Now what?

 It's 4:00 A.M. and I've done wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections. What's left?

Choosing my Battles

 I pretty much keep my thoughts to myself when it comes to public pronouncements. Case in point:  I did comment on the puppy-nourishing goose, indicating that while viewers may enjoy looking at the picture, the caption appeared to be fiction. That resulted in scores of negative comments, including personal insults. I conclude they proved my point. 

  I could publish another personal opinion, but I don't think I could weather the storm. So I'll only confide in you, O Blog. 

     I do not think it is a good thing to post pictures of veterans on telephone poles. All veterans are now designated as Hometown Heroes, which of course is in itself not a true statement. Some were reluctantly drafted and did their duty, and are deserving of respect and benefits for their service, but calling them heroes is stretching the definition of the word. But I'll concede that point. But who in heck ever came up with putting their pictures and information on telephone poles, of all places. I believe years ago pictures of WANTED  offenders were placed on telephone poles. But that was discontinued in favor of other more efficient messaging. 

   Why a telephone pole picture to honor a veteran is beyond any reasonable thought. There are countles other venues to do so. Post the pictures in honor of veterans in community halls, cemeteries,  parks, libraries, and any other public places where such would be allowed, and even on the homes and lawns of their families and loved ones who want to honor them. 

But on telephone poles, along roadways and highways. Why? What did their service have to do with people driving from place to place. Do  we want to encourage drivers to be reading signs while driving. Most of the words printed on these signs are not readily visible and should drivers be reading information which has nothing to do with driving? "Sorry, Officer, I didn't see that car, I was trying to read that sign." Has not legislation restricted advertisement signage and billboards in proximity to roadways as being potentially distracting and therefore unsafe.

   I understand families of veterans pay a fee to have the signs nailed to telephone poles. I can see that already some of the signs are faded and have been damaged by the weather, so it seems regular maintenance will be necessary. 

  Yes, honor our country's Veterans in all the traditional ways and through the more modern methods of transmitting our repect. But  posting their pictures  on  telephone poles does not seem either respectful to them, nor does it encourage respect by those driving by---just more irrelevancies to be ignored and forgotten.

Fools and damnfools...

 ...as my father used to say.   

  GoodKarma posts story and picture of an event. A goose was found, shivering and frozen to a pole in Montana.  Sheltered in its wings is a tiny puppy.  It's pictured, sort of. Animals are kind is the message. and you should know the 2 animals have been adopted together.  What is disturbing is that hundreds of commenters are willing to believe this story, even though there are no follow-up pictures or videos or explanations of where these creatures are. Many attribute a spiritual or religious behavior to the goose.  If I were to accept this picture as other  than A.I. generated, I might think it probable that the goose was considering the puppy as a source of food. How it found a tiny puppy is a mystery, as is any way the goose could have nourished it. I wonder if any of those who comment realize how aggressive geese can be,  at least those geese who have not found religion. 

  At one time, the ophthalmologist who treated me had a conversation with me, or rather he expressed  his  opinion regarding our government. He said the people, citizenry, were too ignorant to be trusted to choose the leadership of the country. He said that those  important and critical decisions should instead be made by a panel of educated and knowledgeable people, such as Princeton college professors or such.   I listened politely (He was about to perform eye surgery on me), and chalked it up to his being an elitist, which he may well  have taken as a compliment.     I thought he was totally undermining the concept of democracy--surely, taking all into consideration,  a rational voice should emerge from the masses  and choose the optimal decisions. 

      I'm thinking now Dr. Z.  may have had a valid point. 

   

Blaming it on the Toprol

 Weight gain: that is what beta-blockers do. Among other things.

How to tear a rotator cuff

 This is one way. Begin by sitting on your front step on a bright sunny day, observing the lilies of the valley growing by your doorstep. If you watch closely, you can see them unfurling their leaves, kind of popping open. After a while, lean forward and pull a few weeds that are growing right beneath the step. Noticing that there are more grass and weeds growing between the bricks on the walkway, decide to leave the step to sit on the ground so as to better deal with what is growing between the bricks.

   When you feel you've done enough manual labor for the day, decide to quit and sit back on the step. There is a single step leading up to the stoop itself, but since you're feeling strong and capable, don't just heft your weight to the bottom step but do a single motion directly onto the stoop, not a great distance, a mere 14 inches actually. You certainly must have done the same in the past: just put both arms behind you onto the top step, and lift yourself up. 

  But on this day, just as you reach the top step, you hear a snapping noise and feel a burst of searing pain at the top of your right shoulder.  Ouch, that hurt, you think. But the worst is yet to come. Your arm is dangling, useless. You realize you're in trouble. So you seek medical attention, with x-rays showing no broken bones. 

 But the MRI tells its own tale: an all-thickness tear of 2 of the tendons, scapularis tendinosis with partial-thickness tearing of the superior fibers, some edema in the teres minor muscle, torn biceps tendon, torn labrum, AC joint degeneration, full thickness cartilage loss of the glenoid, joint effusion along with the bursa tear and bursal fluid, likely tear to the biceps tendon, and a few other issues. 

The summary is a "Complete Right Rotator Cuff Tear"  and the Protocol is Physical Therapy for 6-8 weeks with Strengthening and Home Program Exercises. "Advance to full range of motion as tolerated."  The young and confident DPT,  Doctor of Physical Therapy if you please,  says the prognosis is good. Yay.

  

   

A Dream, Perchance...

 We were leaving some gathering or event,Dorothy somewhere behind  me in the crowd, when I spotted Gus. I was speaking to him in a friendly manner, and when Dorothy appeared, had her join us. Gus soon in the conversation asked her to get back together with him, even dropping to one knee, so urgent was his request. I remember inserting "why not," and Dorothy smiled and agreed. We all felt happy.