about Helena was a little known fact, that had I read it before, I failed to remember. I looked it up and found confirmation:
Sometime towards the end of 259, or at the beginning of 260, Valerian was caught and made prisoner by the Persians. It is said that he was subjected to the greatest insults by his captors and later executed. After his death his skin was stuffed with straw and preserved as a trophy in the chief Persian temple.
Now, I know Samuel (bloodthirsty little beast) would get a real kick out of that.
I was quite bloodthirsty around his age. My father (who got his undergrad degree in animal husbandry and was raised on a ranch) did two things that cured me of that trait.
1. For Easter one year I got two ducklings. We raised them and in the autumn killed and butchered them.
2. The next winter (I think) I had to hold our dog still on the kitchen floor while Dad cut out a skin infection from the dog's shoulder.
Might not be practical for you to do just those things with your little gentleman, but it could at least be food for thought.
Dear Gregg,
I too was quite bloodthirsty at his age, but as time went by, it just didn't have the appeal. I will trust the healing of time.
And reading this again, people probably think that I thought it was cool that this happened to Valerian. No, what was cool is that I learned something from the novel that I could verify was at least recorded in some histories. I definitely do not think skinning and stuffing people is cool. Sorry if I gave that impression.
(Oh and one last problem with your solution is that I would have to implement it. And I'm against the death penalty ESPECIALLY when I have to inflict it. [I mean I can't even get rid of that nasty rodent pet they got for themselves.] And were I to carve out a skin infection, I suspect I'd end up carving out a good deal of myself as I passed out. Not strong of stomach or heart here, so I'll trust in the Lord and direct Sam's attention to the calmer parts of the New Testament for a while. (Pharoah and his chariots and his charioteers are a bit much for him right now.)
But thanks, suggestions are always helpful, and I will be monitoring this.
shalom,
Steven