Wednesday's Digressions

I hate my childrens dog. Here, he jumps in my lap for a dose of hate- hatey, hate-hate. The word hate is a very strong word and I mean it in the purest, most refined sense in this case.

• "In this hole that is me, the dead are rolling over." Favorite line from my favorite Mudvayne song- Happy. Yes, you read the title correctly!
• And yes- I have a favorite Mudvayne song.
• I nearly cried on my case last night. As open as I normally try to be here, this time privacy issues aside- I simply can't repeat why: God so sad.
• "The things that die with our patients that live on in us."Something I said recently that made everyone say, "Whoa- that was good."
• Mood: not as bleak as these first few lines make it look! Actually motivated and hopeful.
• Nice compliment this morning after two nurses from my agency stopped by my patients room to meet me and then talked to our boss: " Pete and Christy said they stopped by and meet you last night- they said, you were funny!"
• Thank ya, thank ya very much.
• I don't like not being able to say where my children are at any given moment.
• Zacs motorcycle needs to be brought in after being on the charger for, oh say a week- it ought to be rarin to go.
• Kind of folksy- but Rarin To Go was the motto of my old Army unit.
• Again, the things that die and things that live on in us.
• There I go again.

California Dreamin'

The following are results of a poll conducted in California as part of a marketing plan to increase awareness of buying Californian products.



Surf's down: Only 24 percent of respondents report having gone surfing.

Those who live in Fresno (17 percent) and in Los Angeles (18 percent) are least likely to have tried it. If you want to find surfers, your best bet is to head to San Diego, where 36 percent of residents have hung 10 (or tried, anyway).

• Little mud-slinging: 21 percent of Californians have had a mud bath.

• Pining away: 63 percent of Californians surveyed have hugged a tree. And they're not ashamed.

• Udderly surprising: Nearly half (47 percent) of those surveyed said they had milked a cow. More than half -- 53 percent -- of those who live in Sacramento and Fresno had done so.•

Let your fingers do the playing: Most Californians (57 percent) have put black olives on their fingers as kids, and 28 percent have done so as adults. Central Valley residents play the fingertip-olive game most: 71 percent of Sacramento respondents reported doing so as kids, 42 percent as adults.

• All fired up: Nearly all -- 99 percent -- of residents have made or eaten barbecued meat or fish; 83 percent have barbecued or eaten barbecued fruit or vegetables.

• Some beluga, baby? More than half of Californians -- 57 percent -- have tried caviar. San Francisco residents are most likely to have nibbled on it (78 percent) while Fresno residents are the least likely to have tried it (41 percent).

• Pour it on: 70 percent of Californians have visited a winery. The whole state's gone "Sideways," it seems.

• Talking points: 71 percent of respondents have used the word "awesome" to describe something they've eaten; 67 percent of respondents have called someone "dude" on at least one occasion.

How well would you fit in the California peoplescape?

Monday's Missives

• In the Sundarbans region of West Bengal nearly 300 people a year are killed by tigers and no one knows why although they may have learned to hunt and eat humans after learning to raid fisherman's nets for fish. Most of those who end up on the tigers menu are honey gatherers. The tigers are so smart about stalking them they can swim up to a boat and take the last person on board so quietly they aren't heard and no one notices until they realise the person is gone and see a wet tiger dragging their buddy up on a river bank. The honey gatherers started putting a human faced mask on the back of the head on the last man in a column- this worked for a while then the tigers began ignoring this measure and happily drug the unfortunate man away- mask and all.



• Why mention this? I just think it is good to remember there are still places on this earth where humans are consumed with frightening regularity by animals. We can appreciate what we've got (for all the stress and heartburn we may have in the west- we are relatively unlikely to be eaten) and remember in the big picture scheme of things- we can still be dinner.



• I had to give up on the RL Polo boots I wore for probably 9 years and buy a new pair of Wolverines.



• Remember Wolverines from the movie Red Dawn and how they wrote it on the side of destroyed Russian tanks? I saw a burned out Russian made Iraqi tank southwest of Baghdad with Wolverines! spray painted down the side.



• America- what a country.



• Remember the first person who died from your school (after graduation)? Then the next...



• wake-up call
  1)a telephone call made by a wake-up service
  2)anything that serves to arouse someone from apathy or inactivity

Friday's Dispatch

• "What else do you shave? Do you shave your legs?"- A recent text message I received.
• "Wasn't that uncomfortable?" Last text message I received in response to this text I sent out-" I had my underwear on backwards for 17 hours before I just noticed."
• Apparantly not too bad- it took me 17 hours to notice.
• The odd thing? As soon as I noticed, I couldn't go another second without turning them around.
• Hitler finds out Scott Brown wins!
• Had to leave my patient barely able to breathe this morning- rare for me, but nothing I did helped. Part of it was I upset the apple cart by repositioning and turning to change and bathe her, but her comfort was really fairly marginal the entire night. All I could say was,"Please help her- do something for her." to my relief as I left. If she still needs my care tonight I hope I can make it better.
• She was a patient whom I had when she was more intact and then was offered her case again later. After the first night I cared for her I was holding her hand saying goodbye she said," I enjoyed spending the night with you my love- come back."
• Did I mention she's 90 years old?
• When I came back last night there was nothing there- semi comatose/non responsive whatever you want to call it.
• The Cults Edie (Ciao Baby) is still one of my favorite songs and I love it more every time I rediscover it.
• I made a post from a funny comment in Cyrillic left by a Russian reader combined with translation by the genius hottie who graces this little blob occasionally- Mzchief. Oh, and set it to post January 1 2029. So stick around if you missed it the first time.
• There was a documentary called The James Dean Story made shortly after his death if you get the chance to see it- don't.
• Status: disheartened, disillusioned, disappointed, discomforted, discontent, dissatisfied, disconsolate.
• No, not disfigured- still got my pretty face so that's a start.

Wednesday's Digressions

• The man whose death has been a big deal both because of the suicide by cop aspect and the fact the was shot 43 times by the police has made the news for a lot of different reasons. What I noticed? He looked sad in the published picture- even though he was smiling.




• Greatest blog name ever: THE WIND IN YOUR VAGINA. I tentatively clicked on it- it was opened to invited members only.




• Maybe just as well.




• So few people work minimum wage jobs it tends to make me more supportive of the minimum wage in general and reasonable increases in particular. The small number and the fact that it really is hard to staff minimum wage jobs makes me suspect the people working them really do need the protection afforded by the law.




• This guy mentions the US bombing of Libya as related to Scottish release of the Lockerbie bomber. I had no idea US fighters shot down 14 MIG 23s in that mission.




• Quote from a letter to Phil Spectors lawyer regarding his new neighbors, "He said he is working with his attorneys “to get a better prison with people more like myself in it during the appeal process instead of all these lowlife scumbags, gangsters and Manson types....They’d kill you here for a 39-cent bag of soup!” ap


• The article also later referenced the 69 year old Spectors 29 year old wife which I initially read to mean his wife of 29 years and was about to be impressed.




• Then I got it and was real impressed!




• In previous lives I've been asked by 3 different women to marry them.




• A chest to pin it on.

Missives- The Special Tuesday Edition

My son: so much better than me- if he fails in life it's all my fault, if he succeeds it's not because of anything I did.

The Tarrant County courthouse on the Fort Worth Stock Show parade day 15 January 2010.

• Something you would not believe about me from the past if you met me now? I used to loooove to dip Copenhagen snuff.



• When I type from it always comes out form- making me wonder since it is so consistent- why can't I shake the habit?



• Movie Beyond Tomorrow 1940 looks great and is set for my nap movie before work tonight. "Melton, Chadwick and O'Brien, rich but lonely heads of an engineering firm, invite two young strangers to dinner on Christmas Eve. The two, James and Jean, fall in love and become friends with their three benefactors...until the latter are killed in a plane crash and come back to their old home as ghosts. In the coming months, true love encounters some rough spots; can ghostly O'Brien help the young folks?" IMDB



• What does it mean when a woman says,"OK, ask me anything you want to know about me- nothing is too personal!"
• A guy in a tool or uniform supply place type van met me on the road while I was taking my daughter to school this morning- I couldn't tell for sure which it was since I was trying to slow my car and pick a safer spot to put my car in the ditch to prevent a head on collision while he tried to hide the fact he was texting his girlfriend boyfriend? by holding his phone in his lap as he drifted over into my lane!
• Crazy, absolutely insane.

Twitteral Quotes

"One of us is puking, one has diarrhea, one has tension headaches and one has a sore throat and congestion. Playdate, anyone?


Parasites, Parasites, Parasites. Where else can you find such words as "diarrhea," "megacolon" and "frothy vaginal discharge" together?


Awesome … the lady behind me just coughed phlegm all over my jacket. Gross.


Forgot I ate lots of fresh beets the last 2 days, almost thought I had hemorrhoids. Happy Thanksgiving!


Check out these beautiful bowels" -actually referencing bowls on ebay



from PC World.com

Monday's Missives

• "It gives retarded people a job to do and besides- I pay my taxes". The response I got from someone once when I told them not to throw trash out of my vehicle.


• Quite possibly the most imbecilic thing I've ever heard anyone say in my life.


• "Giving birth is not like it is in the movies. It is bloody, bestial and you get poop on your cowboy boots." A line from an episode of my new favorite show- Glee.


• I watched part of the video for Shakiras song She Wolf- she looked like an autistic person having a seizure with fire ants in their pants.


• While their feet were on fire.


• When my dad was about 12 years old he got bit by a snapping turtle on his thigh. There was a scar that was a deep gouge probably 3/4 of an inch deep and 3 inches wide still there when I was a boy and he showed it to me to keep me from sneaking off and swimming in some nasty stock tank.


• Didn't work.


• The weirdest thing that occurred to me when I thought about that? The turtle could conceivably still be alive (they live up to 150 years) and dad has been dead for nearly 30 years.


• I have personal knowledge of two different people who called a lawyer after a wreck before calling or visiting a doctor.


• We are our own worst enemies.

Illusion?

I just staggered out in the front yard from an awesome sleep after working all night to see my son off. He was wearing his 100x beaver hat, a black shirt under his worn out tan vest and had wild rags around his neck. His belt with buckle he won somewhere with blue jeans and boots with riding heel completing the look for his ride in the Fort Worth Stock Show And Rodeo parade tomorrow morning. I woke up sometime after stumbling back into the house and wondered was that real? Did that really happen? How did that little colicky baby who drove me to putting him in the car at 3 am and drive around the rest of the night so he could sleep and I could have at least a minutes peace turn into someone who can handle a 1500 pound animal among thousands of other animals and people all the while having his picture made by and with European and Japanese tourists?
I don't know, but it happened.

A Great Comment Another Blog

"A lot of time I drive down the expressway kinda fast. It makes it fun, challenging even. I suppose it's illegal. Other times if i take some weed and get kinda high then I'm content to hang in the right lane at about 55-60. I guess that's illegal too. (the drivin' around high part). I enjoy both of these things but neither is legal. Go figure. I'm still glad I'm not like my father-in-law. He seems to follow rules whether it's necessary or not, and he doesn't seem too happy'"

Monday's Missives

• "Roller Furling Jib 135% Mainsail with reefing plus a spare main 2 Jib sheet winches 2 Halyard winches ."



• The above from a sailboat ad demonstrates why guys who like them and guys who like real boats can never get along- I don't understand a word that dude said.



• Above picture is Liemba a ferry operating on Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. Liemba is an interesting vessel for many reasons not least of which is the fact after being built in 1913 she was scuttled in 1916 to the bottom of the lake where she remained until 1924. The Brits raised her in 1924 to begin life as a ferry- a role continued to this day. If you've ever seen Michael Palin's Pole To Pole you may recognize this craft. Also she was the inspiration for the German gunboat in The African Queen. Very close to 100 years of existence- even if not service the entire time- is still pretty amazing.



• I noticed above a patients bed a while back a 70+ year old picture of my patients very young and beautiful wife. Thought it was interesting there were some pictures of them together in later life but, none while younger and this particular picture was large and very prominently displayed. While I was contemplating the possible meanings of this and was in fact making a note to put a thought about it here- he died. Was he at that very moment reunited with that very beautiful, young lady? Had he spent the last 3 years since her death thinking of little more while looking at that picture?



• A family member recently said,"We've been married 60 years and 2 weeks." Kind of makes me sad that I'll never be able to say the same.



• Unless I remarry tomorrow and live to 107 years and 2 weeks.

Friday's Dispatch

What comes up on Flickr when you search "perfect butt"

• The patient I'm caring for now is the father to a nursing friend. Some people simply would not take the case under the circumstance.



• I've always thought posthumous should be pronounced as it is written- post humous (humus) meaning after- life.



• I've never seen So I Married An Axe Murderer though I've tried probably 10 times. The only line I remember is,"She stole my heart- and my cat."



• Was very tempted to buy a Sony E-Reader today at Best Buy but, the video camera and portable DVD player for the car was probably enough impulse buys for one day. When I do cave and get one it will probably be the 3G version. Google has nearly a million ebooks available for download to readers.



• Prediction: someday all textbooks will be readers and not laptop computers as some think.



• Zac was very good and fun in the store although the people he drew kept thinking he was a girl.



• I've only been to after Thanksgiving sales once in my life.



• Saw a guy at an off ramp today with the sign, "NEED SHOWER please help God Bless". Dude, I already give you guys money- now, you expect me to shower you?


• Ever heard of Sen-Sen licorice breath freshener? They were marketed as "breath perfume". My grandfather used it between dips of powdered snuff- he gave me some of the Sen-Sen once - terrible, absolutely awful. Funny thing though: I remember the smell of both he and grannies breath. I always felt so safe, loved and calm when they held me but, yeah it kind of freaked me out when she would kiss me with that snuff running out of her mouth and when he would do same and those bristly whiskers would scratch my face.


• God, after all these years and I still miss those people.
  
  
  
  

Little weather report: It's brutally cold out there folks in North Central Tejas- I kid you not. If we get any precipitation we're in trouble. I'm breaking out the fake fire logs, board games and hot chocolate for teenagers and making BBQ sandwiches and pinto beans for everybody. Don't even have the heart to kick the dumb dog out. Wish you were here. Yes, especially you.

A Famous Texan

Roy Orbison b. 1936 in Vernon TX and raised in Wink was a singer songwriter with a memorable high baritone voice whose songs have been covered by groups such as Van Halen.

Wednesday's Digressions

I ponder my future in the days of my youth with my accordion of justice (not actually me- representative photo)

• I love Hootie And The Blowfish and always have. Went to see them once at Six Flags Over Texas but, it got rained out.



• Sad



• But, there were some crazy people around me who sang and told jokes the whole time- I laughed so much my face hurt. We got soaking wet. As in you couldn't get any wetter. My bones were waterlogged.



• We rode home naked.



• Malaria has killed more people than all the wars combined in mans history. It was a problem to early explorers in America even but, it's gone now- for this reason and others it's assumed if man got serious about it we could eliminate it from our vocabulary- why don't we? As difficult as it may be it would probably be cheaper to eradicate than other diseases which get more attention- why not cure it?



• I bet that if asked most people would say they would marry someone they didn't like and were not attracted to if they were rich and their access to the money would be unlimited but, I also bet very, very few would still be with that person in 10 years- even if they couldn't take any of the money with them.



• My children are still wanting a dog. I think a fish aquarium would be a better choice or maybe a bearded dragon lizard.



• I brought my son home a hairless rat once- he didn't like it and hardly ever played with it which made me feel bad. It loved to be handled and petted but, man it was far from cuddly. Anyway, it was left to me to interact with the thing until my son took it to the pet store and sold it back to them. Always felt sorry for that thing- it was good hearted, smart and easy to care for- his only sin in this world was being born ugly.



• Poor thing. I feel your pain brother.

Tuesday's Missives For A Lost And Tired World (well at least I am)

Yikes!

• Bikini bandits and muscle cars doing burnouts may not be my thing but, if you're into that sort of thing you've come to the right place.
• My Rainman weather guy says it's going to be bad in north central Texas Wednesday and Thursday- way worse than the forecasts are calling for- he said something about highs and low pressures and fronts meeting and something, somethings going to stall over us.
• I don't know, he loses me pretty quick but, he's never been wrong.
• It's hard to know when , how or if to get a dog to stop barking if you want it to warn you of strangers. Is it something they're born with? Do you only fuss at them if they bark at non human things happening around them?
• I had a dog once that barked at everything but, people- especially strangers.
• Not for long.
• My dog snores and farts in his sleep.
• Not as cute as it sounds.
• But, he does go into a deep sleep state where he watches you as you walk by- his eyes roll around and and his ears swivel and he real quietly says,"woof" it's kind of funny.
• Road To Perdition. Good movie. Good original story. Not "Electrifying" like the note on the case said but, yeah pretty good.
• One memorable shootout with simple camera and sound work to make a very interesting scene.
• Oh, and great music- could listen to the soundtrack anytime. Great, great music.
• Simply cannot imagine how a man could call himself a man and not be able to handle a weapon- especially if he has a family.
• Never said that before- guess it's something I've always believed though. How does that sound?
• I'm wanting pie. Pecan pie with whipped cream and coffee.
• My Queen- where are you, you little cougar?
• I'm rambling- low blood sugar can do that you know.

Isadora Duncan

"I spent long days and nights in the studio, seeking that dance which might be the divine expression of the human spirit through the medium of the body's movement. For hours I would stand quite still, my two hands folded between my breast, covering the solar plexus… I was seeking and finally discovered the central spring of all movement, the crater of motor power, the unity from which all diversions of movement are born, the mirror of vision for the creation of dance." Isadora Duncan My Life, 1928

Isadora Duncan is considered by some the creator of the modern dance. After a very tumultuous life she was killed in a freak accident when the scarf she was wearing became entangled in the rear wheel of the vehicle in which she was riding causing her to be jerked out and killed nearly instantly.

Her last words were,"Je vais à l'amour" (I am off to love).

She was 50 years old.

Thanks to the kind reader who gave me a heads up up on who she was when I asked a very vague question about this interesting historical character.

Monday's Missives

• I know of only one two year old who goes to bed with a flashlight and book.





• Big bubba had his wisdom teeth pulled I laughed at his post anesthesia antics and nearly cried at his helplessness.





• I still have the same flashlight I've used to check patient eyes with in nursing school.





• It's the one the baby is using.





• One of the guys I went to school with was my childs school nurse.





• Another has lost his license.





• Would really like to own a 'Vette once in my life.
Not a Chevette




• The HMMWV (Hummer) is officially being phased out- the replacement looks great, has good specs and shares the drivetrain with the USMC 7 ton truck (iconic to Marines). Very smart. About time.





• When I was in Iraq a truck full of Marine females in a 7 ton was blown up near Fallujah killing all 9- I think that numbers right anyway. It caused a great deal of debate in the states about women in combat areas. I thought they were supposed to be equals.





• I spoke to a wrecker operator who went out on the recovery- he said there was nothing to hook to to tow the truck, it was just pieces, pieces scattered everywhere. He held his hands out approximately 3 X 3 feet,"Nothing bigger than this."

Cockfight Bust

very near my home, 169 people arrested 10-15 children seized by the state. Whew, that was close! I took my kids to a movie instead.

You Know You're In Texas

when S-10 Chevrolet pickups are called trucks and Suburbans are called cars.