The Ghost of Shell Mound Park

The Beaches of Southern Alabama are littered with ghosts.  The shifting sands store untold tragedies and histories that collect ghosts like children collect coins.   Dauphin Island is no exception to this rule.  In addition to Fort Gaines, which is notoriously haunted, Dauphin Island is also home to Shell Mound Park.
Shell Mound Park holds old ghosts.

Shell Mound Park is the location of an ancient Indian archaeological site.   The site is from the Mississippian Period and dates back to 1100 AD.  The mounds were built over time.   Archaeologists believe that the Native Americans came to Dauphin Island periodically during the year to collect oysters.   It is believed that the natives came from the Bottle Creek site further North and gathered the oysters.  Oysters were a rare delicacy and worth the long journey to collect.  The mounds built up over centuries as the natives came, feasted upon oysters at this site, and then left their debris behind.  Over the centuries the oyster shells became large mounds.  When the natives stopped their feasting, nature took over and grew on the mounds.  Trees and grass grew on the shelly remains of the Indian's dinning site turning Shell Mound Park into what it is today.

There is an area amongst these mounds, that is devoid of trees.   Nature seems to avoid reclaiming this area and there is a desolation to it.   It is said that this is where the natives buried their dead.   Many locals and visitors to the park say that if you wander this area on a lonely night you can see a native woman standing in the middle of this quiet place, looking out.  Sometimes she can be seen dancing and the sounds of native music can be heard drifting out over the park. 

Back Down To Earth

Well, I didn't win the 2 nights at a Best Western Hotel. (See previous post). I didn't get anywhere in the latest Nottingham Writers' Club competition either. After the successes of the last few months I've been brought back to reality. I know I shouldn't be greedy and you can't win 'em all but I still felt a bit down. I suppose it's a good thing really. It was getting so I could hardly get my head through the door. And then a wonderful thing happened.

On Friday, out of the blue, I received an e-mail from one of the ladies at NWC. She hadn't had a chance to speak to me at Wednesday's meeting but wanted to let me know how much she had enjoyed my winning short story from the Winter competition. (See 28th May post below). Not only did she commend me on my content and structure she thought my punctuation was spot on too.

It's nice to win cups and prizes but, after all, they are just a measure of what others think of our work. That e-mail was worth several trophies to me. The fact that she had taken the trouble to write in detail about my effort gave me a big boost. Like most of you, I write to entertain other people. It's good to know I'm achieving my aim.

Meet Calvin

My little brother, who I have fondly nicknamed Calvin due to his insatiable appetite for the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips (although now he also claims he loves Garfield as well), was not raised in the church. You'll find that this is in direct conflict with my upbringing (see previous post about my thoughts on marriage). My parents also apparently decided they were tired when they brought him into this world, and decided to not beat his ass anytime he acted up. And since he was raised around a household of adults/young adults, his vocabulary is heads and shoulders above other kids of his age. Oh yeah, and he also likes to do different impressions of movie characters (including, but not limited to the three little Bavarian pigs from Shrek).

What does this add up to? A kid who is entirely too smart for his own good, and who should probably get spanked more often than he does. And pretty funny on top of it all.

One such conversation which proves how succinct (and unintentionally endearing) he can be:

Me: How do you get to heaven?
Calvin: You die.
Me: Close enough.

I'm looking into vacation bible schools in the area. Especially since he's also taken up imitating a demon voice while saying "Praise me." (He got it from some weird TMZ prank in which a woman was punked in an operating room by the emergence of a demon-like midget with horns and a tail.)

Yep. Have I ever mentioned we aren't heatherns heathens?

Top 5 Ghostly Cartoons

You could argue that fear of ghosts comes naturally, but children seem to love ghosts and the large number of ghostly cartoons out there serve as proof of this.   This often makes me wonder if fear of ghosts does come naturally.   There are a plethora of ghostly cartoons out there.  There are so many I couldn't list them all, but these are a few of my favorites.  They are reminders that ghosts can be scary and fun.

5.  Space Ghost:   Any cartoon about a ghostly, superhero from outer space merits a place on the top 5 ghostly cartoons list.  

4.  Scooby Doo:    Scooby Doo is one of longest running, most popular cartoons out there and it is about of crazy teenagers who investigate paranormal mysteries.  True, most of the original ghosts ended up being a crabby old man in a ghost costume, but the newer movies and TV shows often end in actual paranormal events.  

3.  Monster House:  This delightful movie featured three neighborhood kids investigating the local haunted house.  In a twist of expectation,  the house itself is the ghost and the ghost must be driven from the house before the monster house can be defeated.

2.  Casper the Friendly Ghost:   Casper always struck me as a tragic figure.  He was a ghost who was always looking for a friend.  Ironically,  all the little children were afraid of him.  Despite the seeming sadness of this show,  the producers somehow made it funny and fun for kids.

1.  The Real Ghost Busters:   The Real Ghost  Busters was an animated series based on the Ghost Buster movies.  This show continues were the movies left off and delivers many other ghostly creatures for the ghost busters to fight.  It is funny and slimer gets to be a good guy.  What more can you ask for?

 

Justice is served?

I’ve been following the Casey Anthony trial off and on throughout the past six weeks—not with the ardent fervor that many have dedicated to the process, but definitely with an interested eye and, at times, a disbelieving ear. My semi-inattentiveness is largely in part due to the fact that I don’t have the time to dedicate watching such a senseless tragedy play out in the court of law, and partly due to the blundering antics of the main defense lawyer, Baez. And now, the verdict is in: Casey Anthony is not guilty of first degree felony murder.

Can’t say I didn’t see that one coming, folks, and it centers around three little words: (1) BURDEN (2) OF (3) PROOF. Yes, I am in law school. Yes, I do intend to one day make criminal law my calling. And yes, I think there is a good chance Casey Anthony killed her daughter. I say that not to assert that I am (a) smarter than you or (b) somehow more intuitive than you. However, for those that aren’t in law school (and even for some of those who are, or who are practicing attorneys), the general consensus is that the jury got it wrong.

A jury, made of TWELVE civilians, who sat through six weeks of grueling, time-consuming testimony, admissions of evidence, and fuckups by Baez, somehow managed to get it wrong? No, they did not. They got it right, despite overwhelming odds that they would convict her through preconceived notions of her guilt. If anything, I’m shocked they were able to get over these notions, as Ms. Anthony had already been convicted by public opinion. I’m shocked they actually managed to serve honorably and fulfill their obligations as jurors as they had been instructed to do. I’m shocked they chose their duty over their emotions. I’m shocked they managed to walk away with the message regarding burden of proof despite Baez’s repeated attempts to mangle this case.

In short, I’m shocked our legal system actually worked as it was supposed to do. And pissed that others would question our legal system and jurors over the outcome of a trial that played out exactly as it should. To convict someone of first degree murder, prosecution was charged with showing intent, deliberation, and premeditation BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Oh yeah, showing a cause of death constituting murder would also help. They sought to introduce intent by showing how Casey wanted to lead the life of a single woman. They showed searches of “neck-breaking” and “chloroform” on Casey’s computer to show premeditation. Same can be said for deliberation. However, what the prosecution failed to do was show how Caylee died. They introduced pictures of Casey Anthony partying to heighten the jury’s negative opinion of her. They showed duct tape on her skull. Unfortunately, the body was too badly composed to show a cause of death.

And because of that, Casey Anthony walked. Casey Anthony certainly deserves no mother of the year award. But, at the same time, the state of Florida was REQUIRED to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Caylee was murdered, and that Casey Anthony was to blame. The state of Florida, and ANY state in America, is REQUIRED to do so in a case that will take away your liberty for the rest of your life, and possibly end your life. The reason I’m okay with this? If I were arrested tomorrow for something I did NOT do, I would hope that regardless of how much the media portrayed me to be a monster, regardless of how much citizens wanted to hate me, and how heinous the crime I was accused of committing was, that I would receive a trial in which the prosecution had to show beyond a reasonable doubt that I was responsible for said crime.

We lock up prisoners each year who are not guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted. Because juries did not adequately weigh the seriousness of their duties, because they wanted to get home to their families, or because they didn’t like the defendant’s face. The jury got it right this time.

Even though I still don’t like Casey Anthony’s face.

Old friends and new beginnings

Went to an old roommate's wedding this weekend. Caterwauled  Sang during the ceremony. Drank during the reception. A good time was had by all, and I enjoyed getting to see people I hadn't seen for several years. We told old war stories, laughed about our most ridiculous memories, and generally felt old because people are getting engaged/married/having babies and it's not shocking anymore.

And because we're reaching the points in our lives where we are actually carving out our career paths. And considering class reunions (yes, it's still a few years away, but STILL). And losing our metabolisms and having to work super hard to maintain our girlish figures. And contemplating our late twenties rather than our early twenties.

Growing old doesn't have to be terrifying though. I've been able to meet people who are restarting their lives in law school at 40, and by God, they are having the times of their lives getting along just fine. Every day, I see women who bust their ass in the gym and look/feel better at 45 than they did at 20. There's a chance to learn, to live, and to enjoy life in such a way that you don't consider when you're barely twenty.

This is really just an aside though. The wedding was beautiful, my friend was GORGEOUS, the dress was fantastic. Open bar=cha-ching. And I figured out what I'm going to do for my creative summer project (stay tuned, Budget Blonde).

And (drum roll please)....I totally booked airfare and a rental car for Orlando. Up next....timeshare points galore.

BEST.SUMMER.EVER. Can I get an amen from the front?

Bizarre North Alabama

I have been having a really rough time with my pregnancy this month and having my children pulling at my heals all summer has also slowed me down.   Blogger has also been giving me a really tough time as well.  I can't comment on alot of my favorite blogs and I can't even respond to comments on my own blog.  After hours of work,  I still can't fix my blogger account.  Sadly, my blog has slowed down to almost a halt.  I think my blog may stay slow until the kids return to school in August.  However,  I have some plans for some little blog posts between now and then and I was able to go on a road trip into the bizarre realm that is North Alabama.   I found a museum dedicated to objects left behind in luggage.   In that museum, I found the original Muppet used in Labyrinth.   The Muppet was for the character Hoggle.  There were also some rather strange props from the movie.  I found a cemetery with an interesting stone gate.  I also found a cave haunted by phantom animals.  I captured an amazing number of orbs in the photos I took from one section of the cave by an old bridge.  The orbs are in the last picture.  Here are some photos from my journey.