who was that masked man?

the lone ranger was a popular television show when i was growing up in the late 50s-early 60s - let's not forget, television itself was still new, only having been introduced here in australia in 1956 - consequently viewing was limited so really, anything and everything on telly was popular! at this stage in our technological development we were served up mostly american and british shows, with a sprinkling of local content hitting our screens...

getting sidetracked here, so back to the point... the show would end with the lone ranger 'riding off into the sunset' on his trusty stead silver, accompanied by his native american friend and sidekick tonto, with someone always posing the question "who was that masked man?"

why am i writing about the lone ranger? well, i'm not - but i did have a 'who was that masked man' moment yesterday when i went with my mother as moral support while she had a growth removed from her face...

it was a fascinating process to watch - i'm sure i wouldn't be saying that if the needle was massive, or if the incision was any larger and fleshy growth removed any bigger though!! - there was cutting and cauterizing and puffs of smoke - she actually had to be 'earthed' so as not to suffer an electric shock from the equipment! - but that's not what i'm writing about either!! what amazed me the most was the silence everything was performed in - the surgeon perhaps uttered a dozen or so words behind his mask in the whole time the procedure took (about 20 mins) - the most worrying utterance, well, a question for me mum, was "are you on any blood thinning drugs?" - now, i thought perhaps it was a question that may have been best asked before the procedure started - but it was asked halfway through - what the fuck!!! her answer was in the positive - 'yes, aspirin' - hmmm... i guess he at least knew then why she was bleeding so much!!!

once he'd finished and stitches were in place (he did seem extremely adept surgically), he put the removed material into a container to be sent off for testing and left the room (with mask still in place) - he never returned but left the poor young (20 year old, new to the job) nurse to try and answer our questions (guess he's not so adept with verbal communication)... i couldn't help but wonder "who was that masked man?"

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for regular readers, you will have seen my pleas to help free tony the tiger from his steel and concrete prison - the perseverence of all of those who have championed tony's cause over the years has paid off finally... the animal legal defense fund action has resulted in the louisianna department of wildlife and fisheries being prevented from renewing the truck stop owner's permit to keep tony as a roadside exhibit...

there is a downside though - the current permit stays in place until december (read more about the ruling here) - it's not ideal, but there is some 'light at the end of the tunnel' for the boy - now the search is on for a suitable sanctuary for this beautiful creature... hopefully boy you will soon experience some wonders of this world, rather than abuse, torment and sheer boredom...

this has been a long, hard battle - it's a long, slow process trying to change attitudes - but people can make a difference, we can change lives... we have voices that can speak up for the voiceless - but we need to continue to speak out, to 'persevere in the face of adversity'... as margaret mead said  "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world... indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"...

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and why am i blogging during the day on a wednesday? i've got a cold thanks to a friend who came around at the weekend for dinner which was lovely, but unfortunately they were already feeling unwell (and obviously highly contagious) when they arrived - guess sharing the bong was an added guarantee of coming down with it! - the 'aftermath' sucks though (echinacea and ibuprofen are my best friends at the moment) - so i decided to stay home while feeling like crap and not spread anything to my colleagues... oooh, hopefully i wasn't contagious yesterday when i saw me mom (definitely no bong shared there!) - colds and flu are dangerous for her...