HarperCollins sent me an advance copy of Melissa Fay Green’s latest book, The Underdogs. It was a surprise because I hadn’t requested it. But what a wonderful treat! I’ve read Ms. Greene’s Praying for Sheetrock and enjoyed it, as much as one can enjoy a book about racial bias in the modern south. Her latest book […]
This morning as I perused the local news, I saw yet another letter by a ‘concerned citizen’ bemoaning the fact that on Superbowl Sunday there will be more incidents of domestic violence than at any other time of year. Hogwash. That is a made up statistic by, who knows? Yet despite several years of attempts […]
I heard someone I know is going to start teaching school, and I thought, “hey, I could do that.” So I started looking at this Teach for America thing. At first, it sounded pretty good: teach two years in an area in need. I could totally do that. So I start the application process. And […]
Friday evening, Vermont Department of Children and Families social worker Lara Sobel walked out of her office building in Barre City, Vermont, and was gunned down by Jody Herring. Lara was a 14-year veteran of the agency. She was married and had two young children. Herring was also a veteran. According to WCVB5 Boston, Herring was well-known […]
I’ve just gotten home from a law enforcement assist. A caregiver is going to jail, and I was needed to watch a young child until a relative could come pick him up. As we waited together in the parking lot of my office building, the little one asked me to hold him, and I did. We talked about the dark […]
Sometimes ya just gotta blow your own horn. Today is one of those times for me. I am a child abuse investigator. That’s not quite super-hero status, but my feats of skill and strength are no less amazing. In a 48-hour period, I was assigned 7 child abuse or neglect cases to investigate, three of […]
To some, the work of a child abuse investigator can seem filled with misery and despair. It’s true that it’s pretty dark when you’re up to your elbows in a sex abuse case. But there is also much joy to experience in this line of work, if only you look for it. Many of the families I […]
Today is Heat Stroke Prevention Day. It’s designed to remind people of the danger of leaving children in cars. I know, we talk this subject to death. And yet death is the result for 19 kids so far this year. The adults responsible include a hospital CEO and a foster father. And who knows HOW many […]
Educating people about responsible care of companion animals is one thing we’re big on around here at Rumpydog. So when our “anonymous friend” told us about how so many of the families she works with have pets that aren’t spayed or neutered, we put our thinking caps on. How can we spread that message? The […]
Dogpaddling Through Life 