November 5, 2009

My dilemma for this week: write about violent acts to dogs
or to people? Or maybe not write about violence and cruelty at all. After all,
despite the daily reports of horrific acts of domestic abuse, urban violence,
international wars and bombings, most of us manage to put one foot in front of
the other without demolishing each other.

So, given how many billions of us there are, isn’t it
remarkable that we have not blown ourselves off the face of the earth already.
(Assuredly there are enough weapons of mass destruction lying around just in
the US alone to do the job.) That said: that we, in the main, feed our good
nature rather than our basest possibilities, I will now proceed to explore
violent behaviors to both animals and humans because these behaviors are
inherently connected.

Last week there was much dismay about two dogs who were, it
appears, executed. Upon reading about this, my first reaction was that this
didn’t sound so much like an act of sadistic and wanton behavior as it was
perhaps an angry vendetta against the dog owner for some “reason” or grievance,
in other words, a deplorable act, but with a motive. Now—please—I have no shred
of evidence; I merely speculate. (However, I also had a hunch several months
ago about the mother who claimed she was kidnapped and said she was calling
from her cell phone while trapped in the trunk of a car. I don’t recall all the
details about her, her child, and her fictitious African-American abductors.
However, I do remember in reading this story that my antennae went wonkers
with, “Lady, you lie, this is a major hoax.” Sure enough, she was lying and it
was a hoax.)

Actually, I do hope my hunch about the dogs’ deaths is
accurate because I believe the alternative could depict a far darker
possibility. Sadistic and cruel treatment of animals, just for the warped
pleasure of it, can precede violence against humans. Such serial animal abuse
can be a precursor: Jeffrey Dahmer supposedly inflicted cruelty upon animals
before he went on to his human victims.

I recall many years ago (not here) seeing an adolescent for
therapy. The hair on the nape of my neck stood up when he began to talk about
what he did to animals. Soon after, I moved out of the area and did not hear
anymore about the outcome of this sad teen. But he certainly aroused concern in
me about what he would have been capable of.

So my concern regarding violence against animals has a
larger context. That is, what does it portend regarding violence against
humanity. Furthermore, there is a bitter irony. We need to take note that there
were laws against abuse and cruelty to animals long before there were any laws
against abuse to children. Our culture still can have a skewed sense of
priority. Yes, we need to see the interconnection of all life.

However, that interconnection does not only mean concern for
pets in the neighborhood, but also for the children who die hungry every day, a
seeming world away. Before I had children over thirty years ago, my dogs were
my children. Giving birth, my priorities changed.

Perhaps we need to put this shocking incident in
perspective. While deploring such a violent act against two pets, we also need
to deplore violence in all its forms and where ever it occurs.

* Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling
psychology and is in private practice in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She
welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com
or (610)388-2888. Past columns are posted to http://www.DrGajdos.com/Articles.

I think this is going to be a first – a blog that creates
magic. Read on

Once upon a time, my sister and I would put our transistor
radios (ask your parents –an old-fashioned iPod) under our pillows at night and
listened to WIBG until Hy Lit signed off. Then we’d wait for the rock stations
in Pittsburg and Cleveland to make those mysterious atmospheric leaps, possible
only late at night.

But radio has come a long way since those days when plastic
boxes received signals from giant towers situated in fields outside the city.

For example you can turn on a pioneering radio station right
now with just a click of your mouse–really.

Ready? Here comes the magic.

Just click on this link, then the “ON AIR” sign- but promise
you’ll come back and read more.

www.brandywineradio.com.

Was that totally awesome or what? And there’s also a link on
the home page of 
ChaddsFordLive.com.

Radio has come a long way, and Lloyd Bankson Roach of
Birmingham Township is leading the exciting change in the Brandywine Valley.

The son of Edith Plumb Rolin and Isaac Roach, Lloyd was born
into a family that has been in Philadelphia for over 355 years.

He attended the prestigious Saint
Aloysius Academy in Bryn Mawr, Devon Prep, and Emerson College in Boston. In
addition Lloyd served our country in Southeast Asia aboard the U.S.S. Page
County from 1962-1966.

His first job in radio was as
a tape editor at WFIL-FM in Philadelphia in 1966 and later, Vice President and General
Manager of KISS-100 in Philadelphia. 
He owned WPWA in Chester as well as WCOJ in West Chester.

But according to Roach, “Radio has changed
dramatically.  Radio no longer has the monopoly on breaking new music or
instant news. The Internet has changed everything,” he said.

“Instead of one person talking to many, we now have many
talking to many.”

Accordingly, in June 2008,
Brandywine Radio went on the air with Roach as its founder, president and owner, and he hasn’t looked back since.

In only 18 months, weekly audience levels have shot up to
14,000 listener-visits with an amazing 53 percent increase last month alone.

Recent demographics show
Brandywine Radio with 64 percent of audience members having completed either
college or graduate school. Impressive! In addition 62 percent of audience
members earn more that $60,000 annually.

And with web radio, you don’t have
to stay within the limited range of transmission towers. If you have a computer
or even a “smart phone” like a Blackberry, you can get Brandywine Radio
anywhere.

“We call it, The Power of Radio…with the Reach of the
Web,” he said.

As Roach explained, “My notion was
to use this powerful new delivery method to make local entertainment, news and
public affairs available to everyone in the Brandywine Valley and the rest of
the world who would like to know what’s going on here.”

Lloyd credits his father, a
Philadelphia insurance broker who was involved with the design and construction
of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, as having inspired him to be the leader he is
today.

As for Lloyd’s thoughts on the Brandywine Valley, a place he
and his wife Jacquie have called home since 1970, “I have traveled all over the
United States. Nothing even approaches the combination of topography and lush
land we take for granted here.”

Now, one more time – Click on www.brandywineradio.com, then on
“Favorites”, and save. That was easy, wasn’t it?

Be part of this exciting change and enjoy.