BIG FISH AND BETRAYALThe

BIG FISH AND BETRAYAL


The following picture was posted to my tags list by a member in Oklahoma, and amazingly it was taken here in Oregon, not all that far from where I live.

FYI: This sturgeon is still alive, just worn out from the fight. They turned him loose after the photo.











This sturgeon was caught on the Willamette River just below Oregon City. It weighed out at over 1,000 pounds and measured out at 11' 1". It was 56" around the girth and took over 6 1/2 hours, and 4 dozen beers, for the 4 guys taking turns at reeling it in.

Any sturgeon over about 5 feet has to be released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water. They are brood/breeding stock and probably older than most of us.

For some reason, I have become somewhat suspicious of these larger-than-life photos, after having been taken in a few times by computer enhancements, but this looks to be pretty authentic, and it didn't appear on Snopes.

The Internet continues to amaze me, especially in cases such as this one, where it was someone in Oklahoma who sent this to me, when it was in my own back yard but I hadn't seen it before.

*****

I was pretty upset for a good part of the day yesterday, due to learning from one online friend about another one's betrayal. These two happen not to be friends any more, but when they were, the person who betrayed me was apparently labeling me as "strange."

I have decided to step back from my friendship with the one who called me "strange" and see what happens. After having had a good night's sleep, I am more philosophical about what the person labeled me. I'm sure it's not the first or last time that I will be called a name, and I've been called worse, and by people I cared about. This person happened to have irritated me quite often by preaching at me regarding how I should feel or react to incidents in my life, so from that standpoint, probably taking a break from e-mailing back and forth with her is a good idea.

Yesterday while I was processing this situation, I also had to fight a "shoot the messenger" reaction, but I got over that. It's quite amazing how cyber-relationships can bring up all sorts of feelings, even though we are not operating in the "real" world. I've seen it happen time and time again. And I will probably continue to see it in the future.

I have had some questions running through my head, such as about motivations, how literally to take what I have been told, forgiveness, and previous thoughts I've shared here regarding forgiving and yet not letting myself be put in a position where I can continue to be hurt.

It is continuing to be food for thought but for the time being, I am most inclined not to let this person betray me any more, if she has continued to do so. I've never liked to be ridiculed or laughed at (I got enough of that growing up) and I am hopefully ending that in at least one venue in my life.

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Last night I experienced something that I haven't for quite a while -- aching in the collar bone that I broke when I was about 5, when I was staying with my Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Lincoln and was at a park playing with my cousins. I was hanging by my knees on a swing set, which I liked to do, when I fell and struck the low wooden barrier running around the swing set and broke the collar bone. I was immediately taken by my cousins back to my aunt and uncle's house and from there to the doctor, who diagnosed the break and put me in a brace. My aunt and uncle and my cousins were always very nurturing and they took good care of me until my parents got back.

That was 55 years ago or so. As a result, when I felt the aching last night, I was given cause to reflect on the way the break had happened. It's not that the area of the break hasn't ached before, but it's been a while. I had heard rain forecast by weather people for today but my collar bone was also telling me that rain was on the way. Sure enough, it has rained this morning. That's not the most comfortable way to personally forecast the weather! LOL!

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It just so happens that both Ziggies are about medical-type professionals today. I have had mixed experiences with such people, so I am especially enjoying these cartoons.