Trenton and Melinda Duckett

This story has gotten so much play in our area. Hell, it's a national story especially since "America's Most Wanted" aired the story on Sept. 23rd.

The Ocala National Forest in Marion County has been searched for 2 year old Trenton's body. Nothing found, but frankly no one expects him to be alive. It feels like his mother killed him and disposed his body. She killed herself and the boy has not been found. Too sad.

The Media and Me

I haven't been blogging for several days. And I blame the media.

Okay, it's not the media. It's me.

I've been involved in a project that has recently garnered a lot of local print and broadcast media attention. This has taken a considerable amount of my 'free' time and too much of my concentration.

My job involves a lot of working with management to, essentially, assist in quality controls. I usually manage to do this on confidential basis and I work best when the media isn't asking a lot of questions. But the media have their jobs and I have mine. Trying to reconcile the two can be difficult.

I'll be back soon. Maybe even today.

Two mysteries

There have been two mysteries in Lake County, which shares a border with Marion.

A young mother's 2 year old son was reportedly abducted on 8/27. She was separated from her husband. He took and passed a polygraph. She refused.

Yesterday afternoon, 9/08, she killed herself.

According to police, she refused to take a polygraph examination, but her estranged husband, Joshua, not only took the test 24 hours after the child's reported disappearance, but investigators said they were "satisfied with his responses."Her refusal to take the lie detector test thrust her into the limelight, especially when police began asking the public to call them if they saw her or Joshua with Trenton on that weekend. Detectives are trying to verify their investigative timeline.

All very sad. And too similar to Susan Smith.

Election Update

I made my choices and I stand by them.

Voted for Charlie Crist because he and I are on the same page on most important issues. I respect Gallagher, regardless of potential ethical lapses. Frankly, it's only a significant issue because he's a Republican. I respect him also for campaigning with Crist and Gov Bush. Gallagher obviously knows what's important.

Voted for Katherine Harris. She's not the candidate I would have chosen to run for Senate. However, I've respected her since 2000 election. She had more balls than any Democrat and too many Republicans. This was reinforced this year when so many other good candidates refused to run against the incumbent. She waited, but when wuss after wuss declined to run, why not her? I wish she had stayed in Congress for a couple more terms, but she's shown courage in her bid. Will McBride may have been the better choice, but he's not yet been tried by fire. Harris has been. She deserves her chance.

An election tomorrow

Damn it, now I must make several decisions. I've been on the fence for a couple of 'big' seats, but now I have to get off. It was more comfortable on the fence.

It's a little easier to choose which local judges to vote for. If they've been prosecutors for several years, or many years in law enforcement, they get my vote. There are enough former public defenders, criminal lawyers and corporate law types already on the bench.

Religion of Peace, My Ass! (Part 13)

Michelle Malkin posts about the 2 Fox news guys who were kidnapped and returned after being forcefully "converted" to Islam. There probably were other reasons for the returns.

Contrast how quiet the MSM is about the forced conversion by supposed Christians by Muslims, but how loudly were the allegations of Korans being defiled at Gitmo. Contrast also how quiet the American Muslim groups are about this issue. Moderate practitioners of the 'religion of peace,' my ass.

Update

Florida Cracker has great post about the cowardice of the media, including the Fox reporter.

Antimedia takes Muslim 'hypocrites' to task on Islam's inherent abuse of women.

A funeral

I attended a funeral for a co-worker on Saturday afternoon.

She died after fighting cancer for a few months.

She was 47 years old. Divorced, no children. Small family. But funeral services were very well attended.

Tough, professional and focused at work. Exuberant, fun-loving away from work.

We all have stories about her, though most involved work. But one came from a former high school boyfriend, who gave an impromptu affirmation of her life.

He said she died young, yet had really lived while on this earth. Could many of us say the same, he asked. His personal answer was no. Divorced twice and a workaholic, he couldn't say he was really living a life. So he had just made plans to go on the type of vacation she would have had. He was leaving right after the funeral. He was her age, yet had lots of living to catch up on.

That was true of most of us there.

You will continue to be missed...and remembered...Karen.

A problem for some, yet...

...an opportunity for many at University of Florida. A "mechanical glitch ruins sperm stored at UF center."

Thousands of vials of anonymous sperm donations used by couples with fertility problems were also lost, said Dr. R. Stan Williams, chief of the UF medical college's division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. "Our anonymous donor sperm bank is essentially wiped out," he said.

Where, oh where, will they ever find replacements?