Saturday, December 30, 2017
Kingston Creche
Friday, December 29, 2017
Friday, December 22, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Not All Dogs Are Good Either.
A young Virginia woman took her two dogs for a walk in the woods, and they ended up killing her and partially devouring her body. Some fanatically obsessive people deny this could have happened and worked to prevent the euthanization of the animals, even though respondents saw the dogs eating the flesh from the woman's chest, and the pathology report matched the woman's mutilation with the physical features of the dogs. Some people are blinded to the truth when they have made their minds up to believe otherwise. (Unfortunately, that is true in other situations as well, but this is not about that.) I am hoping this will not sound, Heaven forbid, like a version of the Me-too stories flooding today's society:
A long time ago, back when the world was new and I was single, I went to visit my sister on a cold and snowy evening when she lived a good distance from civilization. The trailer she and her husband lived in was located in a remote section of Speigletown, off a dirt road, and situated amid cow pastures on top of a hillside, and accessed by a long, rather steep and winding dirt driveway. Winter brought lots of snow back then, and nobody had plows or snowblowers, so the practice during the snowy season was to park your car at the bottom of the hill and walk up the driveway, as best you could. So that is what I did that long-ago evening .
They owned 2 dogs at the time. One was a spaniel my mother had given them. Ruffy was a male and rather large and burly for that breed, but I'd known him since he was a puppy. The second dog, Max, was a black Belgian or German shepherd which had been given to them not too long before, so I wasn't as familiar with him. They were young, healthy mostly outside dogs. They had a large doghouse, but they liked the freedom of being outdoors where they could roam the acreage available to them.
It was getting dark that evening when I parked my car at the bottom of the hill. I knew my sister was home, but her husband was away on business, so no one had even attempted to shovel the deep snow. I started up the hill but the snow was deep, over the top of my boots, and my foot slipped out with each step I took, with the boot stuck in the snow. So it was a tedious and time consuming struggle to make headway up the drive, and since it was the time before cell phones, I couldn't even let her know I was there.
I had advanced about a third of the way up when the dogs arrived. I welcomed the sight of them at first. I thought they were greeting me in a playful manner. They would run through the snow close to me and then would retreat and turn back, only to repeat the process. I was young then and not really afraid of much of anything, but I remember feeling uneasy at the kind of fierce look in their eyes, and I knew I appeared helpless, as I struggled and swayed back and forth to keep my balance in the drifted snow. Eventually, I managed to reach the door, the dogs took off, and I put the experience out of my mind.
Later that year, both of the dogs were put down. They had killed 2 young calves that were in a neighboring pasture. Out of a feral lust for the hunt, we supposed.
A long time ago, back when the world was new and I was single, I went to visit my sister on a cold and snowy evening when she lived a good distance from civilization. The trailer she and her husband lived in was located in a remote section of Speigletown, off a dirt road, and situated amid cow pastures on top of a hillside, and accessed by a long, rather steep and winding dirt driveway. Winter brought lots of snow back then, and nobody had plows or snowblowers, so the practice during the snowy season was to park your car at the bottom of the hill and walk up the driveway, as best you could. So that is what I did that long-ago evening .
They owned 2 dogs at the time. One was a spaniel my mother had given them. Ruffy was a male and rather large and burly for that breed, but I'd known him since he was a puppy. The second dog, Max, was a black Belgian or German shepherd which had been given to them not too long before, so I wasn't as familiar with him. They were young, healthy mostly outside dogs. They had a large doghouse, but they liked the freedom of being outdoors where they could roam the acreage available to them.
It was getting dark that evening when I parked my car at the bottom of the hill. I knew my sister was home, but her husband was away on business, so no one had even attempted to shovel the deep snow. I started up the hill but the snow was deep, over the top of my boots, and my foot slipped out with each step I took, with the boot stuck in the snow. So it was a tedious and time consuming struggle to make headway up the drive, and since it was the time before cell phones, I couldn't even let her know I was there.
I had advanced about a third of the way up when the dogs arrived. I welcomed the sight of them at first. I thought they were greeting me in a playful manner. They would run through the snow close to me and then would retreat and turn back, only to repeat the process. I was young then and not really afraid of much of anything, but I remember feeling uneasy at the kind of fierce look in their eyes, and I knew I appeared helpless, as I struggled and swayed back and forth to keep my balance in the drifted snow. Eventually, I managed to reach the door, the dogs took off, and I put the experience out of my mind.
Later that year, both of the dogs were put down. They had killed 2 young calves that were in a neighboring pasture. Out of a feral lust for the hunt, we supposed.
Friday, December 15, 2017
A Matter of Taste
Looking for something to eat, of the single-serving type, I invested in Lean Cuisine Craveables' Spinach, Artichoke & Chicken Panini. I know what panini is though I've never ordered one, and I don't know the last time I savored an artichoke, or eaten spinach for that matter. But the contents listed on the front of the package---white meat chicken,with spinach, artichokes, tomatoes, garlic, cheese & parmesan sauce----sounded appealing and healthy, at least when I was at the store.
I microwaved half of the panini sandwich, and got ready to enjoy; I tasted it and it was bitter. So I looked at the small print on the side panel. There were about 50 or 60 other ingredients listed, including CELLULOSE POWDER and CHICKEN POWDER. How a chicken is powdered I can only guess. Below the Ingredients list is the statement: "PARTIALLY PRODUCED WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING"
PB&J Sandwiches, I'll be back.
I microwaved half of the panini sandwich, and got ready to enjoy; I tasted it and it was bitter. So I looked at the small print on the side panel. There were about 50 or 60 other ingredients listed, including CELLULOSE POWDER and CHICKEN POWDER. How a chicken is powdered I can only guess. Below the Ingredients list is the statement: "PARTIALLY PRODUCED WITH GENETIC ENGINEERING"
PB&J Sandwiches, I'll be back.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
"Twilight Shock State"
Dr. David J. Shulkin, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in his book, QUESTIONS PATIENTS NEED TO ASK: GETTING THE BEST HEALTHCARE, writes that most patients don't remember their time in Intensive Care because the body goes into a twilight shock state. I think this state probably applies to patients in other medical facilities or treatments as well. The quixotic allure of the myth-ridden practice of medicine can induce amnesia if not actual shock. We are in awe. Our minds take flight.
Everybody should buy the book, though now that he has a new job, Dr. Shulkin's focus may be elsewhere. I hope he is a compassionate sort.
Everybody should buy the book, though now that he has a new job, Dr. Shulkin's focus may be elsewhere. I hope he is a compassionate sort.
Container Wrath--Don't flip your top.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Word of the Day
Through a circuitous array of night time thoughts, my mind locked on the word haymow. Memory tells me it used to be a familiar word, used a lot, and widely understood. Now it sounds strange and arcane, and I doubt if most young people know what a haymow is.
Sunday, December 10, 2017
The Power of Words, Mother's words
Donald Sutherland has been around for a very long time. Most likely just about everything that could happen to a human being has happened to him. He was interviewed on tonight's 60 Minutes and he teared up recounting something his long-departed mother said to him when he was a young boy. Apparently having some reservations about his appearance, he asked his mother if he was good looking. His mother paused, he said, and stated, "Your face has character." He then secluded himself in his room or a closet for a period of time, devastated.
None of my children ever asked me that question. If they had, I don't know exactly what I would have said, but I don't think any words of mine would have shattered their egos. One of my children did ask once, on the birth of a newborn baby, if the child was as cute as the parent thought, or was it just a usual parental perception of their child. I verified the cuteness of the baby, as I would have if any of my children had asked about themselves. They were all very good-looking children, but there's nothing wrong with a face that has character either. I am suspicious that an actor with such longevity actually remembers being hurt by his mother's rather innocuous words spoken so many decades ago.And Sutherland has a new movie opening early next year, so in consenting to be interviewed, he would need some touching anecdotal information. It could have happened. His new movie is "Leisure Seekers," and relates his descent into dementia so he might need a sympathetic audience.
Maybe I'm underestimating the impact of parental influence on long-term memories, but there is one reminiscence I don't even slightly doubt. In talking to a former classmate, Richard, at a birthday party for his mother-in-law, he spoke of a schooldays memory, when he was probably in third or fourth grade. There was a major snowfall, and he lived in a rural area in a house a long way from where the schoolbus picked up him and his sister. They managed to walk that cold and stormy day through the steep banks of snow down the long and unplowed roadway to their bus stop. They waited a while until a passing driver told them that school was closed. So back they went, trudging their way through the snow. They reached home and their father asked why they were home. They told him, and he gave Richard a whipping for not waiting for the bus. He didn't say if his sister was beaten, but I happen to know that today she has serious emotional disorders. Now I can understand that type of parental behavior can leave a lifelong impression on a child. Donald Sutherland was lucky.
None of my children ever asked me that question. If they had, I don't know exactly what I would have said, but I don't think any words of mine would have shattered their egos. One of my children did ask once, on the birth of a newborn baby, if the child was as cute as the parent thought, or was it just a usual parental perception of their child. I verified the cuteness of the baby, as I would have if any of my children had asked about themselves. They were all very good-looking children, but there's nothing wrong with a face that has character either. I am suspicious that an actor with such longevity actually remembers being hurt by his mother's rather innocuous words spoken so many decades ago.And Sutherland has a new movie opening early next year, so in consenting to be interviewed, he would need some touching anecdotal information. It could have happened. His new movie is "Leisure Seekers," and relates his descent into dementia so he might need a sympathetic audience.
Maybe I'm underestimating the impact of parental influence on long-term memories, but there is one reminiscence I don't even slightly doubt. In talking to a former classmate, Richard, at a birthday party for his mother-in-law, he spoke of a schooldays memory, when he was probably in third or fourth grade. There was a major snowfall, and he lived in a rural area in a house a long way from where the schoolbus picked up him and his sister. They managed to walk that cold and stormy day through the steep banks of snow down the long and unplowed roadway to their bus stop. They waited a while until a passing driver told them that school was closed. So back they went, trudging their way through the snow. They reached home and their father asked why they were home. They told him, and he gave Richard a whipping for not waiting for the bus. He didn't say if his sister was beaten, but I happen to know that today she has serious emotional disorders. Now I can understand that type of parental behavior can leave a lifelong impression on a child. Donald Sutherland was lucky.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Ch-ch-ch-changes
On the First of the Year, or thereabouts:
We're getting a new waste hauler, and new refuse containers. But don't think we can keep the ones we have now; their owners will pick them up last collection day.
My Retirement Prescription Plan will change in some way, but we should not be concerned about it. The irony is that Dave's condition entitles him to no-cost prescriptions from the VA, but the VVH does not have an alliance with that VA policy.
There is a deadline on recall for the Takata Airbags which are most likely in my Honda. According to the microscopic text on a postcard mailed to me, I'm to fill out a form opting in or out of a class action settlement. It's irrelevant because whatever monies are to be distributed invariably end up in the pockets of the attorneys assigned to the case.
Another Class Action mailing, this time for unwanted callers who defy the "Do Not Call" mandate, which they treat as a joke: I receive an average of 2 such calls a day, some of late are even from the 753 exchange. I could reply by the deadline, but see above as to monetary disposition.
Today, a notice that my present BC/BS Excellus Retirement Health Insurance Policy will be terminated on Jan.1, but not to worry, it will be replaced by another policy which should afford similar coverage. That's what they said last time, but that was not true. Well, it was similar, just somewhat more costly.
I find that the pre-pay option for our home heating oil is not available this year, nor any other cash discount either apparently, and at this week's price per gallon of $3.099 on Tues., and $3.189 on Thurs.(I asked), it's going to be an unprecedented fuel-cost year.
I can't wait to get tomorrow's mail.
We're getting a new waste hauler, and new refuse containers. But don't think we can keep the ones we have now; their owners will pick them up last collection day.
My Retirement Prescription Plan will change in some way, but we should not be concerned about it. The irony is that Dave's condition entitles him to no-cost prescriptions from the VA, but the VVH does not have an alliance with that VA policy.
There is a deadline on recall for the Takata Airbags which are most likely in my Honda. According to the microscopic text on a postcard mailed to me, I'm to fill out a form opting in or out of a class action settlement. It's irrelevant because whatever monies are to be distributed invariably end up in the pockets of the attorneys assigned to the case.
Another Class Action mailing, this time for unwanted callers who defy the "Do Not Call" mandate, which they treat as a joke: I receive an average of 2 such calls a day, some of late are even from the 753 exchange. I could reply by the deadline, but see above as to monetary disposition.
Today, a notice that my present BC/BS Excellus Retirement Health Insurance Policy will be terminated on Jan.1, but not to worry, it will be replaced by another policy which should afford similar coverage. That's what they said last time, but that was not true. Well, it was similar, just somewhat more costly.
I find that the pre-pay option for our home heating oil is not available this year, nor any other cash discount either apparently, and at this week's price per gallon of $3.099 on Tues., and $3.189 on Thurs.(I asked), it's going to be an unprecedented fuel-cost year.
I can't wait to get tomorrow's mail.
Skeptical
About the Winbot. Sounds great, but I can't believe the physics behind it or whatever law of gravity applies. Though it does promise more time to spend with your family.
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