Mike Murray's web site -- Berea, Ohio (USA)
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Janna & Pam
Second Best
For Mom
At Any Price
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But Not Today
Irish Eyes
And Winter Came
Riding in Cars
Betty & Seymour
Reason to Believe
Mother's Little Helper
Pampered Pets
Endearment
As She Wishes
My Hero, My Wife
Small Things
Still, They Sing
Day's End
Sweet Seymour
Old Friends
A Soft Bed
In Sarah's Arms
A Good Dog
Not One Puff
Love My Dog
Just Do Something
Sparky
Gentle Breeze
Dogs will be Dogs
Open Gates...
She Knows
No Easy Way
No-Kill Issue
Box Fan Blues
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32 ft. / sec. / sec. -- "Things are never really as simple as they first appear."

A Good Dog -- Maddie was a good dog; she was also a very good friend.

A Long Way, Baby -- From personal property, to lioness, to gold digger?

And Winter Came -- Enriching an already wonderful Christmas season.

A Soft Bed -- Some animals crave little more than that.

At Any Price -- Rescues such as Janna are a bargian (at any price).

A "Teachable Moment" -- But don't take your lesson from a bigot.

A Thousand Thank Yous -- To those who rescued Janna.

A View from the Center-Right -- An open letter to the GOP.

Aim High -- No one is completely immune to stereotypical thinking.

Against All Enemies -- Choose your Commanders in Chief very carefully.

Albert -- Perhaps Gore should change his name.

All the Way -- "This time, hold nothing back."

An Appalling Silence -- Is Barack Obama truly one of the Children of Light?

As She Wishes -- More things than ever are up to Janna.

Aunt Betty -- She Copes.  She carries on.

Barbaro -- More than merely swift.

Because I Love Her -- Learning to tell Janna "no."

Better Angels -- "I never hesitate when I'm asked, "Whom do you most admire?"

Big John, Diminished -- The Maverick sells out.

Bigotry is Bigotry -- A pretty face cannot mask ugly prejudice.

Blog On -- Robust opportunities for communication are essential to free societies.

Blogger Envy -- "A scribe slurps his suds, searching for a way to impress..."

Box Fan Blues -- "Would nothing go right for me today?"

Bush III vs. Carter II -- Forget about "change"; the 2008 election is all about the past.

But Not Today -- A woman.  A dog.  And a date with destiny.

Cabin Sitter, The -- "...a greenhorn, naive to the ways of this land..."

Cannot Keep From Singing -- Like Enya, they sing.  They uplift.

Certifiable -- "I can hear some of you out there.  See, I told you:  he's nuts!"

Check [t]Hat -- "So I'm righting a peace about gophers the other day..."

Christmas Comes Early -- Thanks to dedicated animal care-givers.

Christmas Comes Early (again) -- Janna dodges another bullet.

Christmas in September -- A dog's arrival was the best present ever.

Christmas Season Essays -- Annually featured essays, from 2004 to present.

Comic Relief -- "Do you remember when Comics were funny?"

Collateral Damage -- Political scoundrels will litter the landscape with victims.

Cool Cat Turns Catty -- Barack Obama's ugly transformation.

Counting Christmases -- Count each one; appreciate each one.

Courage, is it? -- "It sounded so inspiring, Dan, your trademark sign-off..."

Critically Speaking, Freely -- Media bailout would fly in the face of the 1st Amendment.

Day's End -- Nightly reflection yields both comfort and discomfort.

Dear Terri -- "Your time is short; you have been denied food and water..."

Decorum Be Damned -- Democrats are (selectively) concerned with civility.

Discharge Obama?  -- America's Commander-in-Chief is off to a very poor start.

Dogs will be Dogs -- There's just no getting around it.

Earning Their Wings -- "Attaboy, Clarence."

Ensure Election Integrity -- Fraud & disenfranchisement both matter.

Footprints in the Sand -- No one walks completely alone.

Fraidy-Cat Fools -- Bill Maher & other religion-bashers:  hateful, cowardly.

Friends in Need -- Doing what they can -- when it's needed most.

Full Circle -- "As I take in the early morning pleasures..."

Five Years On -- "It was during the summer of 2000 that the furry scamp..."

Gentle Breeze -- Janna at 10:  calmer (and even more precious).

Give Them A Break -- "The road she chooses to tread is definitely less travelled."

Great White Whales -- ... the Ahabs among the media bellow, "Thar she blows!"

Gun's Up -- "Will Track & Field win this race?"

Hurry Up and Wait -- This time, it is we who should keep the pols waiting.

I am Not -- "I am not the things I cannot control."

Ideology Streams -- Media collaboration:  harmless cooperation or dangerous collusion?

In Sarah's Arms -- Be an angel to someone in need.

Inner Voice -- Marching to the beat of your own drummer.

Intelligent Dishonesty (by design) -- Can scientists and theologians coexist?

Irish Eyes -- "How well I remember my father's..."

It's for Them -- Memorial Day is not for you.  It's not for me.

Just Do Something -- Small things can make a world of difference.

Keeping Score, Brother -- Careful, critics:  Big Brother is watching (and listening).

Killing the Golden Goose -- Labor, management, & investors are all to blame.

Legs on Cars -- And other senseless things.

Liberal, White, Female (and Foolish) -- Heed the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller.

Lift Me, Enya -- Lift me over rampant small-mindedness.

Love My Dog -- "As I regained consciousness, I struggled..."

Lowering the Bar -- "Yes We Can" has morphed into "Don't Hold Your Breath."

Marsh Hollow's Mac -- "Roaming the outer reaches of his expansive territory..."

MBA Confessions (1) -- "..never having to say you're sorry for power ties."

MBA Confessions (2) -- "For the right incentive almost anyone will roll over."

Media Meltdown -- "The Fourth Estate isn't what it used to be."

Military Madness -- Problems with America's Armed Forces begin at the top.

More Good than Bad -- Some people sure are.

More Harm Than They Know -- They take something from each one of us.

Mostly Dogs (animal stories) -- Maggie, Janna, Seymour, et al.

Mother's Little Helper -- A brief encounter with a soulful child.

My Hero, My Wife --  "Standing only 5 ft., 1 & 3/4 inches tall, she's..."

My Secret Mistress -- "My lover has a rival with whom she cannot compete."

Nader's Nadir -- Ralph Nader could play spoiler.  Again.

Night Sweats -- From the window, scenes that bewilder.

No Easy Way -- Saying goodbye is always hard.

No Kill vs. Extended Stay -- "In simple terms, who could disagree..."

Nobody's Fool -- Rest in peace, Paul Newman.

Not One Puff -- A mother's death-bed plea.

Nothing Like a Mother -- Captain Penny was right.  Moms are special.

Obama's Crowded Bed -- The price of political prostituion.

Obama's Mob[ster] Mentality -- Team Obama reverts to its Chicago roots.

Obama's Poor SCOTUS Pick -- Sotomayor is a (very) flawed nominee.

Obama the Spiteful -- War with Fox News is ill-advised, doomed to failure.

Obama's War on Dissent -- The president & his supporters seek to silence critics.

Obama, Where Art Thou?  -- Where did the person America elected go?

Old Friends -- No fence will ever again separate Maggie and Murphy.

Open Gates, Broken Hearts -- A moment of carelessness, a lifetime of grief.

Pampered Pets  -- Do animals really have it better than humans?

Peace, I'm Sure -- Wiley is, once again, vigorous and strong.

Perspective -- When it comes to "telling stories," trust caregivers -- not journalists.

Power to the People -- The balance of power is shifting in favor of common folks.

Pretty Prose -- Barack Obama...and the Travels of the Apostle Paul.

Principles -- Are they your pals?

Racial Discourse -- America is ready for an honest conversation.

Reason to Believe -- Faith rooted in logic (and hope).

Riding in Cars -- "Her longing surely dwarfed my own..."

Rights:  Yours and Hers -- "Uh, guys, can we talk?"

Salvation (on a shoestring) -- Small charities accomplish very big things.

Scraping By -- Alleviataing suffering (human & animal) on a shoestring.

Second Best -- "First place is reserved for no one."

Secret Santa, Secret Wish -- My '09 Christmas list has only one item on it.

Seller Beware -- "What goes around sometimes really does come around."

She Knows -- Dogs know plenty.

She's The One -- "It hardly seems possible that twenty years have passed."

Sir Sellout -- "Say it ain't so, Mick."

Small Stuff -- Some is, some ain't.

Small Things -- Large truths are often revealed by them.

Small-town Lessons for Obama -- Things he can't learn in Chicago (or Honolulu).

Socialism (of a sort) -- What the Obama administration is pursuing.

Something Extraordinary -- At times, we all cling to the improbable.

Snowprints -- "...prints that could not have existed the day before."

So Long, Hal -- "...like so many of his readers, I felt I knew him."

Sparky -- "I scream for Little Boy, but he's nowhere in sight..."

Speak for Yourself -- No one has earned the right to speak for a soldier.

Suckered by Obama -- What were Brooks, Parker, Noonan, et al. thinking?

Sweet Seymour -- A day in the life of a homeless cat.

Sympathy Pain -- "Going without water and food is not pleasant."

Take Care of You -- "That just might be...[your] most precious gift."

Terms of Endearment -- An unlikely alliance:  a roughneck Rottweiller and a feral feline.

Thank You, Sarah -- "Whatever had me so worked up...will just have to wait."

The Courage of Their Conviction -- Strong beliefs.  And the guts to stand up for them.

The Way They Were -- A sweet old lady & and a young, homeless cat.

The Wrong One -- The wrong Democrat won in '08.

They Will Remember -- "I believe that recollections of acts of kindness persist."

They're So Sorry -- Politicians love to apologize.  For other people's sins.

This Giving Season -- Almost everyone has something to offer -- and does.

This Healing Season -- "I found solace on runs along deserted wooded trails..."

Ties that Bind -- Are same-sex partnerships marriages, civil unions -- or something else?

Trouble in Paradise -- Nationally and in NE Ohio, Dems are squabbling.

True Enough:  Out of Africa -- Karen Blixen's memoir, lovingly filmed.

Up From What?  -- Pretenders to hardship.

Walkin' the Walk -- Rest in peace, Howard M. Metzenbaum & William F. Buckley, Jr.

What about Bob? -- "We raced for the cure... we went red for women... Isn't it time someone asked..."

What Voters Want -- For many in Ohio's 10th congressional district, it's not Dennis Kucinich.

When Life Begins -- What uncertainty dictates.

When She Goes -- When the wife's out of town, I'm free to do as I please.

White Lies -- Most politicians can't get through a day without them.

Word Games -- For Barack Obama, some words matter; others don't

Copyright © Michael F. Murray       All rights reserved.