Posts made in October, 2008

This stuff is mind-blowing

Posted by admin on Oct 27, 2008 in Blog, My thoughts | 0 comments

The TV blared about a foiled neo-Nazi plan to kill children in a school and assassinate Barack Obama. Jennifer Hudson’s little nephew was found dead in a vehicle in Chicago. Mom hadn’t yet heard, but just the day before, brutally beaten Arkansas news anchor Anne Pressly had died.

“Who are these people?” I asked my Mom as I walked into the bathroom. “I mean really, who the hell are they?” — because they sure as hell weren’t anybody I knew or understood.

“The disenfranchised,” she said simply. “They’ve been left behind.”

I let that sit for a minute. Disenfranchised. [[[ pause ]]] Hmmm. Nope. She might as well have said something in ornamental Greek.

“Disenfranchised?” I repeated back to her. “Hell, I’m disenfranchised… of all people, I’ve been left behind. And I’m not out there killing people,” I pointed out.

I won’t go into the ugly details, but believe me, life drop-kicked me into the ditch a number of years ago, and ‘bitterly disenfranchised’ ought to be my middle name. I’m sick (not by choice), I cannot work a 9-5 (not by choice), I’m poor (not by choice), I’m frustrated, and a lotta days I’m downright pissed off. But I’m not out there whacking people. That would be wrong.

How many times have I been supremely upset/screwed up in the last 3 years (please understand that PTSD can take a person to some very very bad places) and yet, I still knew that hurting or killing people was Not Allowed™.

I just can’t wrap my head around this kind of crap … what the hell kind of monster would do such a thing? In my mind I get as far as swinging a bat (for example) … but then even picturing the bat hitting a person’s head ……….. it makes me ill. I shudder. A wave of sick washes over me. How? Who? How??? I just, I can’t figure this out, I can’t even let my mind even go there without a wave of puke swelling up inside me. How does a person actually do that??

I don’t know. The only bright light in all of this is that Anne won’t suffer, minute after grueling minute, pain she never should have experienced, hurt she never should have even conceived of. I am saddened for her family’s and loved ones’ loss. I am saddened at the loss of her bright beautiful light. But I thank God tonight that He has shown her mercy, and that He has delivered her from that awfulness. That is the only sense in all of it. God bless you, Anne. ##

…and people wonder why I don’t fly

Posted by admin on Oct 22, 2008 in Blog, My thoughts | 0 comments

My original and core reasons for refusing to fly on commercial airlines revolve around airport security.

But then I come across reports like this, and that crosses little regional airports and airlines off the list as well … I’ve taken a few flights between Green Bay and Milwaukee/Chicago on these little commuter planes. I never felt very comfortable on those flights, the planes were too freakin’ wobbly. Well. Turns out maybe there was a reason…

American Eagle is in danger of being kicked out of a key safety program by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) because the commuter airline repeatedly flew overloaded, potentially unsafe planes… FAA investigators found at least 19 cases where American Eagle planes took off despite being overweight or improperly balanced.

The pilot of the American Eagle flight, who asked not to be named, said he “had no idea” that [a 300 lb. metal maintenance staircase] was [unsecured] inside the cargo hold, and was “very upset” at the breakdown of the loading process.

“This was a serious safety concern for me,” said the pilot who took it upon himself to recalculate the weight and balance of the plane upon landing. The plane was found to be within the proper limits, despite the extra weight. The pilot later notified the FAA of the incident.

Source

Yeah. Gas up the car, babe… I’ll be there in a couple days. :)

I appreciate the pilot’s concern. That does make me feel a bit better, given that my Dad was a pilot for an eon and a half, and I know the tenacity with which he approached his work. He was completely (and sometimes overwhelmingly) aware that he had dozens upon hundreds of lives in his hands. I like to believe that most pilots are the Really Good Guys … they are also, incidentally, our final line of hope and defense in the air.

But it’s not the pilots who load the planes. Until we can get true control of all the nimrods who dip their hands in the airplane maintenance cookie jar, I’ve gotta tell ya’, I’m perfectly happy driving ……….. ##

Maisy the Psychic

Posted by admin on Oct 20, 2008 in Blog, My thoughts | 0 comments

Maisy is a cat. A beautiful brown tiger kitty with the thickest, softest coat you’ve ever seen, featuring a deep rich chocolate stripe down her back and tail. She walks like a raccoon – with the humped back and sort of stubby-looking legs? *giggle* Yes, she was named for the mouse who goes on adventures … because my Maisy is far too curious and silly for her own good. Yes, she goes on adventures. And yes, she gets herself into trouble. :)

In 8 years of living in this apartment, thus far my dear Maisy is the only cat to actually fall off the porch. Our second-floor apartment porch. She spent untold hours in the bushes, in the pitch dark, next to the building, until I came home ’round about 1 AM and noticed her missing, and went hunting for her. I retrieved this pathetic scared-mewing kitty from the landscaping, and the next day set up pots and planters along the entire perimeter of the porch, so she could not again poke her head curiously between the spindles (and obviously, lose her balance in her excitement about something and fall off) again.

Maisy is also psychic. OK, maybe “psychic” is a far-reaching assumption. ;) Truly her gift lies in her super-sensitive nose and incredibly perceptive brain. Any time I am sick or injured, she knows it. I have finally learned to pay very close attention to her, as she tells me when something is going on, sometimes before I am aware of it. Other times, I take her cues to tell me what is serious and what is not.

When I broke my arm in 2003, and the other one in 2005, (yeah, I’m skilled), neither fracture was casted, only splinted. Upon coming home from the hospital, and every night thereafter for several weeks, she very articulately smelled my entire arm and zeroed right in on the exact location of the underlying fractures. The first broken arm had 4 fractures in it, and she pinpointed all 4. I was just laying there silently trying to go to sleep. I hadn’t told her anything nor had I pointed anything out to her… She just came right on over and found the injury down to the millimeter. She then very gingerly laid down right next to the broken limb, next to the fracture, barely touching my arm but not putting any pressure on it. And there she slept or laid faithfully, every moment I was in bed.

In 2004 (I think?) I started having some discomfort in the area of my gall bladder. Not even pain – just a little buggeryness. I didn’t think much of it, because at that point I’d had bouts of discomfort with my gall bladder a couple of times, caused by bad food choices ;) and they passed in a day or two with prompt straightening out of the diet. However this time, Maisy insisted upon nuzzling past my arm and the covers and my wadded jammies to inspect my right side. Once again her little cool wet nose zeroed right in on where the developing pain was. She moved my arm away from my body (forcefully) and then laid down next to my gall bladder — again, gently, not putting pressure on it. I thought it was incredibly sweet. A few hours later, the pain started… and grew, and grew… my Princess didn’t leave that spot. She was insistent! despite my growing restlessness in bed. Long story short, I wound up at the hospital on Good Friday getting ultrasounded. The pain was definitely coming from the gall bladder, but it was clear of stones, so they decided it was just spasming like crazy and cramping. A “real” problem?? Absolutely. I was given strict instructions on OTCs/anti-inflammatories, diet, activity, and for follow-up. It resolved on its own over the weekend. I knew I was over the hump when Maisy left my side in the middle of the night Saturday night, and didn’t return…

Throughout the years, she’s also been particularly tuned-in to my migraines. The mild ones must not be a big deal, because she ignores them. But the bad ones, doggone if she doesn’t zero right in on them. Overnight and this morning, she was literally curled around my head like a hat! as my head was pounding with the worst migraine I’ve had in months. I was in agony. Quiet agony … I usually roll over and force myself to go back to sleep, because I learned long ago that the best medicine for a migraine is SLEEP. But once again I should have listened to her, as she was wrapped around my head like a fur cap about 4 hours before the pain really hit. (It was just mild at that point — but I’ve had this migraine for nearly a week now, just at varying intensities) Had I been paying attention I would have realized this spike was coming and I would have pre-emptively medicated. But noooooooooooo……….. :)

It is a special few animals who have this gift, this sensitivity… I am so incredibly lucky and blessed. Truly I love having a little health watchdog. Beyond having a handy early warning system :) it also feels amazingly good to know that someone cares about me that much. I mean, she cares enough, to pay that close of attention and then camp out and emanate her good vibes and energy to my owie while I am sick?!?!? How cool is that. :)

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