Tempting Tuesday: Billy the Exterminator

Billy Bretherton

Today's topic is about one of my favorite shows, Billy the Exterminator on A&E. He doesn't look like your average exterminator, does he? That's because he isn't. Billy is an animal lover, roach and wasp killer, family man, genius (yes, literally), and family man.

He got his start on an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe (another household favorite) and was eventually offered his own show featuring his pest control business, Vexcon. Located near Shreveport, Louisiana, the business is a family affair. Although Billy and his brother Ricky are listed as the owners, their mom and dad run the office, and there's no doubt who's the boss: Donnie Bretherton, matriarch and somewhat control freak. She loves to get involved in younger son Ricky's love life and is constantly thwarting her husband's attempts to sneak out of the office to a job. He's had some health problems, including a heart attack, and she won't let him do much.

L-R: Ricky, Bill Sr., Donnie, and Billy.

Back to Billy. He's not just some backwoods rube running around with spiked hair and scary leather. He's educated, and according to his brother Ricky, his I.Q. is at genius level (as well as Ricky and Bill, Sr's.) Billy entered the Air Force in 1987 with dreams of law enforcement, but he tested so high in biology, science, and chemistry he was put into the field of entomology.

When I found out [about being placed in entomology] I actually started bawling my head off when I called home to my Mom and Dad because I just joined the United States Air Force to be the Orkin Man and squish bugs. --Billy Bretherton

Although he was disappointed, Billy credits the Air Force with giving him stellar training in the field. After an honorable discharge, he spent five years working with the industry's leading entomologist. He furthered his expertise by studying at Purdue University, and then earning a masters certification for termite control at LSU. Billy is an expert in using organic, non-chemical procedures to rid his customers of unwanted pests. Vexcon is one of the only companies to use eugenol oil - an organic element that zaps the pests but doesn't hurt humans or animals.

Billy and Ricky going after a big alligator.

He started Vexcon with his father in 1996 and the business quickly grew. What I love about Billy is that you see how intelligent and compassionate he is on every job. He always relocates animals if at all possible, including alligators (although the state of Louisiana states that an alligator over five foot must be disposed off), bees, raccoons, foxes, possums, snakes...the list goes on.

Billy loves working with his younger brother Ricky, and many of the shows episodes feature the two of them going up against all sorts of creatures. Vexcon is known for its compassionate treatment of wild animals, but Billy always makes sure to explain to customers - especially kids, how dangerous and unpredictable wild animals can be.

Billy and Ricky relocating a skunk.

One of my favorite episodes is from Season 3. Last year, Billy and Ricky went down to the Gulf to see the oil spill for themselves. They were sickened by what they saw. A guide took them through some of the marsh areas where the oil was beginning to encroach, and a raccoon was in serious danger, with oil already on its fur. The guide told Billy he couldn't legally rescue it - the state was only focusing on birds and taking mammals was strictly prohibited. Billy couldn't leave the stranded animal, so without much equipment, he and Ricky caught the coon, and Billy took him to shore and the heat that went with saving the animal.

Billy and Ricky looking at the destruction of the oil spill.

I'm not the only one in the house who loves Billy. Grace has declared her love for him. He and Justin Bieber are her boyfriends, and she's determined to be Billy for Halloween. I love the guy, but I'm not sure I want my five-year-old daughter running around the neighborhood looking like this:

I couldn't get this link to convert, but take two minutes and watch Billy explain how to capture a coyote without harming it. He's got no interest in the traps that clamp down and seriously injure the animal's leg. He wants to relocate it, not hurt it.

Billy the Exterminator is on A&E, Tuesday at 10/9 central.

Manic Monday: Randomness and Awards

I know the artist used the wrong form of "you're" in the pic. But it was too funny not to use.

I've been tagged! Rachel Harrie is hosting the Writer's Platform Building Campaign, and the wonderful Tiffany White has tagged me.

Rules: You must be tagged by someone; list 10 random facts about yourself; tag four more people.

I don't know if I can come up with 10 random facts that are actually interesting, but here goes!

1) The first TV shows I remember watching were Dallas and Hill Street Blues. I knew both the theme songs at the age of four. Guess that's where I get my love of dramatics and crime, lol.

2) I didn't watch Sesame Street until I was an adult and had my own child.

3) My earliest childhood memory is going under anesthesia to get tubes in my ears. I remember seeing myself cowering in a corner through a long tunnel. I was two.

4) I loved Little House on the Praire and used to pretend to be Laura Ingalls Wilder. I had old dresses my grandma gave me, and my aunt Donna even made me a calico skirt.

5) The first story I ever wrote was about New Kids on the Block. Don't laugh. I didn't know it was called fan fiction way back then. I still have the notebook, and the writing I thought was gold is pretty crappy. But hey, I was 12.

6) In 1986, my dad and I watched Michael Jordan score 63 points against the Celtics. I've been a diehard fan ever since. Bulls games were an event in our house, especially during the playoffs. Some of my best memories with my dad are watching those games. I was lucky enough to see Michael play twice, once in old Chicago Stadium (I actually have a piece of the old floor, a red section), and in Indianapolis.

7) My first Hollywood crush was Kirk Cameron. It was this poster that did it.

8) My current celebrity crush is Chris Hemsworth. Seriously. Look at the man.

9) I absolutely believe ghosts, spirits, etc. because of personal experience.

10) The summer of my sophomore year of high school, our band and chorus traveled to Washington, D.C. I was chosen to participate in the daily wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Standing at the tomb hearing Taps played was one of the most moving moments of my life. The link is from this year and not my experience, but the ritual is the same. Our group walked the new wreath out to be exchanged with the old one.

Now, I get to tag four new bloggers and friends. This is tough because there are so many! Catie Rhodes, Annie Boreson, Kelly Hashway, and Angela Wallace, you're up!

Row80 Update and Remembrance

I debated about posting today. It seems insensitive to be blabbing about my mundane week and problems on a day like today. As I watched the memorial service this morning, I felt the same inability to grasp what had happened as I did ten years ago.

I've never been to New York City. The tallest building I've seen is the Sears Tower, and I've never been in it. I simply can't fathom how big the Towers were or the power it took to bring them down. Despite watching the horrible videos several times, I still can't fathom what it was like to be near Ground Zero on that day. I can't imagine the sound, the smell, or the sheer terror everyone involved must have felt. I can't grasp the bravery of the firefighters, police, and port authority as they struggled to save lives without worrying about their own. Most of all, I cannot picture what it must have been like to be trapped in one of those buildings, racing down crowded stairwells full of smoke and wondering if you would make it out alive. And I certainly can't understand what it was like for the passengers on the plane as the hijackers took over and made their final descents.

All I can do is empathize with the grieving families and pray for their continued recovery. I felt so sorry for those family members today as they ready off the names of the victims, especially the kids who never really got to know their parents. And yet I felt pride, too. Pride that these people had the strength to pick themselves up and move forward with their lives. I'm not sure I could have done it. God Bless each of them, and God Bless America.

If you do nothing else today, take a moment to reflect on your life and be thankful for all the positives. Remember that it can all be taken away in an instant. No matter how easy it is, don't sweat the small stuff. Embrace life and move forward as those left behind on 9/11/01 have done.

Row80 update:

Initial goals met.

Working on some edits for Light and Dark

Query Letter revised

I hope you all have a wonderful week and are doing well with your goals.

Thriller Thursday: Kitty Genovese and the Bystander Effect

On a dark spring morning in 1964, Catherine Susan Genovese arrived home from her job as a bar manager at Ev's Eleventh Hour Sports Bar in Queens. She parked about one hundred feet from her apartment door, located in an alley way at the back of the building. As she walked, she was approached by an unfamiliar African-American male. Genovese ran across the parking lot toward the front of her building, but the man quickly overtook her, stabbing Genovese twice in the back.

Stunned and in pain, Genovese's scream cut through the quiet night. "Oh my God, he stabbed me! Help me!" Several neighbors heard the cry but with the windows closed, only a few recognized it as a cry for help. A neighbor shouted at the attacker to leave the girl alone, and the man took off.

The apartment on Austin Street, Queens.

Irene Front heard Catherine's screams. "There was another shriek," she testified in court. "And she was lying down crying out."

The night was once again quiet, the only sound Catherine's sobbing as she struggled to her feet. Blood streaming from her wounds, Catherine staggered to the side of her building and fought for consciousness. Within five minutes, her attacker had returned and stabbed her again.

"I'm dying, I'm dying," Catherine cried out. Lights again flashed on, windows opened as tenants peered into the night. The attacker was spotted racing to a white Chevy Corvair and driving away.

From the sixth floor of the apartment building, Marjorie and Samual Kroshkin witnessed the attack from their window.

"I saw a man hurry to a car under my window," he said later. "He left and came back five minutes later and was looking around the area. "Mr. Koshkin wanted to call the police, but Mrs. Koshkin thought otherwise. "I didn't let him," she later said to the press. "I told him there must have been thirty calls already."

Another witness later said at trial that she heard a scream for help three different times. "I saw a girl lying down on the pavement with a man bending down over her, beating her."

Determined to live, Catherine made her way to the rear of her building and tried to enter through a back door. It was locked. She slid along the wall until she reached a hallway leading to the second floor, but lost her footing and fell. The man returned.

.

The alley where Catherine was stabbed.

"I came back because I knew I'd not finished what I set out to do," the man later told cops. He searched for Catherine until he found her slumped in her own blood and semiconscious. He cut off her bra and panties and sexually assaulted her, then took $49 from her wallet.

"Why would I throw money away?" He asked the court at trial.

He finished the job, stabbing Catherine to death, and then left the scene. The entire event lasted 32 minutes.

Karl Ross, a neighbor on the second floor, finally called the police at about 3:50 a.m., but only after calling a friend and asking his opinion about what he should do. A squad car arrived within minutes and discovered Catherine's body. She'd been stabbed 17 times. A neighborhood canvas churned up 38 people who had heard or seensome part of the assault on Catherine.

38 people. 32 minutes. Anyone could have saved her.

A myriad of excuses followed: one tenant thought it was a lover's quarrel, others were afraid, some women didn't want their husbands involved. Some claimed they couldn't see what was happening. One witness said he was too tired.

The murder of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was just one of many in NYC in 1964. It wasn't until the New York Times published "38 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call The Police" by Martin Gansberg that the killing became real news. Press flocked to the KewGardens in Queens, the residential neighborhood where the murder had taken place. The witnesses were chewed up in the press, but many now claim the article was misleading. No neighbor witnessed the entire attack, as it was spread out over three different areas. But the fact remains that an early call to the police could have changed everything.

Kitty's murder jumpstarted a new line of psychological research into the phenomenon known as the Bystander Effect. Experts found the probability of help is related to the number of bystanders; the more people watching, the less likely they are to intervene. In a world full of apathy and self-preservation, most people assume someone else will make the call or step in to help.

Television was also blamed for the inaction.

"We underestimate the damage that these accumulated images do to the brain. The immediate effect can be delusional, equivalent to a sort of post-hypnotic suggestion. The witnesses became confused and paralyzed by the violence they witnessed outside their window. They were fascinated by the drama, by the action, and yet not entirely sure that what was taking place was actually happening."

--Psychiatrist Ralph S. Banay

Winston Mosely

The attacker was identified as Winston Moseley. He was later arrested in connection with burglary charges and confessed to the murder of Kitty Genovese and two others. His confession details the attack, and he stated his motivation was to kill a woman. He chose Kitty at random.

Moseley showed no remorse and was given the death sentence. But in 1967, the New York Court of Appeals found that Moseley should have been able to argue he was medically insane at the sentencing hearing, and the sentence was reduce to life.

During a 1968 trip to the hospital for surgery, Moseley attacked a guard and beat him, then took a bat and started swinging at those around him. He took five hostages, raping one in front of her husband. He was recaptured after a two-day manhunt. Moseley has been denied bail thirteen times. His next hearing is in November.

Kitty's murder is a sad representation of some of our worst traits: apathy and selfishness. What would you have done? Do you know of any other murders affected by the Bystander Effect.

#Tempting Tuesday: Help With Some Fuzzy Critters

I know I promised you some great recipes today, and those are coming. But I'm hoping some of you can help me. Grace collected three fuzzy caterpillars yesterday, and I'm trying to figure out what they are and how to care for them. I think they're a type of wooly bear that will turn into moths, but I'm not sure of the exact breed. Anyone know?

Now, onto the recipes!

Bacon Cheddar Burgers

I was desperate for a different kind of burger that wasn't going to shoot up my calorie count, and this is what I found. Including the bun, they're about 450 calories and very filling.

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup shredded 2% Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup real bacon bits
• 4 Sara Lee Mini Buns (these come in whole grain, multi-grain, wheat)

Mix and cook on grill until done. I like to put a tiny bit of butter on the bread and heat up

Italian Sausage and Peppers With Penne Pasta

This one isn't low calorie or carb, but you can get your veggies and using whole-grain pasta makes the dish healthier.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 2 medium green and/or red peppers, cut into 2-inch strips
• 2 medium onions, thickly sliced (I usually use one - depends on your tastes)
• 1 (26 ounce) jar Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce or Prego® Organic Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce
• 3/4 pound uncooked tube-shaped penne pasta, cooked and drained
• Grated Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until well browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining oil. Add the peppers and onions and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Stir the pasta sauce into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Return the sausage to the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve over the pasta and sprinkle with cheese.

Enjoy!

Manic Monday: Row80 Day Late, Dollar Short

Not really a dollar short, but I had to use the cliche. My mother is visiting while dad's out of town, so I haven't been very productive since Thursday afternoon. I did get my edits back on the synopsis, query, and first pages of Light and Dark, and I'm really pleased with the comments and changes. I think I'm on track to start the query process in a month or two, if I can summon up the guts.

As for The Prophet, I managed to meet my Row80 goals before Mom got here. I wanted to write the first 5000 words, and I'm just over 5500. Yay! I'm going to refocus tomorrow and hopefully get some serious writing done this week.

I hope you've all had an amazing weekend and that your Labor Day is relaxing and fun. I'll be back tomorrow with some great recipes for Tempting Tuesday:)

Thriller Thursday: The Catacombs of Paris

Some of you know the storm drains of Las Vegas--an underground labyrinth of dark, dank flood channels doubling as housing for the city's homeless population--plays an important role in my novel Light and Dark. Hidden tunnels have always fascinated me. History is full of them, but none are more famous than the Catacombs of Paris.

The official name for the macabre place is "les Carrieres de Paris," or The Quarries of Paris. The underground chamber once served as limestone quarries in the Roman era and was converted into burial ground near the end of the 18th century.

18th century Paris was at the heart of the enlightenment. The city is bustling and the population is on the rise. Voltaire called the city "the whipped cream of Europe." But the place was dirty and stinky, and no social class went unaffected. Garbage littered the streets and provided a delicious fodder for the rats. Streets had open drains, and the sewers were filled with trash and human waste. The few public toilets were rare and usually overflowing. Disease ran rampant, and more people died than were born.

Victims of the black plaque, epidemics, starvations, of all the wars since the Middle Ages rest in the city's 200 cemeteries, piled up on several levels in the mass graves of the churches. Every day, new cadavers join the previous ones. Paris is flooded by the dead, the odor is unbearable. -- The Paris Catacombs

The entire city fought disease, but the Les Halles district was at the epicenter due to contamination caused by improper burials in church graveyards, particularly the Saints Innocents Cemetery, known as Les Innocents, (yes, the same one Anne Rice used in the Vampire Lestat). It had been used for nearly ten centuries and an estimated 80,000 cadavers were added during the last thirty years of the monarchy. In order to stave off the disease, city officials decided to remove the bones and house them in the abandoned quarries.

Anonymous painting of Les Innocents.

The removal of the bones began in April, 1786. Work was done under the cover of night and chanting priests accompanied the procession. The quarries were used to collect the bones from all the cemeteries of Paris until 1814.

The catacombs began as a bone repository but in 1810, Louis-Étienne Héricart de Thury began renovations to transform the caverns in to a visitable internment. He directed the relocation of skulls and femurs in the arrangements seen today and used the tombstones and cemetery decorations brought over from the old graveyards to complement the walls of bones.

Naturally legend and lore abound in the catacombs. Victor Hugo used his knowledge about the system in Les Miserables. The dead from the riots in the Place de Greve, the Hotel de Brienne, and Rue Meslee reside in the catacombs. Walls are decorated with graffiti dating back to the 18th century. During WW11, Parisian members of the French Resistance used the tunnel system to hide.

The underground system is a structural nightmare. The tunnels are carefully monitored and consolidation work continues. Because of the various safety issues, only a small portion of the quarries is open to the public. The system is complex and confusing. Some tunnels do have plaques indicating the name of the street above, but it's very easy to get lost among the bones. Although it's illegal to access the catacombs unescorted, secret entrances exist throughout the city. The system is accessible via the sewers, metro, and certain manholes.

And there are people who would love to explore the hidden system, myself included. As dark and sad as it may be, hundreds of years of history lies beneath the city of Paris. Journalist Matt O'Brien and author of Beneath The Neon: Life and Death in the Las Vegas Tunnels, told me the Quarries of Paris were high on his list to explore some day.

What about you? Would you venture underground to see the bones of the past?