Random Comments (RH)

[Henry Hawk]

Nope, I don't think they are prepared! They are holding out hope.

I don't know all the circumstances, but I find it kind of hard to understand WHY two 14-year old kids were out at sea, by themselves in the first place.....maybe I am being too much of a worry wart, but I could NEVER have allowed my kids at that age, despite how mature and good of a boat person they were, to take on the sea at that age, unaccompanied by an adult, who was very knowledgeable at this. 
But, my heart goes out to them...like PH said, NO PARENT should EVER have to bury their own kid....it is just a story that is looking more and more like a sad ending.

[Exterminator]

I don't know all the circumstances, but I find it kind of hard to understand WHY two 14-year old kids were out at sea, by themselves in the first place.....maybe I am being too much of a worry wart, but I could NEVER have allowed my kids at that age, despite how mature and good of a boat person they were, to take on the sea at that age, unaccompanied by an adult, who was very knowledgeable at this.

[Purplelady1040]

I don't know all the circumstances, but I find it kind of hard to understand WHY two 14-year old kids were out at sea, by themselves in the first place.....maybe I am being too much of a worry wart, but I could NEVER have allowed my kids at that age, despite how mature and good of a boat person they were, to take on the sea at that age, unaccompanied by an adult, who was very knowledgeable at this. 
But, my heart goes out to them...like PH said, NO PARENT should EVER have to bury their own kid....it is just a story that is looking more and more like a sad ending.

According to the parents, the kids grew up on boats and knowing all about them before they were even walking well! They compared it to those who let their kids hunt or farm at that age.
But I agree, I would never let our son on our boat alone!

[Locutus]

The USCG is suspending the search at sunset today. 

[Locutus]

I don't know all the circumstances, but I find it kind of hard to understand WHY two 14-year old kids were out at sea, by themselves in the first place.....maybe I am being too much of a worry wart, but I could NEVER have allowed my kids at that age, despite how mature and good of a boat person they were, to take on the sea at that age, unaccompanied by an adult, who was very knowledgeable at this. 
But, my heart goes out to them...like PH said, NO PARENT should EVER have to bury their own kid....it is just a story that is looking more and more like a sad ending.

Agreed all the way around HH.  Stories here locally are stating that the boys didn't have permission to go beyond the inlet.  The parents supposedly had no knowledge that the boys would venture into the open ocean on their own. 

Most children don't like rules, but this is one example of children disobeying the rules where the consequences of their defiance appear to be deadly. 

[Exterminator]

Agreed all the way around HH.  Stories here locally are stating that the boys didn't have permission to go beyond the inlet.  The parents supposedly had no knowledge that the boys would venture into the open ocean on their own.

This story has changed.  When they first went missing, I read where one of the parents said they were heading to the Bahamas to fish...that's 50 miles of open water...in the Bermuda triangle!

[Exterminator]

Read on Facebook:

My thoughts on Cecil.

A toddler who hurts a puppy because he doesn't understand that the puppy is sentient can be forgiven. If trophy hunters and bullfighters viewed the animals they killed as mere unfeeling clusters of cells in animal shapes, their actions could be viewed not sympathetically, but at least differently.

But in the trophy hunter and bullfighter, the sentience and emotional character of the prey is central to, absolutely essential to, the lurid pleasure he takes in killing. Read almost any work by Hemingway, and there it is. The animal's courage, cunning, endurance, his deep capacity to experience fear and pain and pride and anger and compassion, love of his babies and mate and his own life, the dignity with which he fights beyond exhaustion to save himself, are exactly why trophy hunters seek him, and why his killing is so satisfying to them. The killer measures himself by the sentience and valor of the animal killed, by the size of its character, and the desperation with which the animal tries to survive him.

I killed a lion, says he; therefore, I am leonine.

In destroying creatures so rich in character, in destroying those attributes that make them precious, trophy hunters pretend they are demonstrating the same attributes in themselves, but in superior measure. It is, of course, an immense and childish lie, a fantasy: The hunter does not meet the animal in a fair fight, virtue to virtue. With the gun or bow or dagger or bear trap, the paid guides who track the animal for him, the safe and comfortable refuge of the jeep that carries him, the dragged carcass that lures the animal from safety, he renders his own virtue meaningless. He need not be brave, nor strong, nor cunning, and by virtue of the rigged contest, the animal is deprived of the chance to display those strengths so amply available in himself. The kill is nothing more than movement of a finger on a trigger. In this game of pretend valor, the hunter does nothing but step out of a car and stand where he's told to, and the helpless animal's life is ended for nothing more than the vanity of the pampered, self-aggrandizing coward with the gun.

This is what is most horrifying to me. To recognize and celebrate the inherent and immense value of another creature, and for that very reason to take gleeful pleasure in killing it, to parade the evidence of the kill in the form of a mutilated head mounted over a hearth, or a photo of the hunter grinning with puffed-up "masculinity" over a precious life extinguished, is truly monstrous. The attributes the trophy hunter revels in extinguishing are the same attributes we most treasure in ourselves and other human beings. Think about how terrifying that fact is. These men and women are not hunters. They are murderers.

[Locutus]

This story has changed.  When they first went missing, I read where one of the parents said they were heading to the Bahamas to fish...that's 50 miles of open water...in the Bermuda triangle!

Yeah, I heard that exact same thing early on myself, but the parents came out pretty quickly in trying to debunk that.   

[Henry Hawk]

Read on Facebook:

My thoughts on Cecil.

A toddler who hurts a puppy because he doesn't understand that the puppy is sentient can be forgiven. If trophy hunters and bullfighters viewed the animals they killed as mere unfeeling clusters of cells in animal shapes, their actions could be viewed not sympathetically, but at least differently.

But in the trophy hunter and bullfighter, the sentience and emotional character of the prey is central to, absolutely essential to, the lurid pleasure he takes in killing. Read almost any work by Hemingway, and there it is. The animal's courage, cunning, endurance, his deep capacity to experience fear and pain and pride and anger and compassion, love of his babies and mate and his own life, the dignity with which he fights beyond exhaustion to save himself, are exactly why trophy hunters seek him, and why his killing is so satisfying to them. The killer measures himself by the sentience and valor of the animal killed, by the size of its character, and the desperation with which the animal tries to survive him.

I killed a lion, says he; therefore, I am leonine.

In destroying creatures so rich in character, in destroying those attributes that make them precious, trophy hunters pretend they are demonstrating the same attributes in themselves, but in superior measure. It is, of course, an immense and childish lie, a fantasy: The hunter does not meet the animal in a fair fight, virtue to virtue. With the gun or bow or dagger or bear trap, the paid guides who track the animal for him, the safe and comfortable refuge of the jeep that carries him, the dragged carcass that lures the animal from safety, he renders his own virtue meaningless. He need not be brave, nor strong, nor cunning, and by virtue of the rigged contest, the animal is deprived of the chance to display those strengths so amply available in himself. The kill is nothing more than movement of a finger on a trigger. In this game of pretend valor, the hunter does nothing but step out of a car and stand where he's told to, and the helpless animal's life is ended for nothing more than the vanity of the pampered, self-aggrandizing coward with the gun.

This is what is most horrifying to me. To recognize and celebrate the inherent and immense value of another creature, and for that very reason to take gleeful pleasure in killing it, to parade the evidence of the kill in the form of a mutilated head mounted over a hearth, or a photo of the hunter grinning with puffed-up "masculinity" over a precious life extinguished, is truly monstrous. The attributes the trophy hunter revels in extinguishing are the same attributes we most treasure in ourselves and other human beings. Think about how terrifying that fact is. These men and women are not hunters. They are murderers.

I think that is an excellent way to summarize this whole fiasco.....I know for a fact, that many, if not most, respectable hunters are PISSED that something like this Cecil incident happened.

To me, it is all about EGO....A dentist, who dished out $50,000, so he could pull a trigger and boost his testosterone.

[Purplelady1040]

Agreed all the way around HH.  Stories here locally are stating that the boys didn't have permission to go beyond the inlet.  The parents supposedly had no knowledge that the boys would venture into the open ocean on their own. 

Most children don't like rules, but this is one example of children disobeying the rules where the consequences of their defiance appear to be deadly.

I agree and as a  parent, it is my and my husband's job to sert rules for our kids! It may not be what they like but it is in their best interest!

[Palehorse]

I don't know all the circumstances, but I find it kind of hard to understand WHY two 14-year old kids were out at sea, by themselves in the first place.....maybe I am being too much of a worry wart, but I could NEVER have allowed my kids at that age, despite how mature and good of a boat person they were, to take on the sea at that age, unaccompanied by an adult, who was very knowledgeable at this. 
But, my heart goes out to them...like PH said, NO PARENT should EVER have to bury their own kid....it is just a story that is looking more and more like a sad ending.

Exactly Hank. Spot on!

The sea claims the lives of the saltiest of sea dogs each and every single year; as it always has, as it always will. Anyone living on any body of water, inland, freshwater, or saltwater, knows this and it should be at the forefront of their plans at each and every outing.

I, like you, cannot understand the thought process that allows a child at 14 years of age, to set out to sea outside the protective walls of a bay, or inlet, without being under the watchful eye and supervision of a seasoned veteran able to take the helm when trouble arises. And if nothing else the sea has proven trouble WILL arise, and at the worst possible moment.

If the 50 mile destination is true, I would NEVER let my child undertake such a trip without me aboard, or another seaworthy adult of reasonable experience and ability. EVER! What were they thinking? Would they also let that child take out the family car to go to a mall 50 miles away by themselves?

My own son, despite being an active Navy veteran, would find it a severe challenge to make such a trip with a friend, on my watercraft, without me. . . I could not let that happen for if the sea chose to claim them I would forever feel that if only I had been there I could have made enough of a difference to avoid such a tragic event.

I feel nothing but sympathy for these parents, for clearly they were not thinking; and if they were then they obviously over-estimated the safety of the trip and underestimated the knowledge, skills, and ability of the children they entrusted the helm of their watercraft to. And now they will have to live with those mistakes for the balance of their lives; a fate no parent, no matter how inept, or irresponsible, should ever have to endure. . .

[Bo D]

NO PARENT should EVER have to bury their own kid.

'Nuff said.

[Bo D]

I think that this discussion show that, despite our differences, we can all come together when it matters.

Y'all have a great weekend! I'm going to find some bison! 

[Palehorse]

I think that this discussion show that, despite our differences, we can all come together when it matters.

Y'all have a great weekend! I'm going to find some bison! 

Yessir! 

Enjoy! And have yourself a memorable and wonderful weekend my brother! 

[Purplelady1040]

I think that this discussion show that, despite our differences, we can all come together when it matters.

Y'all have a great weekend! I'm going to find some bison! 

I agree on that!