The Cyberactivist

I just wanted to take a quick moment to check in with all of you and thank everyone for all the birthday e-cards, emails, and kind wishes. I don't think I have ever in my life had this many different people wish me a happy birthday! And, thanks to Paul for the sweat shirt. (You can see a pic of it in my photos I posted of my birthday party.) I think part of why he sent it to me is that he knew he would see pics of me in it on the Net and it would promote his group! Just kidding, Paul. Ha ha ha! Although, it is a pretty good idea. Yeah, I like it. Send me a free shirt, see your group publicized on this site and other places I go! It's a win-win situation! LOL!

But, seriously, I have really enjoyed my birthday this year. At one time in my life I never thought I would see this day. But, I made it. I am actually 40 years old. And got the gray hair to prove it! Ha ha! I'm glad I made it. Someone must have been looking out for me. Either that or I was just really, really lucky.

And, it has been truly wonderful having all these caring people, some of whom I have never met, taking the time out of their day to contact me and wish me a happy day. That does make me feel good. So, thank you everybody. You have indeed helped to make my day a happy one.

I hope you also enjoy your day.

Until next time...

We had a great time at the Walk last weekend! We had a good turnout, with such a wonderful group of diverse people from all walks of life. We even had a few dogs join us. Children, too. I am updating the photo page and the Yahoo group's photo album with pictures so that you can see a bit of the event for yourself.

All in all, I would say that it was a complete success. We had a lot of honks with thumb-up signs from people driving past and handed out literature to people on the streets. Hopefully we raised a bit of awareness. We also raised $1500 for Farm Sanctuary. There were some generous people that helped out the local Nashville group, Speaking Out for Animals (SOFA) and me with a few donations. I would certainly like to thank those of you who gave, as I had no opportunity to do that or know who was responsible at the event. I really appreciate it, and it will help a lot. We are still struggling here for a couple of more months until we are able to get everything straight. Every little bit is appreciated more than you can possible know. So, thank you again.

I plan to try to attend the Walk next year in Nashville, as well. Perhaps we will have an even bigger attendance. We really felt like we had a good turnout, especially since this was the first year this event has been held in Nashville. Billye did a great job in organizing the event, and Keaven Van Lom (SOFA's founder and fellow AAFF member) was a truly motivational speaker. I enjoyed meeting her. I enjoyed meeting everyone there. There is always such an amazing bunch of people when you get together for something like this. The energy of such a group is indescribable. You would just have to experience it for yourself. It certainly leaves you inspired and motivated to do even more to improve the lives of the most widely abused animals on the face of the Earth.

Speaking of which, we had a little home screening at Billye's of several videos after the Walk. We watched Peaceable Kingdom, The Witness, and the COK videos I talked about before - 45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken, one that has a documentary on Miyun Park's work with COK, COK's great new commercials, and the news reports of their progress regarding the scam United Egg Producer's "Animal Care Certified" logo on eggs that the BBB ruled was so misleading to consumers and their damning report on broiler chickens. Check out their resources page, with other videos and resources. They are doing some phenomenal work, especially with such a small staff and funding limits. They get a lot of mileage out of their donations and are having some amazing successes.

I had always wanted to see these videos since I heard about them. I just have to tell you, though, exactly how powerful Peaceable Kingdom is. This is one that does need to be seen by as many people as possible. I have seen quite a few videos now, but I believe this one is the most moving and emotional one I have seen yet. They did an excellent job putting it together.
You can learn exactly what prompted Farm Sanctuary to be started and how it happened, as well as a bit about the impact they have had, not just on farmed animals, but also on the people they have had visit there. I definitely plan to see this place when I set out across the country next year. They are really doing some great things. It's really amazing.

The film is especially moving because of the stories of others, like myself, that were raised on a farm and taught to bury our emotions when it came to animals raised for food and the difference between what we felt for them as opposed to, say, the dogs. There is wonderful and moving discussion of that inner turmoil that farm kids go through when they sell their prize animal they loved and raised at auction to be slaughtered for food.

I would encourage activists to get this video and hold screenings of it in communities everywhere. There are sites set up to advise you on just how to do that. Email me for more info if you need more help.

I would love to hear from readers how you spent World Farmed Animals Day. I have heard from several people so far. Sounds like there was a lot going on. Anyone else care to share? If you would like your event publicized here, I would be glad to do that, especially if you have some pictures, in case some of you have no other site to put them up at. Or, I would be glad to link to your site if you have already publicized your event.

I met some really motivated college folks who I expect to hear great things from. Once they get all set up and everything, I'll let you know about what they are doing.

This was a lot of fun! It was so nice meeting everyone that showed up. Laura and I have returned home with a lot more inspiration and motivation. We intend to keep right on fighting for the animals, and working harder than ever! It's great to have so many of you care. It really is. I just can't tell you how much it means to me. Really. I just can't express it in words.

Thanks for walking the Walk.