Caring for Charismatic Megafauna

There has been a major flap in Richmond since two captive bears were euthanized because one allegedly "bit" a child. Columnist Mark Holmberg muses on why the bears death elicited so much more sorrow than the death of a human, and I'd like to offer some possible answers:

Because "‘innocent human" is an oxymoron.

Because we are used to the deaths of humans -— particularly those who've chosen to color outside the lines.

Because we had taken the bears from their home, and failed to protect them from predators.

Because we've not been hurt by bears -— they don't make our downtown a scary place; they don'’t hunt us, invade our homes, violate our persons, or commit unspeakable atrocities. They may defend themselves when we are out of our places, but we are not their prey.

And because the incident that led to the death of the bears was in no way the bears' fault. Maymont had tried to protect the bears by a two-fence system-- a tall chain link fence placed well inside a shorter wooden fence-- all posted with warnings to stay back. The system has worked for years, and would have continued to do so, if an adult-in-name-only had not decided to take his or her child close enough to feed or pet the bear.

What was this person thinking? A bear-- even a cuddly-looking bear at Maymont-- is a wild animal. To place an apple-scented child within snacking range is simply insane. The actual 'bite' was more of a scratch, though, and the parents left without reporting it. It was only later they decided that perhaps they should obtain treatment.

So, why does the bears' death cause greater sorrow than the deaths of humans? It is because they were at our mercy, and we failed them.

Filing a Claim

Filing a homeowner's insurance claim after our lightning strike has been a new experience for me. We've had our insurance for nearly 25 years without a claim, so I am going to be interested to find out if filing a claim will cause our premiums to go up.

So far, Allstate has done a pretty nice job of taking care of things. We had a new well pump installed the first business day after the strike; our phone service restored in a very reasonable amount of time; and a check for taking care of repairing and painting scorched areas of sheetrock. All our affected electronics were picked up, serviced or declared totaled, and the repairable ones returned within less than two weeks. Scorched carpet will be replaced in the next couple of weeks, and since we chose "like kind and quality," it will cost us nothing.

I have heard a lot of insurance horror stories, but so far, this isn't going to be one. The only thing that is not entirely convenient is that for the 'contents' portion of the claim (mostly electronics), they priced out replacement items of like kind and quality, and will send us a check for that amount minus the depreciation. When we replace the items, and send in the receipts, they will reimburse us for the depreciation amount they didn't send in the original check.

It would have been more convenient if they had allowed us the entire replacement amount-- maybe in a debit card sort of thing like the Red Cross issues-- so that we wouldn't have to deal with extra paperwork and mailing and all that sort of thing. But that's a relatively small quibble. At least we were able to choose our replacement items! With the debit card method, though, I could have had the flexibility to spend less for some items, and more for others. As it is, I had to measure each item with Allstate's allowance to see whether we could recover enough to cover the depreciation. It would have been more efficient to just allocate portions of a lump sum by priority, then shop for the best prices, and stretch the funds to the max.

I'm thankful that damage was no more than it was. When we looked at the smoldering phone wires, we knew it had been a close call. We're grateful to still have a house, singed carpets and all!

FYI -

FYI: Our phone box was struck by lightning on Saturday, so
we do not have internet access until repairs are completed. I will
check e-mail as often as possible, but please be patient if there is a
delay in my response. My computer is supposed to be repaired in 3-5
days, so it shouldn't be long! Thanks for being patient.

Free Communication Convention!

Here's an interesting sounding event! You might want to check it out;-).
Janice

The 1st Annual Say What You Mean Communication Convention.
Begins Wednesday, February 1st and goes through Friday, February 3rd. It is in honor of The Great Communicator's birthday and designed to bring attention to the importance of communication skills-especially for the Christian community.  It promises to be great fun for the entire family with free seminars, contests and prizes! 
 
Wednesday is Homeschool Day!
We are offering a free 5 Day eCourse for parents that will help them teach communication skills to their children.  We also have a free eBook with the best of my communication articles for homeshoolers, free audio seminars you can download as well as some live interactive chat workshops.  Your children can have fun as they hone their presentation skills by entering our Silly Product Contest!  We also have a drawing and a scavenger hunt where you can win prizes donated by our sponsors like The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Art of Eloquence and Write Shop! 
 
Thursday is Business Day!
We are offering a free 5 Day eCourse for small business owners, a free eBook with the best of my communication articles for entrepreneurs, free audio seminars as well as live interactive chat workshops.  You can get some exposure for your business as you compete to win in our Elevator Speech Contest. 
 
Friday is Teacher Day!
We are offering a free eBook with the best of my communication articles for classroom or co op teachers, free audio seminars as well as a live interactive chat workshop.  Enter our Most Creative Teacher contest for your chance to win a prize! 
 
This is a unique event and we are excited to bring all this information to you in a fun and entertaining environment. Stop by February 1st -3rd at Say What You Mean Communication Convention.
 
Special Offers:
Many of our sponsors have special offers for you during the convention!  Check out their links on our sponsor page.  Our sponsors include The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Write Shop, Grapevine Studies, Homeschool Talk Radio and Art of Eloquence plus many more! 
 
Pass it on...
Please feel free to pass this along to your homeschool groups and other Christian organizations you belong to!  All are welcome and the convention is FREE!
 
Remember, God gave each of us something to say that only we can say...something that someone else needs to hear!  Let's fellowship together, have fun and hone our skills so that the Lord can work more effectively through us! 
This announcement courtesy of JoJo Tabares of Art of Eloquence.