Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Why We Continue
‘Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry’. Jane Hirshfield:
“There is reason to fear: a great poem, like a great love, challenges our solitude, our conceptions, the very ground of being. Encountering such a poem, we tremble a little as we enter its gates. But the end, as in love, is to know and feel what could not be known or felt by any path less demanding.” p 125
Monday, March 30, 2020
She Just Changes Her Mind
One of the songs Kristen turned (link is to Youtube video) me on to was Billy Joel's She's Always A Woman to Me.
The operative lyric was "She never gives in she just changes her mind."
Thus, the incredible improvement that resulted from the transradial angioplasty, plus the drugs, prompted a change of mind; I decided to go ahead with the bypass surgery needed to open the two blocked arteries.
Michelle (Double El) and her brother Steve came down to Tucson for the angioplasty, but it was a long drive and required a lot of coordination on Michelle's part to get coverage for all her cat clients. The longer I've been away from Albuquerque the more I've come to hate it, but my experience at St. Mary's Hospital Emergency Room and the mixed reviews of the Tucson Medical Center were enough help me see how much easier it'd be for all concerned if I went back for the few days it'll take to get the job done.
The transition from having decided to throw-in-the-towel to "continuing" has been one of the most bizarre experiences in a long time. A few days ago I couldn't walk acrosst the Safeway parking lot without stopping several times to get my breath. Yesterday I was able to drive 70 miles (20 more than my typical limit of around 50 for the past two years), unload the car etc. without even having to stop for a rest. It's a whole diff world!
The question that continues to nag though is: What now? I feel like I've done nearly all there is to do, been all the places to see and really decided to do the surgery mainly because there're a couple of relationships that are still growing. But, Vunce again, der 'satiable curtiosity ist revived.
The operative lyric was "She never gives in she just changes her mind."
Thus, the incredible improvement that resulted from the transradial angioplasty, plus the drugs, prompted a change of mind; I decided to go ahead with the bypass surgery needed to open the two blocked arteries.
Michelle (Double El) and her brother Steve came down to Tucson for the angioplasty, but it was a long drive and required a lot of coordination on Michelle's part to get coverage for all her cat clients. The longer I've been away from Albuquerque the more I've come to hate it, but my experience at St. Mary's Hospital Emergency Room and the mixed reviews of the Tucson Medical Center were enough help me see how much easier it'd be for all concerned if I went back for the few days it'll take to get the job done.
The transition from having decided to throw-in-the-towel to "continuing" has been one of the most bizarre experiences in a long time. A few days ago I couldn't walk acrosst the Safeway parking lot without stopping several times to get my breath. Yesterday I was able to drive 70 miles (20 more than my typical limit of around 50 for the past two years), unload the car etc. without even having to stop for a rest. It's a whole diff world!
The question that continues to nag though is: What now? I feel like I've done nearly all there is to do, been all the places to see and really decided to do the surgery mainly because there're a couple of relationships that are still growing. But, Vunce again, der 'satiable curtiosity ist revived.
Monday, March 23, 2020
Every Man For Himself.....in the U.S. of A.
Just out of curiosity I called one of the gun shops in Tucson. It was near closing and the guy that answered sounded exhausted. He said they were swampED.
WHY in this country are we holing up, afraid, instead of coming together as a nation to help each other?
We've succumbed to Big Brother. Do as you're told....and nobody'll get hurt.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Priorities
I went down to the RV park yesterday to get a shower just in time to find them all scuttling away.
They pointed to the note on the office door that said it was closed except to current residents. I was told to take my five-dollar shower fee around back and put it through the slot in the door of the laundry room.
Standing there clutching a plastic grocery bag, I mentioned the Jelly Belly jelly beans I'd brought for them. The woman said, "We'll take those" and reached out her arm.
I guess maybe they too are short of t.p.; they didn't offer any.
They pointed to the note on the office door that said it was closed except to current residents. I was told to take my five-dollar shower fee around back and put it through the slot in the door of the laundry room.
Standing there clutching a plastic grocery bag, I mentioned the Jelly Belly jelly beans I'd brought for them. The woman said, "We'll take those" and reached out her arm.
I guess maybe they too are short of t.p.; they didn't offer any.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Coronavirus Info -- 19, March
Brewed Journey -- one of the blogs in the lineup on the right side of mine -- posted a blog that has two links that might be of interest to some. I added a 3rd...the one to Dr. Rodriquez's linkedin profile.
For those who may not have the time or inclination to read the blogpost, herewith are the links....
This one (Covid Insights #4) is about contagion, transmission etc.
https://covid19-insights.squarespace.com/
This one is about the physician/blogger, Dr. William Rodriguez
https://covid19-insights.squarespace.com/about
And this is his Linkin profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/billrodriguez19/
For those of you who think in these terms, you may note that Rodriguez is NOT one of the surnames listed on the Mayflower's passenger list.
http://mayflowerhistory.com/mayflower-passenger-list
For those who may not have the time or inclination to read the blogpost, herewith are the links....
This one (Covid Insights #4) is about contagion, transmission etc.
https://covid19-insights.squarespace.com/
This one is about the physician/blogger, Dr. William Rodriguez
https://covid19-insights.squarespace.com/about
And this is his Linkin profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/billrodriguez19/
For those of you who think in these terms, you may note that Rodriguez is NOT one of the surnames listed on the Mayflower's passenger list.
http://mayflowerhistory.com/mayflower-passenger-list
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Media Extravaganzas
Swine Flu (2009-2010) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that swine flu infected nearly 61 million people in the United States and caused 12,469 deaths.
Avian Flu (2006) - No confirmed deaths in the West from the avian flu.
Mad Cow Disease (1993 -peak) - NO DEATHS - Strong evidence indicates that classic BSE has been transmitted to people primarily in the United Kingdom, causing a variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). In the United Kingdom, where over 1 million cattle may have been infected with classic BSE, a substantial species barrier appears to protect people from widespread illness. Since vCJD was first reported in 1996, a total of only 231 patients with this disease, including 3 secondary, blood transfusion-related cases, have been reported worldwide. The risk to human health from BSE in the United States is extremely low.
Oh yeah! Lest we forget...Y2K! OMG! (Thanks, Marie!)
Alcohol-related Traffic Deaths (2017) Of the 10,874 people who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2017, there were 6,618 drivers
(61%) who had BACs (breath alcohol content) of .08 g/dL (grams/deci-liter) or higher. The remaining fatalities consisted of 3,075 motor vehicle
occupants (28%) and 1,181 nonoccupants (11%). The distribution of fatalities in these crashes by role is shown in Table 1.
2016 - Of the 10,497 people who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2016, there were 6,479 drivers (62%) who had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher. The remaining fatalities consisted of 3,070 motor vehicle occupants (29%) and 948 nonoccupants (9%). The distribution of fatalities in these crashes by role is shown in Table 1.
2015 - Of the 10,265 people who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2015, there were 6,424 drivers(63%) who had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher. The remaining fatalities consisted of 2,908 motor vehicle occupants (28%) and 933 nonoccupants (9%). The distribution of fatalities in these crashes by role is shown in Table 1. (link is to a PDF that wants to download)
HPV - Depending on which website you access, there are somewhere around 80 to 100 strains of HPV of which several are recognized as "high-risk" for various forms of cancer. The CDC acknowledges that HPV is so common throughout the populous that it is beyond epidemic. Although the virus is purported to resolve within two years asymptomatically, I know of two people who have undergone treatment for cancer and/or are receiving treatment for a pre-cancerous condition. There is no diagnostic for males; they have developed a means of detecting the virus in women.
In addition, the CDC recommends all children approaching puberty and up to the age of 21 be vaccinated against the virus. (I've undertaken the anthropological study and have, for the last eight months, been asking people at random if they heard from their children's school nurse about the vaccine; none have.)
It is apparently of enough concern that it was mentioned in a one-sentence remark by Paul Stamets in Fantastic Fungi. He commented that a strain of mycelium may offer curative opportunities.
Avian Flu (2006) - No confirmed deaths in the West from the avian flu.
Mad Cow Disease (1993 -peak) - NO DEATHS - Strong evidence indicates that classic BSE has been transmitted to people primarily in the United Kingdom, causing a variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). In the United Kingdom, where over 1 million cattle may have been infected with classic BSE, a substantial species barrier appears to protect people from widespread illness. Since vCJD was first reported in 1996, a total of only 231 patients with this disease, including 3 secondary, blood transfusion-related cases, have been reported worldwide. The risk to human health from BSE in the United States is extremely low.
Oh yeah! Lest we forget...Y2K! OMG! (Thanks, Marie!)
WHY don't we hear about these things?
2016 - Of the 10,497 people who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2016, there were 6,479 drivers (62%) who had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher. The remaining fatalities consisted of 3,070 motor vehicle occupants (29%) and 948 nonoccupants (9%). The distribution of fatalities in these crashes by role is shown in Table 1.
2015 - Of the 10,265 people who died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in 2015, there were 6,424 drivers(63%) who had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher. The remaining fatalities consisted of 2,908 motor vehicle occupants (28%) and 933 nonoccupants (9%). The distribution of fatalities in these crashes by role is shown in Table 1. (link is to a PDF that wants to download)
HPV - Depending on which website you access, there are somewhere around 80 to 100 strains of HPV of which several are recognized as "high-risk" for various forms of cancer. The CDC acknowledges that HPV is so common throughout the populous that it is beyond epidemic. Although the virus is purported to resolve within two years asymptomatically, I know of two people who have undergone treatment for cancer and/or are receiving treatment for a pre-cancerous condition. There is no diagnostic for males; they have developed a means of detecting the virus in women.
In addition, the CDC recommends all children approaching puberty and up to the age of 21 be vaccinated against the virus. (I've undertaken the anthropological study and have, for the last eight months, been asking people at random if they heard from their children's school nurse about the vaccine; none have.)
It is apparently of enough concern that it was mentioned in a one-sentence remark by Paul Stamets in Fantastic Fungi. He commented that a strain of mycelium may offer curative opportunities.
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