Eulogy
n. a formal expression of praise
WordNet (R) 2.0, (C) 2003
Princeton University
n. a formal expression of praise
WordNet (R) 2.0, (C) 2003
Princeton University
WARNING WARNING: This is the uncut eulogy to the tomcat’s riddles and to the Bitssy and Marnsy learning. This eulogy is M15+. If you could not stand the sight of Caramel toilet sausages, or you cried alone at Marnsy’s death, DO NOT read on. You may be too sensitive to receive the dreaming: not ready to take your place beside Bitssy in the Dog’s Body Army.
Marmalade may have appeared to be an innocent, yet daringly cheeky, tomcat. Don’t be fooled. Marmalade was, and remains, that great blob of fat that WILL block your veins and demand your attention to speaking up when things are making you sick! The situation that he and Bitssy found themselves in deserves your full anger, your immediate attention to changing your life if a Caramel person won’t let you onto your own front verandah. Marmalade’s riddily catastrophes are the key to flushing that smelly bowl that may have bits of left over Caramel toilet sausages floating in your toilet! Too scared to go there for fear of vomiting and running away in terror, you will not just flush it away, you will hold, hold, hold, until you explode! Oh, no! Not good. You have to do something different now!
Did you know that far too many children are not allowed to have their own private body space? Caramel monsters, who often look sweet and just like everybody else, control and hurt them. The monsters invade their body space and trick everyone around into thinking that they are sweet and wonderful. Some of those monsters even touch the children’s private parts (the parts covered by swimming costumes like Cindy and Matty had on) and tell them that it’s okay. Before you ever get into this situation, remember what Bitssy had to slowly learn from Marmalade: my body, my home, my space, my privacy! If it does happen to you, it is not your fault. Remember what Bitssy said: “This is my body and I will take it where I want without fear of you, or anyone else hurting me. I will tell, and my big person will help me.” In our human world it is an adult’s job to protect children so it is never, ever, your fault.
Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast is about body ownership. It is the first in a
series of five books about keeping yourself safe. In this story Marmalade teaches Bitssy about boundaries and speaking up. While this book may give you some ideas, you need to practise doing things differently, and never lose sight of your dreams. Remember that your body belongs to YOU! You have the right to take it safely wherever you want without fear of anyone hurting you. If someone does hurt you, do a Bitssy: tell someone!
So what else did Bitssy learn from Marmalade? He was such a tricky little devil and his riddles in Bit 4 made me want to stamp my foot and demand an answer to foreboding catastrophes NOW!
Because I’m the author, I can cheat and tell you what Bitssy learnt. So listen up everybody, here we go:
Catastrophe 1: Talk up will you, your bark is much worse than your bite, it just
doesn’t exist! Marmalade was trying to get Bitssy to understand that she was keeping her thoughts and her fears to herself instead of shaking them out and facing them, dog to dog. When you keep fearful thoughts inside your head they become scarier, jumbled and stuck: stinkin’ thinking!
Whereas dingoes can bite, they cannot bark. Marmalade had to find a different way to make her point about telling. By throwing Bitssy a riddle about dingo
barking, Marmalade was sure that Bitssy would think about trying to solve it. Bitssy did! She found her hidden howl, and developed the courage to tell Caramel to stop, to leave her alone. She made it clear to Caramel that she would tell. Well done Bitssy, you’re the best. I want to be like you when I grow up.
Catastrophe 2: Learn to recognise a reef knot. It’s a strong boundary knot that will help to pull you, and me, out of trouble. Ahh, wise Marmalade. He used one of the seven great wonders of the natural world, the Great Barrier Reef, to help to teach Bitssy about barriers and boundaries. Bitssy lived in Cairns, a beautiful place in Australia right on the Great Barrier Reef. Marmalade knew that Bitssy would understand that the reef acted like a safety knot of coral, protecting fish and other sea creatures from danger.
Like the Great Barrier Reef, fences, maps, and globes show that every house/suburb/state/country has a boundary. The boundary shows the body of the country. Most of these countries have armies that help to protect the boundary. Our fences and clothes are like an army. They help to protect our yard and our body and give a sign to people that certain parts are private – the parts inside the fence and the body parts covered by our underwear or swimming costumes.
Bitssy, once she was brave enough to play in her front yard, saw that the fence was held up by a series of reef knots. This made Bitssy think about the idea of safe space: a space that had a barrier around it, a boundary that other people cannot cross without being invited. Thinking back to the riddle and other Marmalade stories about fences, clothes, and farmers’ trucks, Bitssy got it!
Bitssy got that she had to learn how to recognize not only danger, but also things that would help her to be safe and pull her free from things that may harm her. Reef knots are used to tie two different sized ropes together. It would make sense then to use two different ways of getting help. Bitssy chose to use her mouth to tell, and her support people to help interrupt and stop the danger. Pretty smart, hey! Bitssy’s Dog’s Body Army didn’t stop telling. They made sure that as many dogs as possible knew what the situation was. People can keep telling too, until somebody helps. How did Bitssy say it?: “I will tell.”
Catastrophe 3: Being scared doesn’t stop you from doing things, you just have to do them differently. Although nobody knew, Marmalade was scared of Caramel too. Marmalade was determined, though, that he would not have a bully control his movements and stop him from enjoying his life. Remember when Marmalade jumped into the farmer’s truck? The alarm went off and scared another life out of Marmalade. He even ran away from the treasured rat he was hunting! From that one experience, Marmalade learned that there was more than one way to catch a rat. He just had to do it differently without interfering in anybody else’s rights.
Everyone feels scared at some time. It is a normal feeling, an early warning sign to tell us to pay attention because something is not right. What most people do is think about whether their fear is real or imagined. They sort it in their head and find someone to help them. Fear was controlling Bitssy’s movements though. It froze her brain and kept her chained to the same spot. It was ruining her life. She had failed to recognise fear as an early warning sign that could lead to help and instead allowed it to stop her from doing what she had the right to do.
By suggesting to Bitssy that there were different ways to do things, Marmalade threw Bitssy a bone to chew on. Bitssy began to try different things, to tell herself that she was ready to be more wolf like. She learnt that the wolf inside her dreams was really a part of her: her power and her help. Although it took some time, Bitssy was able to make a thinking shift in her mind that allowed her to break free of the heavy fear that was squashing her, and instead face it square on. Bitssy stopped being so bone headed! A strange dream of a dog from another country (a wolf) seemed out of place to her. She was an Australian dingo. She was different. That’s it! She would be different from now on.
Doing things differently always seems strange at first. Speaking up about things can be as hard as learning a different language. But Bitssy stuck with doing things differently and she won in the end. Congratulations Bitssy. You deserve another Private stripe as a reward. Ohh, but two stripes makes a corporal. Private Bitssy is moving up the ranks of success.
Catastrophe 4: Dream aplenty so that Catman-do and din-go anywhere they want. Ahhhh, the dreams. Dreams are wonderful. Dreams are our body-mind’s way of working things out. Some people don’t listen to their dreams and they miss out on learning some really helpful information. We all have wolf like messengers inside us. Bitssy’s wolves kept coming back until she finally realised that the wolves were part of her. They were her body’s way of telling her that it was time to be different, time to listen to her inner voice and to growl back at monsters, real or imagined ones.
With the help of her dreams, Bitssy and Marmalade got to play together in the front yard. The nightmare struggle was worth it. Bitssy took that dream power from inside and her life became a living dream: a dream of checking that all was well with the land and her many friends.
The wolf and the wolverine, the dream picture of the reef, the water wolf, the fear eating goannas and the sharks and crocodiles were all part of Bitssy’s inner strength desperately trying to fight her fear. Because Bitssy was ignoring her strength in her waking hours, her strength had to visit her in dreams and give her hints about what she could do. The pack of wolves, loosed from her throat and snapping the world to attention, was Bitssy speaking up, taking back her power and speaking out about wrong.
Marmalade had been watching Bitssy for weeks before he was bold enough to drop into her garden. Marmalade needed to be sure that Bitssy was a kind dog, not a dog that would eat cats. Hidden in the orange shrubs, Marmalade would watch Bitssy play and sleep. He knew that Bitssy dreamt because he would often see her legs jiggling like she was chasing a butterfly.
Marmalade felt sorry for Bitssy, jailed to the back yard, and saw that Bitssy needed some assistance to make her go-anywhere-to-check-the-world-is-safe dream come to life. Marmalade was so lonely after his years of wandering homelessness that he really wanted to be friends with Bitssy and play with her in the front yard, as well as the back. Marmalade knew that he would enter the front yard (Cat-man-do) and he so wanted to encourage Bitssy to join him there and wherever else (Din-go) they decided to investigate. By putting together a riddle about dreaming and doing, Marmalade knew that Bitssy would eventually make her dreams reality and start acting as though she was a go-anywhere-I-want-safely dog (Din-go).
The visiting grey dream wolf at Marnsy’s deathbed showed her that Bitssy had learned wonderful lessons and was now truly free. The dreams were part of Marnsy’s inner wish to make sure that all was well. Marnsy wouldn’t die until she knew that her Bitssy was safe and really had become special. Recognising her own inner needs in a dream, Marnsy died happy and content. Sad, yes, but now Marnsy was free too. Her baby had not developed a dingo’s need to senselessly kill, and her husband was waiting for her. This is what Marnsy wanted: peace.
The pictures from Marnsy’s death and Bitssy’s life have given us different meaning to dreams. Dreams of wolves will no longer be scary. They will be understood as messengers of personal power and strength, passed from one person to another, to allow everybody the right to go where they want without fear of being controlled by Caramel monsters. And Caramel monsters? Well, let’s just say that anybody who tries to invade your body space deserves to end up in the pound with Caramel. Bitssy is still around, spreading the message, telling her story about dreaming, speaking up and taking back the power. If there’s anyone out there who’s planning a Caramel take over, be warned. Bitssy’s told the world to tell: to not fall for your sugary lies. And tell we will. We want sweet dreams, not diabetic comas!
Marmalade may have appeared to be an innocent, yet daringly cheeky, tomcat. Don’t be fooled. Marmalade was, and remains, that great blob of fat that WILL block your veins and demand your attention to speaking up when things are making you sick! The situation that he and Bitssy found themselves in deserves your full anger, your immediate attention to changing your life if a Caramel person won’t let you onto your own front verandah. Marmalade’s riddily catastrophes are the key to flushing that smelly bowl that may have bits of left over Caramel toilet sausages floating in your toilet! Too scared to go there for fear of vomiting and running away in terror, you will not just flush it away, you will hold, hold, hold, until you explode! Oh, no! Not good. You have to do something different now!
Did you know that far too many children are not allowed to have their own private body space? Caramel monsters, who often look sweet and just like everybody else, control and hurt them. The monsters invade their body space and trick everyone around into thinking that they are sweet and wonderful. Some of those monsters even touch the children’s private parts (the parts covered by swimming costumes like Cindy and Matty had on) and tell them that it’s okay. Before you ever get into this situation, remember what Bitssy had to slowly learn from Marmalade: my body, my home, my space, my privacy! If it does happen to you, it is not your fault. Remember what Bitssy said: “This is my body and I will take it where I want without fear of you, or anyone else hurting me. I will tell, and my big person will help me.” In our human world it is an adult’s job to protect children so it is never, ever, your fault.
Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast is about body ownership. It is the first in a
series of five books about keeping yourself safe. In this story Marmalade teaches Bitssy about boundaries and speaking up. While this book may give you some ideas, you need to practise doing things differently, and never lose sight of your dreams. Remember that your body belongs to YOU! You have the right to take it safely wherever you want without fear of anyone hurting you. If someone does hurt you, do a Bitssy: tell someone!
So what else did Bitssy learn from Marmalade? He was such a tricky little devil and his riddles in Bit 4 made me want to stamp my foot and demand an answer to foreboding catastrophes NOW!
Because I’m the author, I can cheat and tell you what Bitssy learnt. So listen up everybody, here we go:
Catastrophe 1: Talk up will you, your bark is much worse than your bite, it just
doesn’t exist! Marmalade was trying to get Bitssy to understand that she was keeping her thoughts and her fears to herself instead of shaking them out and facing them, dog to dog. When you keep fearful thoughts inside your head they become scarier, jumbled and stuck: stinkin’ thinking!
Whereas dingoes can bite, they cannot bark. Marmalade had to find a different way to make her point about telling. By throwing Bitssy a riddle about dingo
barking, Marmalade was sure that Bitssy would think about trying to solve it. Bitssy did! She found her hidden howl, and developed the courage to tell Caramel to stop, to leave her alone. She made it clear to Caramel that she would tell. Well done Bitssy, you’re the best. I want to be like you when I grow up.
Catastrophe 2: Learn to recognise a reef knot. It’s a strong boundary knot that will help to pull you, and me, out of trouble. Ahh, wise Marmalade. He used one of the seven great wonders of the natural world, the Great Barrier Reef, to help to teach Bitssy about barriers and boundaries. Bitssy lived in Cairns, a beautiful place in Australia right on the Great Barrier Reef. Marmalade knew that Bitssy would understand that the reef acted like a safety knot of coral, protecting fish and other sea creatures from danger.
Like the Great Barrier Reef, fences, maps, and globes show that every house/suburb/state/country has a boundary. The boundary shows the body of the country. Most of these countries have armies that help to protect the boundary. Our fences and clothes are like an army. They help to protect our yard and our body and give a sign to people that certain parts are private – the parts inside the fence and the body parts covered by our underwear or swimming costumes.
Bitssy, once she was brave enough to play in her front yard, saw that the fence was held up by a series of reef knots. This made Bitssy think about the idea of safe space: a space that had a barrier around it, a boundary that other people cannot cross without being invited. Thinking back to the riddle and other Marmalade stories about fences, clothes, and farmers’ trucks, Bitssy got it!
Bitssy got that she had to learn how to recognize not only danger, but also things that would help her to be safe and pull her free from things that may harm her. Reef knots are used to tie two different sized ropes together. It would make sense then to use two different ways of getting help. Bitssy chose to use her mouth to tell, and her support people to help interrupt and stop the danger. Pretty smart, hey! Bitssy’s Dog’s Body Army didn’t stop telling. They made sure that as many dogs as possible knew what the situation was. People can keep telling too, until somebody helps. How did Bitssy say it?: “I will tell.”
Catastrophe 3: Being scared doesn’t stop you from doing things, you just have to do them differently. Although nobody knew, Marmalade was scared of Caramel too. Marmalade was determined, though, that he would not have a bully control his movements and stop him from enjoying his life. Remember when Marmalade jumped into the farmer’s truck? The alarm went off and scared another life out of Marmalade. He even ran away from the treasured rat he was hunting! From that one experience, Marmalade learned that there was more than one way to catch a rat. He just had to do it differently without interfering in anybody else’s rights.
Everyone feels scared at some time. It is a normal feeling, an early warning sign to tell us to pay attention because something is not right. What most people do is think about whether their fear is real or imagined. They sort it in their head and find someone to help them. Fear was controlling Bitssy’s movements though. It froze her brain and kept her chained to the same spot. It was ruining her life. She had failed to recognise fear as an early warning sign that could lead to help and instead allowed it to stop her from doing what she had the right to do.
By suggesting to Bitssy that there were different ways to do things, Marmalade threw Bitssy a bone to chew on. Bitssy began to try different things, to tell herself that she was ready to be more wolf like. She learnt that the wolf inside her dreams was really a part of her: her power and her help. Although it took some time, Bitssy was able to make a thinking shift in her mind that allowed her to break free of the heavy fear that was squashing her, and instead face it square on. Bitssy stopped being so bone headed! A strange dream of a dog from another country (a wolf) seemed out of place to her. She was an Australian dingo. She was different. That’s it! She would be different from now on.
Doing things differently always seems strange at first. Speaking up about things can be as hard as learning a different language. But Bitssy stuck with doing things differently and she won in the end. Congratulations Bitssy. You deserve another Private stripe as a reward. Ohh, but two stripes makes a corporal. Private Bitssy is moving up the ranks of success.
Catastrophe 4: Dream aplenty so that Catman-do and din-go anywhere they want. Ahhhh, the dreams. Dreams are wonderful. Dreams are our body-mind’s way of working things out. Some people don’t listen to their dreams and they miss out on learning some really helpful information. We all have wolf like messengers inside us. Bitssy’s wolves kept coming back until she finally realised that the wolves were part of her. They were her body’s way of telling her that it was time to be different, time to listen to her inner voice and to growl back at monsters, real or imagined ones.
With the help of her dreams, Bitssy and Marmalade got to play together in the front yard. The nightmare struggle was worth it. Bitssy took that dream power from inside and her life became a living dream: a dream of checking that all was well with the land and her many friends.
The wolf and the wolverine, the dream picture of the reef, the water wolf, the fear eating goannas and the sharks and crocodiles were all part of Bitssy’s inner strength desperately trying to fight her fear. Because Bitssy was ignoring her strength in her waking hours, her strength had to visit her in dreams and give her hints about what she could do. The pack of wolves, loosed from her throat and snapping the world to attention, was Bitssy speaking up, taking back her power and speaking out about wrong.
Marmalade had been watching Bitssy for weeks before he was bold enough to drop into her garden. Marmalade needed to be sure that Bitssy was a kind dog, not a dog that would eat cats. Hidden in the orange shrubs, Marmalade would watch Bitssy play and sleep. He knew that Bitssy dreamt because he would often see her legs jiggling like she was chasing a butterfly.
Marmalade felt sorry for Bitssy, jailed to the back yard, and saw that Bitssy needed some assistance to make her go-anywhere-to-check-the-world-is-safe dream come to life. Marmalade was so lonely after his years of wandering homelessness that he really wanted to be friends with Bitssy and play with her in the front yard, as well as the back. Marmalade knew that he would enter the front yard (Cat-man-do) and he so wanted to encourage Bitssy to join him there and wherever else (Din-go) they decided to investigate. By putting together a riddle about dreaming and doing, Marmalade knew that Bitssy would eventually make her dreams reality and start acting as though she was a go-anywhere-I-want-safely dog (Din-go).
The visiting grey dream wolf at Marnsy’s deathbed showed her that Bitssy had learned wonderful lessons and was now truly free. The dreams were part of Marnsy’s inner wish to make sure that all was well. Marnsy wouldn’t die until she knew that her Bitssy was safe and really had become special. Recognising her own inner needs in a dream, Marnsy died happy and content. Sad, yes, but now Marnsy was free too. Her baby had not developed a dingo’s need to senselessly kill, and her husband was waiting for her. This is what Marnsy wanted: peace.
The pictures from Marnsy’s death and Bitssy’s life have given us different meaning to dreams. Dreams of wolves will no longer be scary. They will be understood as messengers of personal power and strength, passed from one person to another, to allow everybody the right to go where they want without fear of being controlled by Caramel monsters. And Caramel monsters? Well, let’s just say that anybody who tries to invade your body space deserves to end up in the pound with Caramel. Bitssy is still around, spreading the message, telling her story about dreaming, speaking up and taking back the power. If there’s anyone out there who’s planning a Caramel take over, be warned. Bitssy’s told the world to tell: to not fall for your sugary lies. And tell we will. We want sweet dreams, not diabetic comas!
Bitssy, we salute you.
To purchase Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast please visit this eBay store: Duncan's Emporium Gifts and Curios. They are selling the book at only A$12.00 plus postage. RRP is $15.00.
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