***
FLASHBACK
Circa the year 2000
Eight year old Tyler West was on a field trip with his class. They were going to a farm to learn how to milk cows and how dairy was processed. Tyler had always been a curious child, wanting to know more about everything. The farmer's wife was showing them how to milk the little pink utters in such a way that it didn't hurt the animal. There were questions as to why the cows were brown and not black and white. Questions about why you had to pasteurize before drinking. Questions about...
All questions the bright little boy had already found out at the library days in advance of this trip. Tyler was not a kid that found a lot of joy in much TV, except when wrestling was on and his mom would let him stay up later to watch. He wasn't interested in playing with the other boys on his street. He didn't want to get dirty or play with frogs. Tyler George-Michael West loved knowledge.
So it was at this time that after having his short turn milking the cow named ‘Daisy-Duke’ where the farmer's wife commented that he was a very gentle and caring boy, that he was able to sneak off without his classmates or teacher noticing. He found the hens and was even able to scratch one between its flightless wings. He passed the pig stall and imitated the snorting as they nosed the dirt. He played with the barn cats by pulling a piece of hay around the ground for them to chase. At this point, they were finishing up with the milking and his teacher was counting heads as they filed out the barn doors.
Tyler then heard the other cows. He followed it, wanting to see them. Liking how pretty their eyes were with the long lashes. How soft their skin was around their snouts. At this point, he had no idea, that cows were also beef.
He opens the door and is immediately confronted with the scent of blood assaulting his nostrils. The tangy scent of rusted metal that the iron in the blood gave off when it came in contact with oxygen. It was then, he saw the massacre.
At this point, describing what it looked like would probably give everyone horrible nightmares, much like it did the young Tyler. The sight of the butcher's barn not only scarred him for life but also had him fainting and winding up drenched in animal blood.
When the teachers and farmers found him, surrounded in the thick coagulating substance and Tyler was not moving, there were shrieks and fear that he had been injured.
Tyler's mother had been called. They took him inside where the farmer had given him a large t-shirt to change into while his daughter rinsed out the blood from his clothes in the sink. All that went through his mind the whole time he waited was that the thought of killing, hurting or eating any animal made him feel ill. He just couldn't do it.
It was after that, Ty became a member of many animal rights groups (not PETA though as he felt they have been corrupted by greed and don't actually have an animal’s welfare as a priority.) To this day, Ty only buys cruelty free products and considers himself vegan. He will occasionally have dairy but only from farms he knows treat their animals well. It is a subject he is particularly passionate about.
***
The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 3, Entry #1 -- “All Brawn, No Brains”
(This one is posted as a written blog)
You know, you can tell alot about someone by how they comment on things. You can begin to understand their thoughts, their opinions, their values. I have only been on twitter a short period of time, but already I can see why Effie enjoyed it so much.
However, I am not like her. I am not a troll, purposely pushing buttons because the results are funny to watch, but I do have to wonder if people realize that everything they post can be seen and therefore used against them.
For example: This last week I had the pleasure (and I say this with as much sarcasm as I can) of watching Casey Williams try to start a fight with a ridiculous statement. “Vegetarians and Vegans harm animals in other ways by ‘stealing' the veggies and grains that animals eat. Umm... what?
Let me offer a bit of a science, history and environmental lesson all in one for our obviously lobotomized friend here. When humans first appeared on earth, we were in fact, foragers & gatherers, I.e. we ate whatever edible food source we could find. Which was berries, fruits, vegetables and leaves. As we evolved, (something Casey has apparently failed to do) we learned about hunting animals by creating tools and how to create fire.
While the human digestive tract has evolved and turned us from herbivores to omnivores that doesn't mean that we have to eat animal proteins. Being conscientious of diet needs, it is very easy to get all the nutrients you need to stay healthy. Look at me? Do I look malnourished to you?
Now with that being said, in those years before man discovered tools and fire, every human was in fact ‘vegetarian’ so if we were stealing from animals, they should have gone extinct millions of years ago, yet, here they are, still around for us to enjoy.
Funny thing, am I right?
Fact is, most endangered or extinct animals are a result of our selfish needs. Whether it be habitat destruction for farming or to make room for new housing for us, or for recreational hunting. What about the people who hunt exotic animals for tusks or testicals that are made into make belief cure all potions. Or the fur off their backs to make coats for you to wear. Back when humans were evolving, they made things out of the animals they hunted, wasting nothing. Native Americans and aboriginal peoples are a good example of that.
So really, if you think about it, the ones that do the most harm are people like Casey Williams. Ignorant people whole think the earth and everything on it belongs to them.
With that in mind, it serves to prove that Casey is all brawn but no brains. Brawn will only work so many times in a ring. Without brains, you can't anticipate an opponent's moves but he makes it easy to predict his. He likes to say he's a steamroller and there is no denying his brute strength but frankly he's more like a zamboni. He has power and size but he takes so long to get to you that it's easy to move out of the way.
I may be a big guy, but I don't rely on that to get me through a match. My arsenal is full of a variety of moves, a tool box for any occasion. Even one as sure of his victory as Casey.
I know my luck in title matches has been complete shit. But my luck in getting to the end, well that is still pretty good. Technically speaking, I am still #1 contender to both titles here in SCW, I just choose not to say I deserve shot after shot like some people...
I like proving myself worthy. I am not going to sit here and tell you that I know I'll be the one to face Fenris again. I may get brained by Casey or anyone else in this tournament. It was that sort of cockiness that nearly pushed me into retirement. Now my approach is different. I had an experience I will never forget, a new lease on life. Whether wrestling is in my future or not depends on a lot of things, but for now, I'm just going to take it one match at a time.
Best of luck Casey, you're going to need all you can get.
With Love, Ty
***
***Off Camera***
Sept 18/2018
Iceland
Ty's guide had excused himself for a minute to take a phone call which left him to stand in the shadow of the large Icelandic mountain known as “name,”. It was majestic and surreal to be here. As a model he had been to many exotic locations but none were even remotely as satisfying as Iceland was. He felt instantly at peace here like worrying about anything would taint the natural beauty of the scenic landscape surrounding him. He knew that coming here would be a different experience but he hadn't expected that it would affect him so deeply.
It wasn't the only thing on his mind though and try as he might to let the natural wonder clear it all away, his thoughts drifted to a few things. Like Courtney's disappearance for the last month. Or about how he couldn't get his hands on a title even with multiple chances at one. Or someone else that he had no idea he could have feelings for. Maybe it was the admission that this person actually cared if he was around in WWO. Or did he? He couldn't get a read on him and the idea that he himself could possibly be attracted to another man was new. Not a bad new, just... new. He definitely liked women though, so did that make him bi-sexual? Or one of the other dozen or so orientations that now exsisted within the LGBTQ society. He really was clueless. If this person was a woman, he wouldn't have an issue expressing his like of her. Maybe because even in 2018, it was still more socially acceptable for men and women to be together over same sex relationships.
He was definitely confused but not scared. Or alarmed by it. It was... curious that at twenty-six years old he was only just discovering that he could have these awakening feelings for another man. A man that seemed to think him not good enough to face him in a ring, so why would he ever consider him good enough to consider dating?
“Ty!”
Ty spins around as his guide comes into view. Ámundi Esrasson is an attractive man, as were many of the people native to Iceland. He waves.
“We must go, yes? It gets dark quickly.”
His broken English was actually endearing but he found most of the people he met here were. He had to wonder, why was Fenris so angry when he had grown up in such a peaceful and friendly place?
***
