Jet Raven

I hope I don't get dinged for copyright issues but I just read the best little letter to a mag on this subject. "THe Sun", in the column "readers write" on the subject of Temptation. Here for your pleasure, by Deirdre Mahoney of Oakland California:

Last night I picked up a half smoked cigarette in the street and walked along twirling it in my fingers, trying to think where I could get a light. Then I threw the butt into the bushes. It was a triumph.

This is my life; I feel triumph when I don't bring home cigarrette butts I've found by the curb. I feel triumphant every time I drive a car without smoking. I am no longer a person. I am a nonsmoker. Every ounce of my physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual - is devoted to not smoking. My thoughts all lead to the fact that I cannot smoke. People talk to me and their words become little cigarettes in my head. I can't concentrate long enough to study or even to make a pot of coffee. So I dance around, pick up dog hair, sing, check my email.

I bore myself with this whole non-smoking bit. I can only imagine the effect I must have on others. How are you? "I am not smoking". How's your work? "I am not smoking". What are you doing for the holidays? "What the ###### do you think I'm doing? I am not ######ing smoking. Merry Christmas."

My head is foggy, but my lungs are clear. I am determined to prevail. In the meantime, best keep your distance.

While we are all pondering this subject......

The western world, the US and England, at one time had ambulance chasers and perhaps still do. While I don't know if they actually pulled bodies out of vehicles, they certainly were involved in financial dealings connected with insurance scams. The third world is not that far behind us in years and we must remember that. Fight for what is right, offer humane assistance, and really try to help ensure that people are looked after with compassion. Ripping off gold and silver are not that important if a life will be saved. Ripping off identity papers precluding the notification of family members is just cruel.

I just wonder how much of this stealing from injury victims really goes on and how much is simply rumour based on misconstrued eye witness accounts of volunteers 'rifling' through victim's wallets for contact/ID/Insurance papers. I mean If I saw an accident and one of the rescuers went down the injured party's pocket pulled out his/her wallet and started going through it - as an ill informed voyer, I guess I'd think they were robbing him/her.

You have a good point there. Never thought about that before.

Every time when there is a un- or semi-conscious victim, volonteers will go through the wallet to find an ID, or even a maybe hospital or insurance card. That helps to decide to which hospital to send the person. Also his/her pockets will be turned inside out, sometimes on the road, sometimes in the hospital, to collect the posessions and safeguard them, and handed to the hospital staff.

This is standard procedure.