The topic of parental alienation is one of those vacuous concepts that escapes a true wherefore or why in the course of related lives that part ways.

I once felt that I was estranged from my father. You can be all tough and morally superior in your own mind and not realize that there are two ends of a relationship — family or not and that both sides deserve to be heard.

So while dad was a tough disciplinarian and tended to bring his Navy home with him, I felt that he loved me despite all my faults nonetheless. In the end all this parental alienation of mine did was make me cry for 20 years after I lost him to the consequences of tobacco. I still grieve his passing.
 

The distance that I placed between us didn't quell my grief when standing there unable to help him in his final moments.

So though we had no real family separation nor attorneys nor judges nor psychologists in the mix we were a mess of our own design and for that mess I took full responsibility.

In retrospect had our roles been reversed I probably would have been far worse than I ever imagined he was given my distinctly Type A personality traits and status as a "late bloomer".

Daddy was an excellent provider and all he got from me was a steady stream disappointment and episodes of failure ...

I was just glad to somewhat redeem myself in his eyes by teaching college for 20 years. In light of all my bellyaching at this juncture I'm glad I did it for myself because it gave me a retirement edge I would not be enjoying otherwise.

One Sarvy Emo (what an appropriate last name, snapperhead) who was a leftist libtard activist from Canada proposed that March 28th be proclaimed Parental Alienation Awareness Day. Instead of some assertive level headed individual planting their foot up his whiny ass the day seems to have taken; only the international awareness campaign is now held on April 25th.

Though I am sure that there is parental alienation and that some of these instances are indeed justified — the concept simply never should have been applied by me to my father as it was in error.
 

It is my personal belief that one should be adequately compensated for efforts delivered to another.

I suppose the world of writers has a gratis component mixed in it's capitalism and there are some writers who are more capitalist and less in favor of work provided on a gratis basis.

April 23rd brings us yet another International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day.

Meant to commemorate author Jo Walton's response to remarks made by Howard Hendrix stating that he was opposed SCIFI and fantasy writers posting their work on the internet for free.

The purpose of the day, according to Walton, was to encourage writers to post "professional quality" work on the internet free of charge.

The name of the day is derived from the assertion by Hendrix that the "webscabs" are changing the noble calling of writer into an existence of Pixel-stained Technopeasant Wretches.

There have been many contributions to this day by notable writers of the genres.

Happy International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day to you, wretches.
 

Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills was born April 18, 1946 and is an English actress. I remember her as a child actress who populated several movies I liked and a few for which I didn't particularly care.

I was likely too unsophisticated to really get the plot elements and such.

She's was pretty much a constant from that early childhood start of broadcast and projected entertainment and while something about her pageboy haircut repelled me a little I always thought she was an attractive girl child when I saw her.

I really liked her portrayal of Pollyanna in 1960, and my five year old mind took to the optimism and her pretty young face as well. The period costumes added to the allure of this film for me personally. I've always remembered this role fondly.

The Parent Trap and the sequel were a bit above my comprehension at that time in my life. The subtle nuances of the plot were a bit lost on me and by the time I had grown into the understanding the interest in general had waned.

This was pretty much the same for The Moon-Spinners. I just didn't comprehend romance nor intrigue at a sufficient level to enjoy what was happening.

I've always been more of a blood and guts kindo guy anyway.

Suffice it to say I knew who Hayley Mills was and had a base appreciation for her art and was typically quite warm for her form as well at that time I became sufficiently old.

Anyway, today is her seventy fifth birthday. Happy birthday to you !
 

On this day in 1969 Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of assassinating Robert F Kennedy.

At about 12:15 am PDT June 5, 1968 he fired a .22 Iver-Johnson Cadet revolver at the senator and surrounding crowd in the Ambassador Hotel at Los Angeles. Mr Kennedy had just finished addressing supporters in the main ballroom of the hotel.

Sirhan Sirhan subsequently struggled with and was subdued by members of the crowd which included George Plimpton, Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill, Rosey Grier, and Rafer Johnson.

Mr Kennedy sustained gunshot wounds in the head and twice in the back. A fourth bullet passed through his jacket.

He succumbed to his injuries about 26 hours later at Good Samaritan Hospital. Five others attending the event were also shot, but recovered from their injuries.

I was in the eighth grade at Horace O'Bryant Jr High School at Key West, Florida when all of this transpired. I recall how touchy my math teacher, Mrs Traywick was at the mention or misunderstanding of any statements made regarding the incident.

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan aka Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān was born March 19, 1944. He is a Palestinian Christian militant born in Jerusalem to an Arab Christian family and was convicted of murder. He is presently serving a life sentence at the Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
 

Murad Jacob Kevorkian aka "Jack Kevorkian" was born May 26, 1928 and passed on June 3, 2011 at the age of 83. He was an American pathologist and proponent of euthanasia who publicly championed a terminal patient's right to die by physician assisted suicide.

This philosophy resulted in the media ascribing "Dr Death" as a reference to him and his work and there were individuals who both supported this cause and others who were adamantly against it.

In 1998, Kevorkian was arrested and tried for his direct role in a case of voluntary euthanasia on a man named Thomas Youk who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS.

For this he was convicted of second degree murder for which he served 8 years of a 10 to 25 year prison sentence.

He was released on parole on June 1, 2007 under the conditions that he would not offer advice, participate, nor be present in the act of any type of suicide involving euthanasia to any other person. He was furthermore restricted from promoting or discussing the procedure involve with the topic of assisted suicide.

His assisted suicide involvement with one Janet Adkins, a 54-year-old woman diagnosed in 1989 with Alzheimer's disease, took place on this day in 1990.

Charges of murder were dropped on December 13, 1990 due to the nonexistence of statutes regarding assisted suicide in Michigan.

In 1991, however, the State of Michigan revoked Kevorkian's medical license and made it clear that, given his actions, he was no longer permitted to practice medicine or to work with patients.

His legacy is a more open handling of assisted suicide with legality in some US states and there is a European contingent with the same goals which are a painless and humane ending for those who are suffering terminal illness.