PT2: The Hideous Creature With 4 Legs

Cocaine Princess here.

Just to review:

I felt as if I was a thousand miles away from the sound of the creature's bark. I was sleeping so deep until 'A' awoken me. I looked at the alarm clock. It was all blurry so I had to blink a couple of times. It was 5am. I said to her 'why? Why did you wake me?' 'I'm sorry,' she replied, 'but I had to. The police are here.' I quickly sat up and said 'Oh my God why? What's happened?'
'Didn't you hear the alarm go off?' she asked. 'No I was sleeping like I was in a coma,' I replied. The Sleep Gods do indeed hate me for them to interrupt my slumber. 'The police already checked outside and there are no forced signs of entry. They need to check the rest of the house.'A replied. 'If there's no forced entry then nobody broke in. The alarm must have malfunctioned or something,' I replied back. 'They have to do a walk through upstairs, it's procedure,' she explained. 'There's no one in my room here so just tell them thank you and bye,' I said. 'I can't. You need to come down' said A. 'I'm not going downstairs to meet them.' She wanted to know why so I told her. 'I'm not wearing any makeup and my hair isn't done, that's why.' 'They're police officers not judges from a beauty contest,' A said laughing. 'They're not going to care what you look like.' 'Well I care,' I replied back to her. 'A' literally pulled me out of bed and picked up my robe and put it on me. 'You look beautiful,' she said. 'You're just saying that,' I said back to her as we made our way down the stairs. There were two officers in the foyer and one of them was saying something to that little radio-thing that sits on their shoulder. After a quick introduction the two officers stated they needed to check upstairs. I assured the officers there was no one up there. 'It's procedure mamn,' explained one of the officers. Oh my God I said in my mind, mamn! He had the nerve to call me mamn! I am not old enough to be a mamn! I was tempted to take his night stick and hit him over the head with it for calling me mamn until I looked down and saw both officers were wearing boots. In my house that is a big No-No. No, you cannot wear shoes in my house. I don't let anyone in wearing shoes, you must remove them. There is an exception of course if you have some sort of medical condition. 'Can you please remove your boots?' I asked. 'Sorry mamn, but we're on duty and if we get called for something it'll cost us time,' he explained. 'Now if you were to ask me back for a social visit then of course I'd be more than happy to remove them.' The two officers went upstairs. I turned to 'A' and said 'great. Their boots have snow and dirt on them. They're going to dirty and stain the carpet and not to mention get it all soggy. It's already dirty down here.' The flooring on the main level of the house is all ceramic and there were disgusting wet police boot prints all over. 'You're not the one who's going to have to clean it,' stated A. 'Just because I don't clean the house doesn't mean I want people dirtying up the house. I like a clean house.' I could hear them upstairs opening the doors and for some reason the closets. 'They said it themselves there's no sign of forced entry so why are they opening up the closets?' I asked. 'Like they said, it's procedure,' A said back. I then asked her 'what did he mean by if I ask him back for a social visit?' 'I think he's hoping you ask him to come over for lunch,' she stated. 'Eww!' I replied. I didn't know what else word to use. 'I saw the way he was looking at you,' she said. 'Didn't I say you look beautiful. I'm sure Valentina's daddy would love knowing you were seeing a cop' she sarcastically added. Unless he's on the take I don't think it would go over very well with him I thought to myself. And besides the cop was freakishly odd looking. I don't know if anyone has seen the movie HOT FUZZ. It's a British comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg. It's a great, great movie. I highly recommend this film. It's about a city cop who gets transferred to a sleepy village when all of a sudden bizarre and grotesque murders begin to take place. I won't spoil the ending by telling who the murderer is but I will say to pay very close attention and you may just figure it out. I did. Valentina had seen it and told me about it. Anyways there's a character, I can't remember his name but he works as a janitor in a grocery store. That's what the cop looked like. The other one was a little older and didn't really say much. While 'A' and I were both waiting in the foyer as the officers were busy checking for prowlers I said to her, 'while they're upstairs a burglar could be hiding down here getting ready to murder us. And when the cops come back down they'll find our blood soaked bodies lying right here on the floor.' 'A' explained while she was trying to get me to come down the two officers were doing a walk through downstairs. I wasn't convinced the reason they were checking upstairs was because of procedure. I think they were just being nosy. When the officers finished their so-called walk through all I could hear were their boots making squishy wet sounds as they came back down the stairs. 'Everything checked out. It's all clear, you're safe. There's no sign of any third party,' the odd freakishly looking cop said. He then handed me his card and both of them said bye and finally left. 'Look at the floor,' I said to 'A' while ripping up the card. 'It'll be all clean by morning,' she said. 'It is morning,' I commented handing her the ripped up pieces. As I was going up the stairs my pedicured feet could feel the wet spots, it was almost everywhere. 'The carpets need cleaning too' I added as I headed back to the spare room. Before I did I decided to check out the other bedrooms in particular the closets. Nothing seemed to be moved or missing.
I went back to bed hoping I would be able to fall back asleep but before I even made it inside the covers 'A' came in with the phone. 'It's the alarm company,' she said. 'You talk to them,' I suggested. 'I need to sleep.' 'They won't talk to me, you know the password,' she explained. 'So do you,' I said back. 'The account is in your name not mine. They need to speak to you,' she said handing me the phone. According to their monitors one of the alarm sensors was lose triggering the alarm. They said it was going to go off every 20 minutes and said they could either shut the system down until their technician came out or I would have to by-pass it every 20 minutes by punching in a code. I asked when the technician would be available? 'A week from tomorrow,' the alarm representation said. 'Excuse me,' I said. 'I must be still sleeping, I thought you said a week from tomorrow.' 'That's right,' the rep. replied. 'Between 9-4,' she added. 'You have got to be kidding me,' I stated. 'You want me to get up every 20minutes to bypass the alarm? When am I suppose to sleep?' I asked. 'And I can't leave the house otherwise the police are going to be called here every 20 minutes.' 'The only other option is to shut down the system from our end until the technician fixes the problem,' she replied. I like to consider myself and anyone who truly knows me will agree, I am a cool, calm, person with a good head on my shoulders. I hardly ever lose my temper or raise my voice. Not all Latins have fiery tempers. So perhaps it was the lack of sleep or because I was interrupted from what was probably the best night's sleep I have ever had in such a long time because I got pretty angry and said, 'have you lost your damn mind?!' 'Excuse me mamn?' she said. 'I paid a fortune to have your company's alarm system installed in my house. I continue to pay a fortune every month for the monthly monitoring fees and not once have I ever missed or been late on a payment. And you're telling me that I have to wait almost a week for someone to come out and fix the alarm?! There's no way in hell I'm going without an alarm system.' 'Well as I stated before mamn you have the option of by-passing the alarm every 20 minutes,' again she said. 'Do I have your guarantee that my house won't be broken into?' I asked her. 'I'm sorry I can't promise you that,' she replied. I put my hand over the receiver and said to 'A' 'this woman's a friggin' idiot. The senor's going to go off every 20 minutes. I can either by-pass it every 20 minutes or they can shut down the whole system until the tech guy comes out.' I lifted my hand off the receiver and said to the woman, 'I am not going to by-pass the alarm nor am I waiting a week for your technician to come to the house. I questioned her about the company's 24 hr technician service. 'They are all out on calls mamn,' she replied. I looked at the alarm clock. 'All your available technicians are out on calls at 5:45 in the morning, every single one of them? There's no one at all free?' I asked. 'That's correct mamn,' she answered. I was beginning to think maybe the woman on the other end wasn't human but really an advanced high-tech robot. She then asked, 'what is your decision mamn?" 'My decision,' I said. 'Here is what my decision is. Not only can you shut down the alarm but you can cancel my entire account. I'll no longer be needing your services. I'll be calling up your major competitor and besides they guarantee tech service in less than 24 hrs. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about, they're advertised everywhere.' I was about to hang out when I heard, 'mamn, mamn, are you still there?' 'Yes, ' I'm still here.' 'If you could just hold for a minute?' she asked. So I did. She came back within mere seconds. 'It seems as if a technician is available. He'll be there within the hour,' she stated. 'Fine,' I replied. 'And stop calling me mamn!' I then just hung up. I crawled back into bed hoping to get to some sleep. I knew it was a long shot and I was right.

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess

The Hideous Creature With 4 Legs

Cocaine Princess here.

I called Valentina today after she emailed me a picture of herself with her new hair cut. She decided to get her hair exactly cut and styled just like Rihanna's new cut that she debuted at the Grammy's. Prior to that Valentina had the Posh Spice Bob cut. I told her she looked beautiful, she really does. 'What does daddy think?' I asked. 'Daddy says I look adorable. Though I think he prefers my hair to be long like yours but as long as I'm happy, that's all he really cares about.' she replied.

My next door neighbors have 3 cute children ranging from 5-8. For Christmas the parents decided to surprise their kids with a dog. Truthfully I don't believe it to be a dog. It's a hideous looking creature with 4 legs and fur that resembles a dirty brown shaggy rug. Not knowing exactly when I angered the Sleep-Gods but the hideous creature barks only at night and when it does its' bark sounds raspy, like it has a sore throat. The bark begins at midnight and then stops after a few hours and then continues again at around 4am. Three doors down from the house behind me, the owners have a dog and at times that dog will join in when it hears the hideous creature barking and the two will bark in unison while at other times the one dog will try to outdo the creature's bark as if it was a barking contest. I don't sleep very well as it is and even if I was trying to relax in bed I can't because of the barking. I have tried covering my head under the pillows and even sleeping under the covers but it doesn't help. What works is listening to music with my head phones on and the music at full blast which drowns out the barking. The only problem with that is I run the risk of damaging my ear drums. I just wanted to open up my window but couldn't decide whether to yell SHUT UP!! at the hideous creature or throw it some HALLS. I don't know why all of a sudden the hideous creature is barking so much. The creature is kept in the backyard and my bedroom is in the back of the house so I can hear the barking loud and clear. The kids shower the hideous creature with such love and affection, it looks deformed but they don't care. The creature could easily get the lead if they were to ever make a film called 'The Hound From Hell.' Good lord it's an absolute eye sore. Yesterday morning 'A' noticed how I was even more exhausted than usual. I told her about the hideous creature and she asked me, 'why didn't you just sleep in the spare room?' You know how Homer from The Simpsons says 'D'oh!' That's exactly what I said. There's a spare/guest room in the front of the house and the thought of sleeping there didn't even cross my mind. Last night I decided to give it a try. For some reason I was feeling uptight and anxious so I thought if I watch some TV and have a light snack I'll be able to relax and unwind. I had a Jello pudding cup, fat free of course and tried to find something boring to watch on TV to make me feel sleepy but sometimes the boring things on TV seem interesting, I once sat through an episode of Star Trek. I decided to turn to the Lonestar channel. A channel dedicated to western programming. Perfect, I thought to myself. I don't like westerns especially the old ones in black and white and the boredom of watching one would sure enough make me fall asleep. You won't believe what was playing- Scarface. I forwarded the on-air programming guide, Assassins was on next and then The Mask Of Zorro and after that Speed and Speed 2. I don't know how these films fit into the Western theme unless the channel is trying to broaden their viewing audience. I went to see the film Scarface with my mom when it was released. I was under the age 8. Whenever the trailer aired on TV it showed Michelle Pheiffer's character wearing a long beautiful blue dress and getting into a see-through elevator. I just was interested in that one scene. When I actually got to see it on the big screen I was excited and said to my mom 'that's my dream house, the elevator house!' When the film was over I kept on repeating a phrase from the movie, 'never get high on your own supply' over and over again. My mom called me her little parrot and I had to promise her I wouldn't go around saying that phrase out loud in public. For those of you who have children you must be thinking, 'why kind of mother takes their child to see Scarface? It's not exactly a child-friendly film.' All I can say is my upbringing wasn't exactly ordinary. About 30 minutes into the movie I began feeling relaxed and sleepy and decided to go to sleep. I went into my bedroom first and the hideous creature was doing it's nightly ritual of barking. I then went into the spare bedroom and it was so peaceful. I felt as if I was a thousand miles away from the sound of the creature's bark. I was sleeping so deep until 'A' awoken me. I looked at the alarm clock. It was all blurry so I had to blink a couple of times. It was 5am. I said to her 'why? Why did you wake me?' 'I'm sorry,' she replied, 'but I had to. The police are here.'

To be continued.....

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess

Happy Valentine's Day

Cocaine Princess here, wishing you all a very romantic and sensual Valentine's Day. I'm cheeky aren't I?

Before I forget, the club in Coconut Grove whose name I couldn't remember that I wrote about in the entry titled: The Return Of Senor Bling, I called Valentina up and she remembered: The Mutiny.

I love watching The Jerry Springer Show. I get a kick out of watching self-proclaimed red necks with missing teeth discussing their problems on TV. Not that long ago a lady appeared on the show wearing a wedding gown. Two men were fighting over her and she was on the show to choose which man she wanted to be with and then marry him live on The Jerry Springer Show. Let me describe this lady: she was 250lbs and had a beard. The two men who were fighting over her were father and son. All three worked for the carnival. The 250lb bearded lady had two men fighting over her and yet I am single. Yes, it's true. The Cocaine Princess is without a boyfriend. If you're shocked you can imagine how I must feel.

I'm not bitter about being alone on what is considered the most romantic day of the year. It's not like I'm the only person without a significant other this St. Valentine's Day. I honestly believe true love does exist and that there is such a thing as love at first sight. Some may scoff at the thought of all this but maybe it's because their heart has been broken so many times and their heart is still waiting to find its' home. I also believe in soul mates. Soul mates that start off as a single shooting star that Cupid shoots from heaven and upon arriving to earth it splits in half landing in two different individuals, each waiting and aching to find its' other half so it can feel whole again. And when the time is right even if those two people are oceans apart an unseen energy, an immortal essence guides those two towards each other. The very moment their eyes meet there is an instant connection, a feeling they've known each other for years. They are so drawn to each other because their souls recognize each other, after all the soul never dies. And suddenly the ache that once lived inside of them instantly disappears and is replaced with a feeling of never ending passionate love. The heart is finally whole. The heart has finally found a home and everything all of a sudden makes sense. How else can love at first sight be explained?

Sometimes I wonder if my soul mate and I have ever been in the same place at the same time but our eyes didn't meet because it just wasn't the right time? Or perhaps he caught a mere glimpse of me and tried to approach me and when he did I disappeared. Leaving him wondering if I was just an apparition.

For those of you who have found your true love love, your soul mate I have this message:

hold them and never let them go, hug them, squeeze them, ravage, cherish and appreciate them, cover every inch of their body with your kisses and love them to the point of no return.

For those of you who haven't found your true love, your soul mate (like me!) I have this message:

For every lock there is a key. Just as you are thinking and dreaming and waiting for that special someone, well that special someone is thinking and dreaming and waiting for you. So just hold on because love's going to walk in to steal your heart and to take your breath away.

This St. Valentine's Day the Cocaine Princess sends you an extra batch of hugs and kisses mixed with a little Latin spice.

XOXOXOXO,

Cocaine Princess

XOXOXOXO

The Return Of Senor Bling

Cocaine Princess here akaThe Atheist. I'm just kidding!

Mother Nature certainly has a sick sense of humor. On Friday we had a storm and she dumped 25cm of snow. On Saturday the weather was quite mild and on Sunday it started to rain which melted a lot of the snow. It was a relief to finally see some of the grass. And now we are under another winter storm watch. I'll always be a loyal Canadian but our winters are so wicked and cruel. The cold weather begins mid-October and usually ends in mid-May leaving our summers to be very short.

Valentina called today and the first thing that came out of her mouth: 'what the hell kind of backwards neighborhood are you living in?! I live in a country that's predominately Roman Catholic and nobody here made a stink about the book.' I live in a pretty up-scale neighborhood but many residents serve on the School Board of Education. I informed Valentina I had written another letter to the editor in response to what some of the people had written about me. I'm not quite sure if it'll be published but at least I spoke my mind. If they want to think I'm an atheist then let them. I'm certainly not going to bend over backwards trying to convince them I'm not. I don't even know the people in my neighborhood. I'm not the type to invite my neighbors over for coffee while we watch Oprah and Dr. Phil and gossip about other people. Not that I'm anti-social but I just have a different kind of social life. I can't picture myself in the future as a mom driving my kids to soccer practice in a SUV or wearing sweats and no make-up to the grocery store or to pick up the dry cleaning. Nor can I picture myself doing the laundry and then folding it or scheduling car-pooling and having get-togethers with the other moms to vent how our kids never listen or complain how our husbands would rather watch sports than go out for a romantic evening. Oh good-grief the horror! Not that there's anything wrong with that type of life. Many women are very happy and fulfilled with that lifestyle and I think that's great, after all we each have our definition of happiness. But that sort of life is not for me. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love children and I hope one day I meet and fall in love with the man of my dreams and if I blessed enough to have kids I certainly won't be driving them around in a SUV. It'll be a shiny sports car with the top down and music blaring with a chauffeur of course. And I'll be dressed to the nines and known as the cool yummy-mummy just like my mom was. As for the cooking and cleaning, that'll be the maid's job because God knows I don't have a domestic bone in my body. I had a very unique childhood as did Valentina. A typical weekend for my classmates would be either having some sort of musical or dance recital or selling girl-guide cookies door-to-door or sleeping over at a friends house. For me a typical weekend was jetting off to another country with my mom. One particular weekend stands out. It was a Friday morning and mom and I flew to Miami. Valentina and her parents were at their Miami mansion for the weekend and had invited us. I was still in elementary school and mom said it wasn't a big deal if I missed one day of school. Over the years I missed several Fridays. During the daytime Valentina and I could do whatever we wanted. We would go to the beach and then go to the mall (I guess some things never change) and had lunch everyday at Wolfie's. I'd always order the egg creme first and then proceed with lunch. But when the glorious Miami sun would set and the moon and stars appeared that meant it was time for the adults to do whatever they wanted. Valentina and I would sit on the bed watching our moms get all glammed up for the night. After kissing and hugging us good night Valentina and I would cling to our mommies asking why we couldn't come along? It was always the same answer, 'you're too little.' They would leave on the arms of Valentina's daddy accompanied of course with an entourage of bodyguards to party at the club. As I'm writing this for the life of me I can't remember the name of the club. I'm drawing a complete and total blank. It was a popular members-only club in the Grove and the membership cards were made from brass. I'll call Valentina up later, she should remember. I would call her now but I'm on a roll and I don't want to disturb my train of thought.

The club had a notorious reputation for its' hedonistic atmosphere. Back then, the club whose name I still can't remember was the place to be seen in the 80's. My mom one time told me Miami during those days was a drug smugglers paradise. There was so much cocaine going around that you couldn't even find a single dollar bill that didn't have traces of the drug on it. (So often we read articles or hear how drugs bring about crime and destroy society. But Miami's economy profited very well from it. And people say drugs are bad) In one night Valentina's daddy would easily spend 6-7 grand on food, alcohol and tips. All the waiters loved serving the Kingpins because they were (and still are) the most generous tippers. On that particular night (my mom told me this years later) a gentleman was there at the club. He was dressed in a colorful silk shirt and had rows of gold chains around his neck. He approached the table where Valentina's parents and my mom were all sitting at and said to Valentina's daddy 'Good evening sir how are you?' 'Do I know you?' Valentina's daddy asked. 'No' the gentleman replied. ' So why the hell do you care how I am?' questioned Valentina's daddy. 'I just came over to introduce myself' explained the gentleman. He then extended his hand out in hopes that Valentina's daddy would shake it. But he didn't. Instead he lit up his cigarette and after taking two puffs he said to the gentleman, 'is this a habit of yours going up to complete strangers and introducing yourself? Are you running for office and looking for votes ?' 'No I'm just a friendly guy' the gentleman answered. 'I'm not interested in your friendship,' said Valentina's daddy. At that moment one of the bodyguards opened up his blazer so his gun could visibly be seen. The gentleman received the message and turned around and headed back to his table. Two hours later a waiter brought over a bottle of Dom P. and pointed out who it was from- the gentleman in the silk shirt. After tipping the waiter with five one hundred dollar bills Valentina's daddy instructed the waiter to send the bottle back and to give the gentleman in the silk shirt a verbal message. What was the message? 'Don't waste the DEA's money.' Yes, the gentleman in the silk shirt was none other than an undercover DEA trying to get close to Valentina's daddy, but he knew from the get-go he was undercover. How? I'm not going to reveal that. That whole scene is going to play out in one of my up-coming manuscripts. Meanwhile, Valentina and I would be at the mansion staying up late and eating cheesecake. I ate a lot of cheesecake back then usually drizzled with chocolate sauce, other times with a large scoop of ice cream and sometimes I'd have both. Then when I started modeling it was adios cheesecake and hello Slim Fast. God, it's been so long since I've had cheesecake. So long that I think I've forgotten what it tastes like. The sacrifices I make to stay thin. While other moms were busy on a Saturday night baking cookies for their child's sleep-over or heading a brownie troop my mom was partying at a club with a Drug Kingpin and his wife in sizzling Miami. I know at this point you must be saying 'forget the trip down memory lane CP and get to Senor Bling!' Forgive me but I'm feeling a little nostalgic. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not thinking of my mom. I like to believe she's watching over me. Today for some reason I felt like going through some photo albums. The first album I opened up was filled with photos of our trip to Miami which brought back a flood of memories. In each picture my mom was so happy and so healthy. Back then not even in my worst of worst nightmares could I have imagined she would go from happy and healthy to gravely ill without any warning. Like a knife twisting deep in my heart is what I feel each time I think how weak and frail she became. Part of me tries to block it out but somehow it'll slowly creep back into my head and play over and over again......Enough about that and on to Senor Bling. While I was still on the phone with Valentina and after the conversation about my letter to the editor she says 'Senor Bling is here at the house.' 'You're kidding?!' I said back. 'Daddy's having a big meeting. Valentina replied. 'I think something big is taking place and daddy needs to speak to some of the key players. One of the bodyguards was taking him into the living room just as I was leaving. I looked right at him.' 'And?' I asked. 'And he didn't make any eye-contact with me,' she said back. 'I have a feeling that daddy must have said something to him after you broke up with him or he just knows better. I should have given him the finger.' 'I'm surprised you didn't' I said back. Valentina continued talking about her daddy's meeting. 'All the men in suits are here and a few are dressed in camouflage (of course, the army I thought to myself) and a couple of politicians and some lawyers from the states. All hungry for daddy's money.' Even though I utterly despise Senor Bling, I will admit he is damn good at his job. 'You're never going to believe what happened today?' Valentina then stated. 'Daddy fired one of his bodyguards.' 'Seriously?' I asked. 'What happened?' Valentina explained: 'Every morning daddy has a meeting with his security team where they discuss whatever is on daddy's agenda, appointments and meetings and all that kind of stuff. One of the bodyguards came strolling in late. His excuse? He wanted to hear the score on the radio of some sporting event.' 'How late was he?' I questioned. 'One minute and 22 seconds,' replied Valentina. I can't say I was surprised. Her daddy is a perfectionist and working for him means you have to remain 110% focused all of the time. There are no time for distractions. Valentina continued, 'daddy said if he was so interested in sports he should have become a sports reporter.' Valentina was in the kitchen while on the phone with me. She tried listening in on the meeting. 'I can hardly hear a thing. I think I heard the word 'percentage or I think it was or something similar to that.' 'How long is the meeting for?' I asked. 'Probably a few hours and then everyone leaves. I doubt daddy will invite Senor Bling to stay over.' Each time Valentina spoke about Senor Bling I noticed how I felt nothing for him. No regrets about breaking up with him and any romantic feelings that I thought maybe still lingering inside of me were dead as a doornail. I felt good.

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess

Oh damn! I was suppose to give you an update on Lawyer-Guy. Next entry, I promise. XOXO

The Atheist Who Lives In The Corner House

Cocaine Princess here.

I had such a craving last night for pizza. Usually I'm good and I'm able to ignore my cravings but ladies you know what I'm talking about. We all have those crazy cravings at least once a month. It may have had something to do with all the pizza commercials urging people to order from them on Super Bowl Sunday. I decided on ordering from Pizza Hut, the stuffed crust pizza with pineapples and hot pepper rings. My pizza was delivered at 1:30 am. I drizzled some hot sauce on it and ate two pieces straight out of the box and put the rest away. I was in heaven. I don't watch football or any other sporting event unless David Beckham is involved because I like watching him. I love watching the Super Bowl especially the commercials. The one commercial I am looking forward in seeing is a commercial starring Madonna, Shakira and Marilyn Monroe for sunsilk. Should be awesome.

For those of you who have been reading my entries you may have noticed I voiced my opinion regarding the School Board decision on banning The Golden Compass . I decided to write a letter to the editor of the town's local newspaper. Here's what I wrote:

Dear Editor,
Once again if someone or some organization isn't comfortable with something what is their solution? Censorship.
I believe we are all entitled to our opinions but to tell someone they can't read a book because they disagree or find some aspect of it offensive or in the case of The Golden Compass 'anti-Christian', is wrong and unfair. I believe censorship comes out of fear. Fear of having an open mind. So many of us have been programmed to think a certain way that when we see, read or listen to something that's a little different we automatically think it's wrong. We fear to think out of the box. With censorship artists will lose their ability and their artistic freedom. There are so many great books to be read, songs to be heard and movies to be seen, is it fair that people won't be able to because some group/organization has found the material to be offensive in their minds? Because they find it offensive doesn't mean it is offensive to others. Don't let others speak for you. Don't let others make decisions for you. Keep an open and decide for yourself. I find it incredibly hard to believe that all Catholics feel the same way. I actually find it a little insulting for the parents. How dare the Catholic School Board decide what their children can and cannot read. Parents should be the one to decide. So often we see or read ads urging children to read books instead of watching television. When a children reads a book their minds are stimulated, they are transported into another dimension allowing their imagination to soar. If school board continues to ban books children will lose this ability towards imagination.
What's next for the school board? Perhaps banning Halloween because they believe it's associated with the devil? Or perhaps they will begin to burn magicians at the stake because they feel it is a form of witchcraft?
The School Board is saying that one's religion will be weakened by reading this book. If that's what they believe then perhaps they don't have enough faith and strength in their religion to begin with. The School Board are nothing but a bunch of bullies and hypocrites. Growing up I was told God loves every human being no matter what, after all we are created in his image. But according to the School Board, God doesn't love atheists.
If anyone from the school board is reading this, I have a message. It's the year 2008 and not 1508.
Sincerely,
XXXXX

I felt quite voicing my opinion. I'm pretty sure all you know by now that I am against any type of censorship. Not everyone agrees with me. The letter I wrote struck a nerve in my neighborhood because several people wrote letters to the editor against me. Here's what some had to say: She is wrong! The board had every right to ban a horrible book! She should be ashamed of herself for supporting someone (the author) who is an atheist'. There are several more but I think you get the picture.

In my neighborhood I am now known as the atheist who lives in the corner house. I liked it better before when I was known as the pretty Latin girl who lives in the corner house.

Not that I need to defend myself but I am not an atheist.

Earlier in the day we had a massive snow storm. 25cm of the white stuff has been dumped closing all the schools. In the mid-afternoon my doorbell rang. There were two girls no more than 8 years old all bundled up holding shovels. 'Can we please shovel your driveway for 2 dollars?' they asked. Their cheeks were so rosy red, how could I say no? When they finished I gave them 10 dollars each, hot chocolate and some donuts. I maybe known as the atheist who lives in the corner house but I'll be damed if I'm known as the cheap atheist who lives in the corner house.

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess