July is time for Fiesta. Here in our village, every July sees three mad days of celebration. But, it’s hot. It’s hot, Hot, HOT. You can’t sleep it’s so hot.
So, if you want to enjoy the three days of Féria, take that afternoon siesta when you can. You’ll need the extra energy to get you through the nights.
First Day of the Féria
The first day of Fiesta begins with games in the arena. A travelling company sets up their bull ring and apprentices from the bullfighting school in Béziers demonstrate their skills with the cape.
a proper Paso Doble!
The young man in the photo above is a native of our village and, as you can imagine, raised great cheers from the crowd.
young men admiring bull ring skills
This trainee matador also had female admirers. One young lady in front of me took off her hat and threw it into the ring at the end of his performance. Maybe her telephone number was tucked inside. Who knows?
He bowed and acknowledged her gesture of respect and admiration before returning her hat.
Another young trainee who raised hats from heads and bottoms from seats was a young lady!
brave female matador in training
There’s interesting history on the question of female matadors. Until 1975, women were banned from the top job. In 1999, Cristina Sanchez, Spain’s only female professional matador at that time retired after 10 years, blaming male attitudes for her decision. There’s more information on this subject here, on WikiGender.
And here’s a video about other women matadors:
There are strong arguments against bullfighting, but here at our fiesta, there are no kills. You have to admire the agility and elegance of these performers. That bull can weigh up to 700 kilos. You need guts to stand in front of that.
Oh, and by the way, that T on the boarding there? It doesn’t mean this is the way to the toilets.
Summer storms build quickly here in Languedoc. Yesterday’s forecast map looked like this:
weather map
Storms all over the place. Worse, the dreaded G means grêle which is hail. You remember Master of Wine, Juliet Bruce Jones listed hail as a wine grower’s worst nightmare at this time of year. Languedoc summer storms may be short but they can be very violent. Hail stones are sometimes enormous.The resulting damage to fruits on the vine doesn’t bear thinking about.
Incidentally, you’ll notice from the map that Tuesday was the day of St Brigitte. This is the St Brigitte of Sweden (there’s another Irish St Brigitte of Kildare). I mention this because I’m a writer and these things interest me. St Brigitte of Sweden was the only woman ever to found a religious Order. I’m tempted to make a bad joke about Hail Marys, but I better not.
Back to the weather forecast. The worst of it is further north. It appears that here in Languedoc we’ll be spared. However, the blue sky has temporarily abandoned us and the humidity has shot up again. They’ll have to keep spraying.
misty grey skies over the vineyards
Close up, though, things are beginning to happen. Here’s our Mademoiselle Merlot:
the beginnings of change
The grapes look less vivid green than two weeks ago.
By chance, I met with another wine growing friend who I hadn’t seen for a while. He suggested I have a look at his vines further up the hill. He’s the only grower in our community who grows a variety called Alicante. He told me they are always the first to redden. Robert has offered to take part in my Vine Report posts and I look forward to learning more and passing it on here.
In the meantime, here’s a photograph taken yesterday of his Alicante grapes just beginning to turn.
turning red
Eventually these grapes will be deepest purple. I had no idea they did that! I thought they were born purple. That just goes to show how much of an amateur I am. But, you know, that word amateur doesn’t necessarily have derogatory undertones. Doesn’t it come from French lover of and before that from Latin?
So, it’s perfectly okay to be a wine amateur and write a Wednesday Languedoc Vine Report just because you love the stuff and get such a kick out of watching it grow.
Wicked Stepmother looks at the calendar. 4 weeks down. 6 weeks to go. French school holidays go on forever.
plus last week in June, plus all of August . . .
September feels like light years away.
The good ship doing nicely thank you has encountered more squalls. The power switch off (see previous Wicked Stepmother post) happened only the once. Good intentions were slipping. Had slipped. Storms were building on the horizon once again when, out of the wide blue yonder, GB accepted an invitation to go to the beach.
the beach at Vias
It wasn’t GB’s idea to go to the beach. He doesn’t particularly like the feel of sand in his shorts. And the beach is no place to take your X-Box, but some of the other gamers thought it would be a fun thing to actually get outside for a while.
This is what he needs, said Biological Parent. It will do him good to get out there, splash around with the lads. Swim in the Med.
Wicked Stepmother had concerns.
Just for the morning, is it? she said.
Yes, said Gollum Boy. We’re going at nine o’ clock. I’ll be back for lunch.
Nine o’ clock in the morning? Wicked Stepmother could hardly believe her ears. What will you need to take with you? she said.
Nothing, came the answer.
No sun cream?
I won’t need it.
He made the nine am. start and off he went with his towel. At twelve came a phone call. The parents picking up the boys had decided to make an afternoon of it, too. They’d made lunch for everybody and turned up with their deck chairs.
So, what time will you be back? said Wicked Stepmother down the phone.
I don’t know.
Grey skin, accustomed to dark places and no sunlight can’t cope with a day at the beach. Maybe the other gamers in GB’s group led a more balanced lifestyle with occasional breaths of air and a little exercise. Maybe they had enough sense to cover up their poor grey chests and backs.
GB encountered his first ever episode of sunburn on his chest and shoulders. Throughout previous summers he’d always managed a sensible approach to being in the sun. This summer, when he walked back through the gate his shirt was rolled up under his arm and he wore a look like a lost puppy.
We snapped off a few bits of Aloe Vera to use the viscous liquid inside the leaves. GB didn’t like the stickiness of the ooze.
soothing Aloe Vera
We went to the pharmacy and came back loaded with unguents and lotions etc. etc..
Be aware, French pharmacies don’t believe in selling you one product when five will do. Take a shopping bag.
The various creams from the pharmacy didn’t help much either.
Then, we read up about using vinegar.
We’d known about some of the uses of vinegar for some time, but this was news to us.
Of all the treatments we tried, cider vinegar came out tops. Sprayed on sun-reddened skin, a fine mist of cider vinegar cools and soothes and stops the itching.
For the next few days, GB went without his shirt as his skin was too hot to wear clothes. He stayed in the shade reapplying the vinegar treatment and smelled like a French Fry, which I suppose, in effect, he was.
magic potion!
There are many claims about the benefits of using cider vinegar. The sunburn treatment certainly worked for GB.
So, there we were, sunburn episode behind us and still a whole load of summer in front of us. What would happen next? Would BP continue to ignore GB’s regression into gaming addiction?
Another invitation arrived. From the same gamers’ group. A trip to Laser Evolution in Béziers.
Aha!
This would get him off the X-Box.
This would get him moving. But, only in the DARK.
I didn’t have the strength to argue about the benefits of fresh air.
Click on image below to view Evolution website.
See you next time when Wicked Stepmother decides to take a break from planning meals.
I hope you’re enjoying the Wicked Stepmother Chronicles. I know there are a lot of us out there. Don’t forget to drop me a comment. I love to hear what you think.
We’d been to the Wednesday market and sat at the same café as my previous French market post on a terrace overlooking the crowd where I like to do my people watching. I snapped a few more nice shots of people passing by.
every picture tells a story
This would make a lively practice piece for character development. Who are the main characters? What is their relationship to one another? What is their background? Are they wealthy? Are they visitors to this area, or do they live here? And so on and so on.
You could use the secondary characters in the background, too. Who looks happy? Who doesn’t? Why? Is there a face that looks apprehensive? Why might that be?
Before you realise, you’re writing a short story.
Maybe you’ll follow some of these characters home to develop their story further. What would their home be like?
Here’s another people picture.
giant basket of melons
Opportunities for creating setting and character development are staring you in the face.
You can let your imagine run riot. You can write down lots of ideas. You don’t have to keep them all. Keep the ones that work best.
What are these children thinking? Why do they put their fingers to their mouths?
After every visit to the market, I come home with new characters to think about. Maybe they’ll find their way into a new short story. Perhaps I’ll keep them for something longer.
It doesn’t matter whether you write romance, fantasy, mystery, horror, sic-fi or thriller. Whatever genre you write in, or avoid becoming labelled as, most stories have one thing in common: people.
Go people watching and take a notebook. Your camera should be with you at all times, too. You never know what you might find around the corner.
People watching must be popular. There’s even a WikiHow to page about it. So, if you’re not sure how to begin, here’s a link with some ideas.
Above our famous water tower the sky is deepest blue.
From time to time, there are distant rumbles of thunder in the mountains behind us. Sometimes we can watch thunderheads building fifty miles away. We’re glad we’re on the edge of the storm. We won’t catch the worst of it. In the vineyards, though, vines will benefit from fresh rainwater running in rivers and streams and through the gulleys into the plains.
Now is the season of celebration in all our towns and villages. Our local co-operative Vigneron held a wine tasting evening as part of summer festivities. Himself and I discovered new wines from our local producers and also from further afield.
tasting the fruit of the vine with a neighbour
Here I am with TWO empty glasses. For shame!
It was a pleasant evening in the shade, sampling Languedoc’s most famous export. Our mayor always attends village events. Here is chatting with growers from Magalas.
the Mayor enjoying sampling
Their Domaine Moulin de Lène will feature in a future Vine Report. In the meantime, here’s a link to their website. Francine speaks good English and is happy to explain their wine growing methods where they keep to a minimum chemical intervention..
However, more of that in their dedicated Languedoc Vine Report later after our visit and tasting of a full range of their products.
Other musical celebrations are held regularly through July. Five nights of fireworks culminate in the big celebration of July 14th. Thereafter, it’s time for Fiesta. Many of our villages have bull-running through the streets. The Feria is a hectic three-day celebration.
So, it made for a pleasant evening when himself and I took a table at a restaurant on the banks of the river Hérault and watched night fall with a bottle of local Rosé. Magic!
Author Luke Murphy is my guest today. He’s celebrating great reviews for his novel Dead Man’s Hand. I love the chance to share in other people’s celebrations.
July 14th is a day of high rejoicing here in France, where I live. We’ve already had a week of firework displays, live music and street parties in town squares from north to south and east to west. Tonight, French people celebrate becoming citizens of a Republic. There’ll be a procession through the streets of our village. Children will carry the flame of truth (lanterns) to the main square to remind us how in 1789 the principals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity underpinned the movement for change. No longer were ordinary people prepared to accept the hand they had been dealt by an unfair society.
It’s probably fair to say that the French have been ornery ever since, but . . .
. . . What better day to celebrate author Luke Murphy’s debut novel Dead Man’s Hand.
I follow Luke Murphy on Twitter. I like to see how other writers are doing. Share the good news.
Luke lives in Shawville, Quebec with his wife, three daughters and pug.
He played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. Since then, he’s held a number of jobs, from sports columnist to radio journalist, before earning his Bachelor of Education degree (Magna Cum Laude).
Dead Man`s Hand was released by Imajin Books on October 20, 2012.
Luke has received excellent reviews. Here are just a few from Amazon.
So, I’m thrilled to bits to have this talented writer as my first guest post.
DEAD MAN’S HAND
It’s a great title isn’t it? I’m not a card player so the phrase wasn’t familiar to me. I didn’t know the history behind it.
Historically, the phrase, Dead Man’s Hand was given to the last poker hand that Wild Bill Hickok had been dealt when he was murdered during a game of five-card-draw. Although there is controversy over what those five cards were or even if there actually were five cards when the infamous Hickok was slain, there appears to be a general consensus that he was holding a pair of 8s and a pair of Aces. However, the most controversial aspect about the poker hand in question, was the the number and suit of the fifth card.
Here’s Luke’s tantalising introduction to his novel:
a must read!
What happens when the deck is stacked against you…
From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.
…and the cards don’t fall your way?
When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.
What if you’re dealt a Dead Man’s Hand?
Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.
Wow! A real thriller writer on my website. Isn’t that something? I asked Luke to tell us a little about where he finds his inspiration.
Luke:
What Inspired my Fiction?
I never thought much about writing when I was growing up.
But I was always an avid reader, which I owe to my mother. She was a librarian, and although I lost her when I was young, I will always remember a stack on Danielle Steele books on her bedside table, and a lot of books lying around the house at my disposal.
My first chapter books were the Hardy Boys titles, so they are the reason I love mysteries. As an adult, some of my favorite authors are Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly and Greg Iles, so naturally I write what I love to read – mystery/suspense novels. DEAD MAN`S HAND has been compared to James Patterson books, which to me is an honour. Maybe in style (short chapters, a quick read), as I have read many of his books.
Plot: I get my ideas from stories I hear about, whether through reading (newspapers, magazines, etc.), what I hear (radio) or what I see (TV, movies, internet, etc.). The plot is completely fictional. I wouldn`t say that one thing or person influences my writing, but a variety of my life experiences all have led to my passion in the written word. There is not a single moment in time when this idea came to be, but circumstances over the years that led to this story: my hockey injuries, frequent visits to Las Vegas, my love of football, crime books and movies. Dead Man’s Hand became real from mixing these events, taking advantage of experts in their field, and adding my wild imagination. The internet also provides a wealth of information, available at our fingertips with a click of the mouse.
Setting: I usually set my stories in cities I`ve visited and fell in love with. Las Vegas was the perfect backdrop for this story, glitz and glamour as well as an untapped underground.
Characters: I have never been involved in a homicide investigation, LOL. Although I am not a 6’5”, 220 pound African-American, I’ve used much of my athletic background when creating my protagonist Calvin Watters. Watters past as an athlete, and his emotional rollercoaster brought on by injuries were drawn from my experiences. His mother died of cancer when he was young, as mine was. There are certainly elements of myself in Calvin, but overall, this is a work of fiction. I did not base the characters or plot on any real people or events. Any familiarities are strictly coincidence.
I’ve always been a self-motivated person, and my harshest critic. Whether it was in school, hockey or writing, I’ve been the one to put the most pressure on myself to succeed, to be the best in everything I try.
I made my decision in 2005. I enjoyed writing so much as a hobby, I decided I wanted to take my interest one step further – write a story with the intention of being published and making it available for friends, family, and readers around the world to enjoy.
I`m not one to take things lightly or jump in half way. I took a full year off from writing to study the craft. I constantly read, from novels in my favorite genres to books written by experts in the writing field. I continually researched on the internet, reading up on the industry and process. I made friends (published and unpublished authors), bombarding them with questions, learning what it took to become successful.
Feeling that I was finally prepared, in the winter of 2006, with an idea in mind and an outline on paper, I started to write DEAD MAN`S HAND. It took me two years (working around full time jobs) to complete the first draft of the novel.
I then worked with editors and joined a critique group, doing anything I could to learn, to improve my writing and my novel to point where I could create the best possible work.
My years of hard work finally paid off. With my dream still in mind and my manuscript ready, I hired the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency to represent DEAD MAN`S HAND. My dream became reality in 2012 when I signed a publishing contract with Imajin Books.
Writing allows me, for a short time, the freedom to leave my everyday world and explore new avenues, to be in another place and time. It allows me to get inside the head of characters—to think, do, and say whatever I want with no rules or restrictions. It means liberty and freedom to express myself.
That’s great, Luke. Thanks for sharing that with us. I wish you all the very best for this and future novels.
And isn’t it nice that the principals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity somehow found their way into this post?
There was an alien invader on my garden wall. Coincidentally, I’d just written the post about cicadas and their life cycle. It’s certainly an alien concept, living alone underground for all those years. The video clip I linked explained why we’d been finding holes in the soil and we’d found empty nymph cases which we assume had fallen from the trees and shrubs.
So, when I saw the nymph attached to the rear wall of our house, I assumed it was empty.
I didn’t want to get too close
But it moved. And it split. I thought this transformation would be over in seconds, but, no. It takes a while. You have to be patient. And the longer I stood there with my camera, so close to this alien on my wall, the jumpier I got.
Can you bear to continue?
it’s coming out!
I switched to video and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Nothing was happening. This video clip would use up all my Coolpix memory and take hours to upload to YouTube with our crappy Broadband speed. I’d no choice but rely on stills.
feeling squeamish yet?
Ah, Jeez, it’s like a blob of green snot. With eyes.
Can I hold on? Dare I stay here? What’s going to happen next?
getting really spooked now
Is that thing looking at me? Look out! It’s moving again.
I’m willing it onward.
Oh, help. I don’t know if I can stand much more. Its legs look slimy and its eyes are weird. If its wings come out in a hurry, will it fly straight at me?
a face only its mother could love
At this point, I can hear an alarm. It’s the bread machine which lives in the utility room. This is a coincidence. Only the other day, I recorded a short clip of dough going around. I called it alien bread because it looked so weird.
I have to go and take out the loaf. Normally, I love the smell of freshly baked bread. Now? After getting so close to green snotty insect life?
But, I have witnessed something wonderful, haven’ t I? How many people get to see the birth of an adult cicada? I dash back with my camera at the ready.
There’s a fluttering noise. Have I missed the final stage? Have I missed the chance to take a photograph of brand new, shimmering wings.
I round the corner.
The wall is empty.
But the nymph case is gone, too.
fat bastard!
I am bereft.
After all that? That poor little blob of green snot had lived all by itself in the dark, underground, waiting for its chance to emerge as a new creature with wings, to rise into the tree tops and sing its little heart out (if it’s a boy), only to get picked off the wall by Captain Fat Jack Sparrow.
I want to cry.
Its struggle for life is unbearable.
I’d never make a wild life photographer.
But you can see why I like writing stories where strange things happen.
You can tell summer’s here. The aisles in the markets are full of summer visitors and lots of them are children, eating pastries in their push chairs or tagging along at the side wearing that out of school for the next two months face.
At Clermont l’Hérault, the Wednesday market features in one of Mick Alec Idlelife’s stories. He’s currently working on reformatting a collection of stories with unusual endings for ebook publishing. There’ll be more news about him soon.
In the meantime, here’s what we saw (pun intended) today at the market.
It looks like an ordinary saw. It’s amazing the notes he can saw from it and the sounds carry so far . . .
We filled our bags with fresh fruit and vegetables. All the seats on the pavement café behind the stall were taken.
Irresistible!
Himself went next door and helped himself at the sausage man’s stall. The sausage man knows us now. When he sees himself coming, he gets out a big bag. The aromas, the colours and the sounds of a French market are always a delight.
And would you believe it? We found a new bar, or at least a recently refurbished one. Neither of us had noticed it before, but today, large and welcoming, a fifties style retro diner with a terrace overlooking the market canopies. So, of course, it had to be done, didn’t it? Up the stairs to a view over the market. The ideal spot for people watching.
summer hats and shades
A writer always watches people. Look at these two. Are they together? Or did two people wearing hats like that just happen to stop at this stall at the same time? What is she looking at? What is he looking at? I know ‘cos I was there.
Holidaymakers?
Certainly.
French?
I think not.
This picture is crying out for a caption. Why don’t you send me some ideas? Just for the fun of it. I’ll look forward to that.
Don’t forget to FOLLOW CELIA so you don’t miss new posts.
Cheers!
Edit: 13th July – I was contacted by Natalia Paruz – ‘The Saw Lady’- you should visit her site. Her music is beautiful. And watch the video clip of the musical saw festival. You will be amazed.
Today, we have something special on our Languedoc Vine Report.
By chance, I have a contact in the wine-growing sorority: a lady who not only holds the coveted Master of Wine qualification, but now owns her own vineyards and, together with her husband is developing her own range of fine wines under the Domaine Lou Cayla label.
Juliet Bruce Jones actually stands behind me in the Capestang Chorale Internationale where we are part of the soprano section. She has a beautiful voice. The only reason she stands on the back row is because she’s a tall lady. When it comes to knowledge about vines and winemaking, however, Juliet is right up there at the front.
As well as managing her own vineyards, she sources quality wines for international buyers and conducts tastings and workshops for consumers and trade.
I ask her to explain about the Master of Wine qualification; give us an insight into what it involves.
Juliet:
To obtain the Master of Wine qualification you have to pass a gruelling set of exams which test knowledge of all things wine, from viticulture and winemaking to marketing and selling to a global market. There are also 3 blind tasting papers where students have to identify 36 wines and answer questions on them. This requires a lot of practice and to keep a clear head it is vital to always spit the wine out! I passed the MW exam in 1998.
I want to know if it is mostly male-dominated.
Juliet:
There are 300 Masters of Wine worldwide, 90 of whom are women.
I know now I’m in the presence of vine royalty.
I’m thinking about dropping a curtsy.
I am curious about Juliet’s choice of location in France. I know Languedoc is the biggest wine-producing region in the world, but were there other reasons she chose to live here?
Juliet:
We have always loved France and both my husband and I already spoke French so when we decided to leave the UK in 2004, France was the obvious choice. The Languedoc appealed as it has a wild, rugged beauty, like my native Scotland but with more sunshine and vines! Also, the fact that it doesn’t have a long history of fine wine production, unlike Bordeaux or Burgundy, means that there is much more freedom to plant what you like, where you like. The great terroirs of the Languedoc are still being discovered so for a wine lover it is a tremendously exciting region.
I mention this year’s strange weather patterns. Those of you who’ve been following my Languedoc Vine Reports will be aware the weather has been unusual this year. I ask Juliet what makes for a good vintage?
Juliet:
Sufficient rain in winter to build up water reserves to see the vines through the summer (for non irrigated vineyards like ours). Good weather at flowering in May/June to ensure good fruitset, low humidity during the summer so fungicide treatments are kept to a minimum! Warm but not baking temperatures as excessive heat can cause cause severe vine stress and burn the berries. No heavy rain before or during harvest as that can dilute flavours and definitely no hail, which can be devastating. That is the weather wishlist but it rarely happens like that and yet good wines are made. This year we have had lots of rain but it has been very cold too and the vines are about 2 weeks behind last year. But it could still be a fabulous year.
I ask about future ambitions.
Juliet:
Ambitions? To make a great Languedoc wine.
To learn how to rock climb.
To consistently sing top D with ease
Top D isn’t easy. In fact, top D is impossible for me. Juliet is referring to our choir’s recent productions of Carmina Burana where only Juliet could hit the top D in the score.
But if it’s on Juliet’s wish-list, I can guarantee she’s going to do it.
To find out more about Juliet and her wines, why not visit her website? You can contact her through her Minerve Wines website, too.
Juliet also blogs. Here. There’s also a link on her website. www.minervewines.com
2012 harvesting Syrah with some helping hands.
A visit to Domaine Lou Cayla is on the cards, I think.
Each day I’m spending my time trashing their messages. I open my dashboard and there they are again with their generic messages.
Fifty messages per day, sometimes.
Last time I got hit, the messages were about shoes and sunglasses etc. See previous post. Hand-held magnifiers and the like are fairly innocuous. Targetted spamming might well make me a likely prospect for showing interest in wanting to buy one of those. It’s ageism, of course, but pretty harmless.
BUT,
These spammer guys are DANGEROUS.
Here’s a list of what I’m being offered by the latest rash of spammers:
I hadn’t heard of some of these. I did some research.
What is lorazepam?
Lorazepam is in a group of drugs called benzodiazepines (ben-zoe-dye-AZE-eh-peens). It affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause anxiety.
Lorazepam is used to treat anxiety disorders.
Important information about lorazepam
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to lorazepam or to other benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), clorazepate (Tranxene), diazepam (Valium), or oxazepam (Serax). This medication can cause birth defects in an unborn baby. Do not use lorazepam if you are pregnant.
Before taking lorazepam, tell your doctor if you have any breathing problems, glaucoma, kidney or liver disease, or a history of depression, suicidal thoughts, or addiction to drugs or alcohol.
Do not drink alcohol while taking lorazepam. This medication can increase the effects of alcohol.
Avoid using other medicines that make you sleepy. They can add to sleepiness caused by lorazepam.
Lorazepam may be habit-forming and should be used only by the person it was prescribed for. Lorazepam should never be shared with another person, especially someone who has a history of drug abuse or addiction. Keep the medication in a secure place where others cannot get to it.
How can we allow this?
So, it’s okay, is it, to offer these dangerous drugs online? Habit-forming antidepressants like lorazepam, xanax and ativan? Sedatives like ambien, which can also cause serious side effects. Klonopin is a sleeping pill. Zolpidem is a trade name for ambien.
This is one extremely dangerous cocktail of drugs available online. They are habit-forming. They can cause birth defects.
Who are these low-lifes who take payment for sending out all this spam? Here’s a diagram showing how spammers get paid.
how spammers get paid
There must be a way to stop this. There has to be a way to interrupt the supply chain. After all, legitimate pharmaceutical companies manufacture these drugs. You might question why they don’t know who they’re supplying.
The problem is, as the diagram explains, the patent has expired on many of these medications. This means seedy laboratories out to make a quick buck can make their own versions. That isn’t illegal. It is illegal to use another company’s registered trade name and copy their packaging. That’s piracy.
But the biggest crime in all of this, it seems to me, is being part of a system that allows people to buy online as much as they want of dangerous drugs that should be strictly controlled.
I’d like to grab these spammers and shove a packet of their own sedatives where the sun don’t shine. It’s dirty money you’re taking, people.
Surely, whenever money is changing hands like this, there’s a way to track these nasty businesses and close them down.
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