nation of head shakers, concerned about an array of injustices but often not knowing where to turn or what to do to solve them.
With that in mind we have an opportunity, right here and now, to face down and fight against a terrible injustice, an absolute evil, going on in the state of Maine.
Vladek Filler is about to face trial for a second time on the charge of raping his wife, Ligia.  He was brought to trial the first time by Bar Harbor prosecutor Mary N. Kellett, who has sought to imprison Mr. Filler despite the fact that she knows that there is no physical evidence that he ever committed a crime, and despite the fact that his accuser Ligia Filler, has proven to be a violent criminal, a liar who has been caught in false allegations against her husband, and a physical and emotional abuser of her husband and children with a history of severe psychiatric problems.
Ligia Filler has been referred to as “certifiable” by sheriff’s department personnel who she repeatedly threatened to kill.
Mary Kellett’s professional conduct in this case breeches virtually all canons of legal ethics where it concerns prosecutors, from intentionally misleading jurors to avoiding pretrial discovery to actually asking a law enforcement officer to refuse to comply with a valid subpoena in order to help her conceal exculpatory evidence.
All of this, and many other similar cases, have been conducted under the supervision of Bar Harbor, Maine, District Attorney Carletta Bassano, leading to the almost unavoidable conclusion that the problem is not just one rogue prosecutor, but one in which District Attorney Bassano is an enabling accomplice.
Additionally, all of these events have transpired without so much as raising an eyebrow in local news media.
Given the complicity of her supervisor and the lack of attention by local media, Kellet appears emboldened to continue this reign of terror on the life of Vladek Filler, his children, and other innocents who reside in the community Kellett is supposed to protect.
After having Filler’s first conviction overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct by the Maine Supreme Court, she is coming after him again, putting him through another trial on the same slipshod evidence.
Kellett is not pursuing justice; she is making a mockery of it in ways that border on criminality.  She is out of control and no one with authority over her is doing anything about it.
And given the hubris demonstrated by her actions, it is clear she feels free to proceed with impunity.
We cannot, must not, allow this to happen.
This is a battle worth choosing to fight, and A Voice for Men is not the only place that is happening.  Glenn Sacks at Father’s and Families, the nation’s leader in father’s rights advocacy is speaking out about this story.  You can also read about it at The False Rape Society. This article will also  be running at the-spearhead.com, with thanks to our good friend Mr. W.F. Price.
The organization Stop Abusive and Violent Environments(S.A.V.E.) has taken the even more significant action, sending a Complaint for the Disbarment of Prosecutor Mary Kellett to the Maine Board of Overseers for the Bar.
They have also authored a letter to Paul LePage, the Governor of Maine, referencing the disbarment complaint and making an appeal for an intervention on Mary Kellett on behalf of Vladek Filler and the people of Maine.
And you can do your part.
Write Governor LePage here and respectfully insist on an investigation to the practices of Mary N. Kellett. The message can be as simple as. “For the sake of justice, please assure that Mary Kellett is relieved of her prosecutorial duties and disbarred from the practice of law.”
Write the Board of overseers for the Bar here, and insist that they respond to the allegations against Kellett with an investigation.
Lastly, try to get the media involved.  Bill Trotter does crime reporting for the Bangor Daily News.  You can write email him at btrotter@bangordailynews.com or phone him at 207-460-6318 and ask him to consider investigating this story.
Don’t wait for others to do this, please, or think that just one person calling and writing is enough. That would be a fatal mistake.
When you have done one or all the suggestions listed here, please come back to this thread and simply put the word “done” in the comments, wherever you are reading this.
What is happening in Maine is only a microcosm of what is happening across the western world. So regardless of where you live, your insistent message to one or all of these people can help force them to consider looking in to Kellett’s activities. And make no mistake about it, Kellett’s actions, if unchecked, are a forecast of own future. We know this is a witch hunt, but because most are ignoring it, it will spread.  If we take this silently, we have lost in the most tragic and disgraceful of ways.
This is a fight worth fighting, people. If you are reading this, you could be another Vladek Filler, or someone who cares about him. Your children could be hurt the same way his children have And your freedom, even if seemingly secure today, cannot be assured for tomorrow. As long as the likes of Mary Kellett are allowed to practice predatory prosecutions against innocent human beings no one is safe.
And If she is allowed to build a career on doing this, there will be nothing to stop the same from happening where you live.
It is your future, and your move.

[Addendum: A Voice for Men Radio is doing a one hour special on this tonight, March 29, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. EST. You can listen to the show live here, or the archives are always available in the sidebar at avoiceformen.com.]

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Two eyes, two ears, and ONE MOUTH, get the picture??

Simply not in the mood right now to lie down and take it. I know that I have always said to ignore the stupidity of the foolish, but this time, I had simply had enough. On a great blog post by Grerp, a commenter decided to address me. My reply was too long to post there, (and believe me, I tried) so here it is.

I just couldn't let sleeping dogs lie.

“If these beta guys need an incentive to be "nice," it sounds like they weren't really that "nice" to begin with. You make it sound as though women have a choice between open jerks (alphas) and secret jerks (betas).”
And you would know because you where a guy and had to grow up with misandristic laws and society, right? I was one of those nice guys years ago. While I’m not exactly an alpha jerk now (happily married) I must say that I do not trust many women further than I can throw them. And there you are making ALL men sound like jerks. It never occurred to you that perhaps men did actually try and listen to the advice women gave them and moreover, that possibly women are the ones in the wrong? Good for you, egalitarian, try again. Please keep proving me right, you’re making my job so much easier.
“In the world I live in, most guys seem to be pretty darn nice, including and perhaps especially the ones who are successful with women. The thing that makes some men more attractive than others (assuming we control for good looks) is confidence. Confidence is sexy. But you can be confident without being domineering or selfish.”
This I’m learning and I have to agree with you on this one point in regards to confidence. As for being nice, right, try again, been there, done that, bodysurfed that concert. Not true, sorry. The issue I have is the world you live in, of course. You said it, not me, and all anyone needs to do is go to Dalrock’s Blog and read your comments, they can see real well the world you live in.
“I know you will tell me that I am wrong, that women secretly want to be dominated and abused by jerks. But that's a steaming pile of manure. It's a self-serving story that lonely men tell themselves to make themselves feel good about being rejected by women. It's a lot easier to believe that women just don't appreciate what a good guy you are than it is to take responsibility for poor social skills or to accept that there may be features of your looks or personality that are less than attractive to the people you want to sleep with or date or marry. (And no, I am not trying to "shame" you. I don't think success with the opposite sex need be the measure of a person's worth.)”
Hey, how about you take a look out the window and see the huge amount of women who traipse around with the lowliest of men and leave the ‘nice guys’ alone, hmm? 
Let me tell you this one thing, when you try to skew information that the average person can see for themselves, the only thing which happens is that your integrity takes a bath, period. You are the one who is projecting, and this isn’t the first time I have seen you do this either. I mean, you have women crowing over convicts for crying out loud, risking their lives in the stupidest ways possible. In Mala Fide has their stupid woman of the month award and I can say in all honesty that I have encountered women like this in my own life. So Ferdinand can’t get women, is that what you are saying?
Integrity, meet water. Rinse and repeat, right.
Not trying to shame me, nicely veiled, well maybe. And, for your information, I’m married, happily at that. You know nothing about being a man, yet you are trying to tell me about what it may have been that I have done wrong? Once more, how about listening, God, or Nature, whatever you choose to believe, gave you two eyes, two ears, and one mouth.
Get the picture?
If you had paid even a little attention to what it is that men are ‘yammering’ about, you would actually see that there is just a little truth in what it is they are all collectively saying. I can see maybe 20% of guys complaining about this situation, and then I would have to say that they should man up. Yet we have a whole sphere of influence growing everyday which is saying the same thing that maybe women are the problem. Yet you are more concerned about how men are getting things wrong so you can protect women and the sisterhood. 
This is the reason why feminism is losing legitimacy; you are making it clear that equality ISN’T your main goal. Guess what, others can see it too, I'm not the only one who has debated you in the past and I can tell you right now, I won't be the last.
Maybe it's you who is wrong, ever considered that?
 “I realize that being rejected is very hard. (Newsflash - women get rejected too.) On the other hand, it is not the same thing as having sand kicked in your face. It is not something evil women are doing TO you. Part of being mature is accepting that other people have a right to live their lives in ways that may not include you.”
That’s insulting, how about you take your own advice in regards to this huh? Sand in my face? Let me tell you a little something. In the Misandry Bubble written by TFH, he wrote about the previous ‘male-defenders’ of women who get fed up and then turn their backs due to all the abuse they take.
I was one of those.
I purchased books, tapes, watched videos, and listened and learned to everything I could in order to understand women so I could ‘alleviate their suffering’. I made sure I went above and beyond for the women in my life (one at a time, just to make that clear) and made sure I was meeting their needs. I had heard many a time about the jerks out there who didn’t do this and I swore I wasn’t going to be one of them.
There is absolutely no way I can describe to you the shock when I realized that women in the aggregate wouldn’t do the same thing for us men, while still demanding that we continue this very same behavior. Let me tell you this; men like me are the worst people for you to be talking to, because we see the sham of Feminism for what it is. We tried to understand you just so we could improve the situations between women and men and all we got was sand kicked in our faces, and I did, oh yes, I did. I know now that no matter what it is that we do, we are always on the hook. If this is the case, then where is your responsiblity.
Feminism has lost it’s legitimacy. Your posts here prove that point and in reality, they always have. Instead of speaking about women and how they may have dropped the ball, you speak to men about how they may have. You ladies all wanted the ball, you will have to take the heat sometimes, deal with it.
“Don't forget that this goes for women too. If I suddenly found myself single, I wouldn't have a right to blame hot guys for not wanting to date my 40-year-old ass or for failing to appreciate how nice I am.”
Let me tell you about the women I respect. I’ve only been on the manosphere for a short time and been blogging for far shorter and the amount of women I really and truly respect has only grown by one or two since I started. There is a very small group which shows their integrity every time they show up to a blog and post their opinion. Grerp, Hestia, Susan Walsh, Thag Jones, Dream Puppy (I've seen your posts at Dalrock, you have my respect) and a Spearhead poster who goes by Crella. I drop their names quite a bit because they surprise me at their integrity during a time where they could simply join the crowd of entitlement and they choose not to. If a man screws up, they will state it, but if a woman screws up, they will state that too. Not as an afterthought and with no use of the rationalization hamster. Your last address of ‘it goes for women too’ was a late addition. Men are going through issues and you offer this as an afterthought?
At the end of the day, would you like to know why we are in this mess? It’s because when men start off with saying what the issues are with society, women like you state the stuff you have. The truth is that when it comes to feminism, there were still men who LISTENED when women complained, and then LISTENED when they said they had enough. Then they assisted when the going got tough, even if it was in the background. Heck, I’ve been there and done that, my wife had to correct her daughter about telling her that slavery wouldn’t have been abolished if not for some sympathetic white people who helped them. She told her NOT to ‘hate on’ white people because of this. You think Feminism got and stayed here just because of women and women alone? The people 'below' always got a helping hand from the people, ABOVE.
I’m still waiting for strident feminists like you to listen. I’m not holding my breath. I did, and so many other men did as well. Our payment; sand in our faces. So please, do not insult our intelligence about how we may have screwed up in the past, we know where we did thank you, the question is, do you?

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

It happened to a friend of a friend of mine.



We've all heard different Urban Legends as we where growing up. Scary stories which get told and retold by friends, neighbors and acquaintances which raise the hair on the back of our necks and amuse us with their creepiness. Some of these stories are told as truth, they happened to a "friend of a friend of mine", you know, John Smith, he lived on Main Street, right? Don’t you remember John? The main thing about some of these sometimes chilling stories is the very fact that they can't be substantiated. We've only heard about the giant crocodile that lives in the sewer beneath our city, but we know of no one who has actually seen it or encountered any evidence of it. Furthermore, Steve in Denver may know about this crocodile in his sewer but sure enough, so does Dave in San Francisco.

These sewer crocodiles franchise don't you know, cover more territory that way.


With no proof of their validity these scary stories remain just that, stories in which people gasp at, then quickly return to their prior endeavors. The chances that any real danger exists to any one are remote at best so amusement is usually the outcome of such a tale. 


What does this have to do with Feminism and society?

 
Here’s the deal; Whiskey wrote a brilliant post about the current social climate between men and women and makes it obvious that there is little socialization for women to train them to see that the Eric Foreman's of the world are better long term partners than the Casey Kelso's. However, this socialization will not happen until it works into a woman's favor, which is one of the issues facing men today.

The thing is, that the socialization that matriarchs railed into their younger charges weren’t just suggestions, but dire warnings so that they could avoid the very real and serious consequences that faced women in the past. When the working world was made up of men primarily or even earlier than this when agrarian societies where the norm, a woman acting in the present 'acceptable' manner would lead to their wholesale failure. Men had the time to situate themselves, learn their trades and make a name for themselves, women had to keep themselves chaste in order to get the best men possible and where constantly reminded that this was the best course of action for their lives.


Being a 'spinster' today doesn't hold the same serious consequences that it did in the past. Women could literally look out their windows and see where the foolish minority of women ended up which reminded them as to why 'behaving' was simply a better and much safer life choice. Their mothers could easily point to readily accessable examples to drive their point home; "Do you want to end up like Lady Catskills down the street? Still living with her ma and pa at xx age?" And this example would be up close and personal so the reminder rarely ever left their attention.


What about now? Why do these socializations no longer occur like they once did?

With the advent of Social Services and No Fault Divorce, it’s easy to see that men are no longer required in their previous capacity. Therefore, the attention women put forth toward men are also no longer needed. Feminism ‘freed’ women from these shackles so to speak so finding an ambitious and loyal (read; GOOD) man became a thing of the past.

Now a good man is simply one a woman has until she get’s bored, I mean, Eat Pray Love states that happiness is the most important thing, right….right?

What of the negative consequences? Have these social services taken care of literally EVERYTHING a woman may require of a man in the past? Well…not quite.

Dalrock wrote about this extensively in "Post Marital Spinsterhood" on his blog and related some very sobering statistics on the topic. Turns out there are some very real and very long lasting pitfalls, which can befall women in this day and age. It also seems that marrying younger and finding a ‘good’ man is still very sound advice even now and big D has some stat’s to prove it.

But we know that statistics mean nothing to women by and large, their rationalization hamsters can spin this information in various ways to make themselves feel better and use the special snowflake platform to rationalize that this same fate won't happen to them.

Feminist propaganda also downplays these issues and places the blame on men so these unfortunate stories are never framed in a way that could be used as cautionary tales to unsuspecting women about the perils of "empowerment" and the associated consequences.

Due to their rarity, they can be seen as urban legends, negative outcomes which always seem to happen to ‘a friend of a friend’ or an unfortunate circumstance which you read about online or in the news but nothing which happens often enough to warrant any changes in a woman’s attitude or lifestyle.

FYI Ladies, the marriage rate is decreasing due to men looking around and seeing an increasing amount of unhappy husbands IN REAL LIFE, they are realizing that being a satisfied husband is fast becoming folklore.

So the warnings of the few sensible women, which are left, usually falls on deaf ears, dismissed as outliers, which happen rarely and couldn’t possibly happen to them. Women have little reason to ever consider the real unfortunate risks which are very valid possibilities in their lives depending on their choices.

This is precisely the reason why men's direct warnings are also useless, women look at the here and now and can't see the issues on the horizon. Womyn's media also preempts a man's attempts at aid, making it seem like his very real concern is simply a ploy to keep a woman 'barefoot and pregnant', chained to the patriarchy.

So long as the government can subsidize a woman's well being essentially, there aren't any issues on a woman's horizon to make out. Economic collapse as per TFH's Misandry Bubble is apparently the only thing, which will wake women up from this trance.

Women won't be convinced of their apparent fallibility until what used to happen to a "friend of a friend" or something they read about online once in a while then turns into something that happened to a person or people they know intimately and fairly regularly. To see and feel the negative issues facing this friend as she faces single motherhood with a dearth of ‘good’ men for support and drying up social assistance
(as thugs may be seen as exciting but useless during these ‘rough’ times) will make this possible outcome very real and something women will learn to avoid out of necessity.
 
In the meantime, sadly, warnings won’t be heeded. Effort and logic will fall on deaf ears and insults will be one’s compensation in attempts for society to see reason. Common sense will simply be seen as an Urban Legend, which has no basis in reality despite real world evidence that these negative consequences are actually on the rise. It seems that many are dead set on holding that apple in the vase until the hunter snags and captures them, even though letting go would grant them the sweet escape they don’t realize is available.

Omnipitron.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Crazy Omni sells SEX by the TRUCKLOAD....I'M CRAZY?!?!?!?! GET YOUR SEX HERE!!!!!



Interesting article, I had commented on the Spearhead about this and I'll repeat it here, I didn't think we'd hear reports of this situation quite so soon. I had actually predicted this situation about 6 months ago (I went by AMAX back then), once again as a comment I had made on the Spearhead and when you understand the basic concepts behind men and women in the sexual marketplace, it's not hard to see why this is happening.

Once more, it also shows why Hanna Rosin has her head up her @$$ in regards to urging men to "drink the purple Kool Aid". Sorry Hanna, men have already been drinking the purple Kool Aid for decades, this is what made civilization possible. It's just that now men are beginning to stop, more and more are seeing the truth about women. That's a choice we men have available to us, we can ‘opt out’ of society, we have that option.

See, Hanna Rosin and so many others in present day society, are suffering from solipsism. They believe that men and women have the exact same desires when they seek marriage and family. They believe that men, just like women, greatly want to get married and have kids.

This seems to be the basis for why Hanna stomps around doing her victory dance at the current plight of men, because she believes that men will have no other choice but to submit to 'female superiority' (cough) since the only other recourse would be financial devastation.

Sadly, (for her and her ilk) she is wrong, horrifically wrong and this article proves it in spades.

You see, men just like women, do posses an inclination to settle down with a partner and have kids, but unlike women, it isn't an intense drive to do so. In reality many men have one primal need; SEX, and this is what our hairier ancestors traded for with women in the past. The men traded their resources for access to a woman's body.

Pretty cut and dry, right? However, this information somewhat changes the game a bit now doesn’t it? The things that men and women value as important now affects their view and their choices in life wouldn't you say?

Consider even the social labels men and women place on each other in terms of what it is that either gender finds important. A woman who can't achieve marriage is labeled a spinster, but is there a well-known negative label for men who don’t ‘achieve’ marriage? If a man states that he never wanted to marry, how many are inclined to believe him? What happens if a woman where to say the same thing?

Isn’t a man labeled a loser, NOT for failing to get married, but failing to have regular sex? Isn’t that more the barometer in which men rate themselves and each other for the most part?
We've heard of the negative term 'Crazy Cat Lady' well, is there such a thing as a 'Crazy Cat or Dog Man?'







It all comes down to each gender's biological imperatives, men want sex for the most part, women want resources and for obvious reasons. The issue is that a man's Biological Imperative is much easier to meet that a woman's. However, due to the great need that men had for his BI, women where able to leverage sex in return for men’s resources. In the end, it’s a lopsided trade, but we men like sex enough to seal the deal. However, since the advent of Feminism, things have changed drastically.

You see, chastity, which feminism killed off, was actually one of the biggest assets in a woman's arsenal. Not just a few women either, when the vast majority of women practiced chastity, it therefore put sex at a premium and actually gave women much more bargaining power in terms of achieving their goal; marriage and children.

There was a documentary I watched once in regards to the Beach Party Movies and Annette Funicello stated that 'Annette was firm with Frankie in the movies. No ring, no nookie.’ That was a staple of the times, ‘Annette’, wasn’t the only woman to put her foot down to her beau at the time. Marriage was a man's price of admission for sex you see, and many men where willing to pay it, obviously. There where also social pressures which where applied to men in society and in religion for men to "grow up", mature, marry and have a family as well, that can't be discounted in it's effects on maturing males in our pasts.

When women followed this advice and remained chaste en masse, it also created a monopoly if you will. While not only keeping said woman viable (as men wouldn't want a loose woman) it also made sure that men had no alternative BUT to get married if they wanted sex. Where else could men go to get that itch scratched right?

So with this goal in mind and social pressure to grow up, men had plenty of good reasons to be upstanding citizens and contribute to society. The better educated and higher their earning potential, the prettier the girl they could possibly get and therefore (it is surmised) the more satisfying the roguring would be.

How about now, what has happened in light of feminism? Well, what these women are experiencing is simply the realization of differing biological imperatives as they compete for dominance. Marriage is a very steep proposition for a man, it always has been in reality, but with sex being the price for admission, it all seemed worth it in the end. Now that men can get sex for free, why pay that extra fee? Why would a man now pay that steep price of marriage when HIS needs are being taken care of now? What precisely in marriage in addition to sex benefits men now? Besides the veritable minefield it has become which poses distinct and real dangers in Marriage 2.0, marriage and commitment to a woman doesn't give a man any real benefit making it worth his while.

See what I'm getting at?

Even if a woman decides that she is fed up and gives an ultimatum, what sort of leverage does she have now? The woman in the article left her boyfriend since he wouldn't commit, but the reality is that he WILL be able to replace her, it's only a matter of time. The evidence is there, she LEFT him, she didn’t marry him, what does that say about the power dynamic between the two?

Take this quote from the article;

“…because men will work for sex.”

And this is very true, however…consider this; because chastity is seen as such a patriarchal and controlling fixation and now since sex is given away at such a low premium, where is a man's requirement to amount to anything significant? What does a man lose if he decides that Call Of Duty part 14 is worth more than pleasing his girlfriend? What work does a man HAVE to do now?

In this market…he doesn’t lose much, nor does he have to do much, sorry ladies, but hey, Feminism has given you so much right??? Right???

Thanks to Feminism, women have lost the biggest piece of leverage they had on men and it could take a combined effort of pretty much all women to keep their legs closed in order to get this leverage back. Women, in all absolute honesty, haven't the foggiest of how screwed they really are in terms of the fallout from feminism. By not giving a sh!t about the plight of men while making marriage an intolerably dangerous and miserable proposition for men (while it's still a very vaulted state for women, c'mon, how many magazines are printed for marriage for men? GROW UP!!)  while giving sex away for free, they have shot themselves in the foot in one of the worst ways imaginable. Moreover, as the economy continues its slide, it will ONLY get worse.

Supply and Demand, it can really blow sometimes.

Omnipitron
 



Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The older I get, the smarter my parents become...heh..heh...heh




Just had a great talk with my parents. My Mom is doing great and it's awesome to speak to her again. After I was done, I spoke to my Dad. I will be talking to him on Friday so he can give my some renovation advice (which I can use fo sho) and possibly come over and give me a little what for!! Heck, do you have any idea of how stoked I am to show my Dad how many tools I now have?? I'm actually looking forward to renovating my basement with my Dad's help, and even cooking dinner for him when I'm done. Heck, I can't wait to show him all the tools I have in my basement workshop, if you can call it that. We're going to send it HARD, man I wish I had listened to him when I was younger!!!!

I'll tell you now, in terms of eating crow, you will either do it when you are young, or you will do it later, but either way, you will do it. Your parents are right, and you, sorry, you...is...wrong!!! My older sister, my younger brother and I all at the same time told my parents that they where right the whole time about 9 years ago, and my parents where gracious enough at the time NOT to turn the knife in the wound. 

My father, the man who after all of these years I realized that he had done a lot more for me than I had actually figured. Well, during my amazing talk with my Dad, he retold a story which I never forgot. I can still remember when he had told me this story the very frist time when I was only 7 or so. An old Jamaican tale which has become a mainstay in Omnipitron's psyche. Sans Patoi of course.

"There was an echo in the woods which knew all and a smart alack kid wanted to outsmart the all-knowing echo, he caught a live bird and then approached the woods.

'All knowing echo, what do I have in my hands?' He said as he held the bird behind his back.

'Why young man, you have a bird in your hand.' The all knowing echo answered.

The Young man smiled.

'Tell me, is the bird alive or dead?' he answered smugly.


The plan was in motion; if the echo said 'alive' he would crush the bird in his hand, killing it. If the echo said 'dead' he would relax his grip and let the bird go free and fly away. So his smile got even larger as he awaited the echo's answer.

'It all depends on you!!' The echo answered.

The young man was stymied!!"

The moral which my father had bestowed upon me; whether people like it or not, is that WE are responsible for our own lives and our own outcomes. I told my father that even though I listened to him telling this story for the millionth time in my life, I loved listening to him tell that story. It's even more true now than when it was when he had first told me. How many men can say that they had a father like that in their lives when it mattered?

It made me who I am. I wonder how many boys can say that now. Do yourself a favour for the men who had a great father in their lives, give him a huge bear hug when you see him next, yeah?

Omnipitron