Friday I was sent subject tags to write a news article for another site. To tell you the truth I found the links boring and was not inspired to write. After I read a brief news story that was not on their list, I decided to blog about it and then sent it in.  By 2 pm that little news story I had submitted at 10 am was number 7 on the “Yahoo Trending List”. My rendition however was still sitting in their pending section. Silence and hours of pending to me meant that they had no interest in the article. All I could think of was that doing right out of the box was just too much for them.

When I started out in the fashion business I was continually reprimanded on my clothing choices. I was accused of being "too way out there" even though some of my style choices came into fashion months later.  When I had my store, by the time other retailers picked up on the trends I featured I was on to something new.

Several people explained to me why I was different and I wondered if they were right. My friend journalist Wanita Bates told me that some people have a feel about things and that she and I were in that category.

I am absolutely never going to change nor am I going to bend. So I chalked it up to an editor rejection and went to bed. The next morning I got an email notice saying it had been published. They reminded me that their tags are important but they loved the way I told the story and tweeted it.

I will always continue to do it my way as Frank Sinatra sang and "regrets I have few".  Sometimes you just have to stand tall for all those that are different and do things out of the box. Actually being outside the box isn't that bad at all as it seems that is where all of us AB positives types hang out.

Independence Mo. Police Open Fire on Alligator Lawn Ornament

Hot of the press from Kansas City, Mo.  Friday was, in a Barney Fife moment, the local police shot and damaged a huge reptile. Responding to a rare sighting in a subdivision near a local pond, they had been advised by a conservation agent to kill the gator if it posed a threat.

When they fired the second bullet that bounced off the reptile’s head, the police finally realized they might have something else on their hands. It was growing dark at the time and the gator was partially submerged in the weeds.  It was now a warning call for all property owners to remove their pink flamingo from their lawns less they be used as target practice.

The property owner who was quite angry was then advised he might have a few repairs on his hands regarding his lawn gator.  He told the police that the concrete gator was meant to keep people off his property. Officers guilty of not asking the gator for his license first advised the man that maybe a no-trespassing sign might have been  better.

One has to ask themselves how many wild alligators are running around in Kansas City.  Did they think it was a tornado gator blown in from parts unknown? As with a lot of questionable police behavior the method here was to shoot first and ask questions later. There was no mention of a warrant or a call to the property owner ahead of time. The residents of the city agreed that when the lawn gnomes rise up and take over the world it is reassuring to know we have people that can handle it.

When police officers were seen leaving the scene they were patting each other on the back shouting,

 “Mission Accomplished!”

 As I read the news article all I could think of was,

"Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you!"

Linda Seccaspina 2011

Picture of gator 1 actual shot of damaged lawn ornament

Picture of gator 2 is actually a gator garden ornament 2 blocks from where I live.