What if Facebook disabled the Share button for a week? What if you couldn't copy and paste, but could only write your own original content?
Would you have the courage to do it?
Isn't it easier to re-post that meme that incites anger/disgust against a segment of the population, whether they be Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Muslims, Chinese, Mexicans, gay, straight? So what if a Russian troll farm created it? So what if it's untrue, unkind, or hate speech?
You can hide behind your posts. You can claim that you don't really believe it when pressed. But you do, you really do. You just lack the courage to say it in your own words.
I see the helpers out there trying to get us through this crisis. I see you too.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Influenza A
I did everything right...I got my flu shot, washed my hands, disinfected, you name it. Working the front-line in a walk clinic makes it hard to stay healthy. Two weeks ago I had "haemophilus influenzae", which is caused by a bacteria unlike the flu we think of, so a round of antibiotics fixed me up. And eye drops for the pink eye that came along with it.
Friday afternoon I asked our nurse to take my temp - I wasn't feeling right. It was a low-grade fever, but I started taking Tylenol immediately. The loud barking cough that went with it was starting to indicate Influenza (the viral kind), so I promised I'd come in the next morning to get looked at.
That night was a nightmare of unproductive coughing and fever delirium. My FitBit says I got 52 minutes of sleep. I was coughing so hard I would sometime retch with dry heaves, causing my face to break out in red spots. My throat felt like it had been flayed open with razors, and I felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open. I got in the car and went to the clinic, which was a scary drive in itself. I found myself weaving a bit, but made it there. The provider and nurse both took a look at me and said "you have influenza based on how sick you are", but I wanted proof, since I had always relied on the flu shot to keep me safe.
Sure enough, the test showed Influenza A. It made me think back to a day about 5 days before, where a family of 6, all anti-vaxxers, came in, all obviously very ill. And they all had Influenza A too. If they had their vaccines, would they have avoided the trip to the clinic?
I went home with my Tamiflu and cough medicine, and went straight to bed. I still couldn't sleep, but I had no energy to be anywhere else. The TV was blinding, and when I tried to eat 2 sugar snap peas, I threw them up.
Today, 3 days later, I still have a fever, my throat is raw, but my cough has subsided just enough to snatch a couple minutes sleep. And just the effort of writing this is proving too much. I need to head back to bed.
Friday afternoon I asked our nurse to take my temp - I wasn't feeling right. It was a low-grade fever, but I started taking Tylenol immediately. The loud barking cough that went with it was starting to indicate Influenza (the viral kind), so I promised I'd come in the next morning to get looked at.
That night was a nightmare of unproductive coughing and fever delirium. My FitBit says I got 52 minutes of sleep. I was coughing so hard I would sometime retch with dry heaves, causing my face to break out in red spots. My throat felt like it had been flayed open with razors, and I felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open. I got in the car and went to the clinic, which was a scary drive in itself. I found myself weaving a bit, but made it there. The provider and nurse both took a look at me and said "you have influenza based on how sick you are", but I wanted proof, since I had always relied on the flu shot to keep me safe.
Sure enough, the test showed Influenza A. It made me think back to a day about 5 days before, where a family of 6, all anti-vaxxers, came in, all obviously very ill. And they all had Influenza A too. If they had their vaccines, would they have avoided the trip to the clinic?
I went home with my Tamiflu and cough medicine, and went straight to bed. I still couldn't sleep, but I had no energy to be anywhere else. The TV was blinding, and when I tried to eat 2 sugar snap peas, I threw them up.
Today, 3 days later, I still have a fever, my throat is raw, but my cough has subsided just enough to snatch a couple minutes sleep. And just the effort of writing this is proving too much. I need to head back to bed.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Life Lessons on MLK Day
I once had a best friend that really got me. She and I worked together. She was the cool girl - artistic, funny, and loved by all.
Our circle expanded to include a guy, who had a wicked wit and who was the life of the party. All three of us were friends for a time, until the guy's wit turned on me. When I told him his words hurt, he only increased the verbal assault, and left me in tears several times.
I asked my best friend why she didn't support me; why she continued to hang out with him when he was so vicious to me. She didn't like the abuse, she told me, but he was still nice to her, so she wasn't going to drop him as a friend.
I learned a really hard lesson that day. And although it took months to break away, I did. And unfortunately, I've had to repeat that lesson many times in my life.
Today, on Martin Luther King day, I honor the man who stood up for his friends when others persecuted them. Life would have been so much easier for him if he ignored the injustices forced upon his friends.
Many years after that first lesson, I worked in Berlin, and on a rare weekend off, took the train to the concentration camp Sachsenhausen, where a Lutheran minister, Martin Niemöller,once a supporter of Hitler, was imprisoned. After the war, he expressed his sentiments with prose that rings true even today.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Our circle expanded to include a guy, who had a wicked wit and who was the life of the party. All three of us were friends for a time, until the guy's wit turned on me. When I told him his words hurt, he only increased the verbal assault, and left me in tears several times.
I asked my best friend why she didn't support me; why she continued to hang out with him when he was so vicious to me. She didn't like the abuse, she told me, but he was still nice to her, so she wasn't going to drop him as a friend.
I learned a really hard lesson that day. And although it took months to break away, I did. And unfortunately, I've had to repeat that lesson many times in my life.
Today, on Martin Luther King day, I honor the man who stood up for his friends when others persecuted them. Life would have been so much easier for him if he ignored the injustices forced upon his friends.
Many years after that first lesson, I worked in Berlin, and on a rare weekend off, took the train to the concentration camp Sachsenhausen, where a Lutheran minister, Martin Niemöller,once a supporter of Hitler, was imprisoned. After the war, he expressed his sentiments with prose that rings true even today.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Monday, January 6, 2020
My Views on Religious Freedom
I read a lot, and watch a lot of news and information programs. Lately I hear a conservative view that says Christian evangelicals ignore the sins of the president because they are working to promote religious freedom, and it's the price they are willing to pay.
I always wrinkle my brow when I hear that, because I know that the very first amendment to the Constitution gives them that very right.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So what do the evangelists mean exactly? Based on what I see, I can only come to this conclusion: they want Christians to have freedom. Freedom to make the government their own and formalize what so many already state: we're a Christian nation. So that Christian beliefs can be taught in schools and posted on the walls of Congress.
What can possibly go wrong with that? First of all, which Christian religion should rule? Baptists? Lutherans? The snake charming one? Or how about the one that protests at all the military funerals holding signs like "God Hates Gays"? Should we start treating the Christian bible like our constitution and begin stoning adulterers to death?
You think we're divided now - just imagine if we really were a "Christian nation". Catholics would be fighting Lutherans, Baptists would be fighting the Methodists, and mass chaos would ensue. And snakes. There would be snakes.
Here's what the first amendment means to me. Our country was founded on the principle that our government stays out of religion. Period. It's the only way we avoid being a Theocracy, which is defined as:
"a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god."
Iran is a theocracy. So is Saudi Arabia, and yes, Vatican City. Where the rulers get to decide what you wear. And what you think. And who you love.
This great experiment we've got going here in the US has a strong foundation BECAUSE it was built on secular principles, allowing ALL people the freedom to live their lives in the way they choose.
Pray on, if you choose to. Pray to God, Allah, Ishtar, Vishnu, or the Universe. Or take a walk in the woods and give thanks for the everyday miracles surrounding us. Or go worship the shiny new car at the dealer. You have the religious freedom to do any or all of the above. But please, no snakes, okay?
I always wrinkle my brow when I hear that, because I know that the very first amendment to the Constitution gives them that very right.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So what do the evangelists mean exactly? Based on what I see, I can only come to this conclusion: they want Christians to have freedom. Freedom to make the government their own and formalize what so many already state: we're a Christian nation. So that Christian beliefs can be taught in schools and posted on the walls of Congress.
What can possibly go wrong with that? First of all, which Christian religion should rule? Baptists? Lutherans? The snake charming one? Or how about the one that protests at all the military funerals holding signs like "God Hates Gays"? Should we start treating the Christian bible like our constitution and begin stoning adulterers to death?
You think we're divided now - just imagine if we really were a "Christian nation". Catholics would be fighting Lutherans, Baptists would be fighting the Methodists, and mass chaos would ensue. And snakes. There would be snakes.
Here's what the first amendment means to me. Our country was founded on the principle that our government stays out of religion. Period. It's the only way we avoid being a Theocracy, which is defined as:
"a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god."
Iran is a theocracy. So is Saudi Arabia, and yes, Vatican City. Where the rulers get to decide what you wear. And what you think. And who you love.
This great experiment we've got going here in the US has a strong foundation BECAUSE it was built on secular principles, allowing ALL people the freedom to live their lives in the way they choose.
Pray on, if you choose to. Pray to God, Allah, Ishtar, Vishnu, or the Universe. Or take a walk in the woods and give thanks for the everyday miracles surrounding us. Or go worship the shiny new car at the dealer. You have the religious freedom to do any or all of the above. But please, no snakes, okay?
 |
| Goddess Ishtar |
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Ode to My BFF
From the day we met in our Sophomore year of college we were finishing each other's sentences. Even when distance and laziness kept us out of touch, when we reconnected it was like we had never been apart. The death of our beautiful friend Karen brought us together in a new way. For the first time, we realized there was no getting out of here alive.
So when my mammogram came back suspicious, she was the first person I told. And when it turned out I had cancer, she was there. Not with thoughts and prayers, but with real support. She bought a one-way ticket a few days before my bilateral mastectomy and vowed to stay as long as I needed her.
Anyone who knows me well knows that my talents don't lie in housekeeping skills. My priorities are elsewhere; my cats and chickens, cooking delicious food, politics. Anything but vacuuming, mopping, or laundry. My BFF went to work immediately getting my house and yard in order. The mountain of laundry dwindled to nothing, and those chores I kept putting off got done. She finds joy in cleaning; who knew?
She accompanied me to the hospital and waited hours for me to be out of surgery. When my surgical drains leaked, she changed my bed and my bandages. She looked unflinchingly at my flat chest with incisions from armpit to armpit. She played endless games of Gin Rummy, learned the names and personalities of 11 cats and 6 chickens, tried every kitchen gadget I own.
Her name is Denise, and she is my family.
So when my mammogram came back suspicious, she was the first person I told. And when it turned out I had cancer, she was there. Not with thoughts and prayers, but with real support. She bought a one-way ticket a few days before my bilateral mastectomy and vowed to stay as long as I needed her.
Anyone who knows me well knows that my talents don't lie in housekeeping skills. My priorities are elsewhere; my cats and chickens, cooking delicious food, politics. Anything but vacuuming, mopping, or laundry. My BFF went to work immediately getting my house and yard in order. The mountain of laundry dwindled to nothing, and those chores I kept putting off got done. She finds joy in cleaning; who knew?
She accompanied me to the hospital and waited hours for me to be out of surgery. When my surgical drains leaked, she changed my bed and my bandages. She looked unflinchingly at my flat chest with incisions from armpit to armpit. She played endless games of Gin Rummy, learned the names and personalities of 11 cats and 6 chickens, tried every kitchen gadget I own.
Her name is Denise, and she is my family.
Monday, July 1, 2019
Miracle Morning
After a nasty cold all week, a 24-hour migraine, and a cough starting last night, I woke up (late!) feeling pretty good. My poor chickens were anxious to get outside to start their day, so I opened their coop door and headed back inside to make the coffee and feed the cats.
Even with all the windows closed (it's gonna be a hot day), I heard the noise, like hundreds of screaming hawks. Looking out the sliding glass door, I could see a couple of my chickens by the house, not moving and looking to the sky. Intrigued, I stepped outside and heard the racket up close. Whatever was making it was circling my house - now it was in the front with a few stragglers in the back near me. Hearing them on the move again, I moved to the side of the house and saw a hawk, followed by hundreds of smaller birds. Blue Jays, and they were chasing that hawk away from my house!
My chickens were huddled together in fear, and Rhoda, my Rhode Island Red, was making a noise like a rumble rumble rumble, repeated low and constant.
I stood there until the racket subsided, then noticed that several of the Jays had perched quite close to me. I silently thanked them for watching out for my friends, and looked around at the rest of the yard. A dragonfly had flown into the coop run and couldn't find it's way out, so I gently picked him up and got him to freedom. A Monarch butterfly was nearby perched on a yellow dandelion, and a gorgeous black and white butterfly or moth flew nearby. A hummingbird buzzed me, reminding me that I needed to fill his feeders, and the woods sighed in contentment. Summer is here, the air is warm, and all is as it should be.
And I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
Even with all the windows closed (it's gonna be a hot day), I heard the noise, like hundreds of screaming hawks. Looking out the sliding glass door, I could see a couple of my chickens by the house, not moving and looking to the sky. Intrigued, I stepped outside and heard the racket up close. Whatever was making it was circling my house - now it was in the front with a few stragglers in the back near me. Hearing them on the move again, I moved to the side of the house and saw a hawk, followed by hundreds of smaller birds. Blue Jays, and they were chasing that hawk away from my house!
My chickens were huddled together in fear, and Rhoda, my Rhode Island Red, was making a noise like a rumble rumble rumble, repeated low and constant.
I stood there until the racket subsided, then noticed that several of the Jays had perched quite close to me. I silently thanked them for watching out for my friends, and looked around at the rest of the yard. A dragonfly had flown into the coop run and couldn't find it's way out, so I gently picked him up and got him to freedom. A Monarch butterfly was nearby perched on a yellow dandelion, and a gorgeous black and white butterfly or moth flew nearby. A hummingbird buzzed me, reminding me that I needed to fill his feeders, and the woods sighed in contentment. Summer is here, the air is warm, and all is as it should be.
And I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
The Big C
My mammograms have rarely gone smoothly. I have "dense" breasts, which means they can't really see what they should. I've had to go back many years for more pictures, ultrasounds, and even a biopsy on my right breast. It's just one of those things I have dealt with...no big deal.
This time felt different from the very start. It started the same way...more pictures, followed by an ultrasound, then a biopsy, this time of the left breast. All completely painless, but the look on the radiologist's face told me volumes. So I was prepared when he called two days later with the biopsy pathology report.
"It's unfortunately cancer", he said. "The most common type - Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, and it's small - about 4.5 mm. You'll need to meet with a surgeon and oncologist to talk about options, but they will likely tell you either a lumpectomy with radiation, or a total mastectomy without further treatment".
Did I tell you that the phone call came when I was at work, and that I have to smile and actually talk to people? I'm not sure I remember the next few patients I registered - I felt like I was having tunnel vision, and in a vast echo chamber where I could hear, but it all sounded so far away. Once it slowed down a bit, the nurse and provider surrounded me with hugs and advice...should I have reconstructive surgery? Who is the best plastic surgeon in the area? And look at the great tattoos I can get to cover any scarring!
The good news is that surgery can be done here in my small town hospital. The bad news is that if I choose a lumpectomy, the radiation treatment is an hour away. And treatment is 5 days a week, up to 16 weeks. The prognosis is good, and about the same with either option I choose. If insurance covers it, I'm leaning toward total mastectomy...of both breasts. I've never been a girly girl, and am not defined by my extra female bits. I wonder if it means that I can go shirtless in the summertime? When I first started developing, I was so mad at my Mom for making me put a shirt on around the boys. Didn't seem fair to me, when they got to run through sprinklers bare chested.
So many questions to answer. I feel like I'm back in school again, learning a new subject that I better know backwards and forwards 'cuz there will be a final exam. Have no doubt - I will ace the exam.
This time felt different from the very start. It started the same way...more pictures, followed by an ultrasound, then a biopsy, this time of the left breast. All completely painless, but the look on the radiologist's face told me volumes. So I was prepared when he called two days later with the biopsy pathology report.
"It's unfortunately cancer", he said. "The most common type - Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, and it's small - about 4.5 mm. You'll need to meet with a surgeon and oncologist to talk about options, but they will likely tell you either a lumpectomy with radiation, or a total mastectomy without further treatment".
Did I tell you that the phone call came when I was at work, and that I have to smile and actually talk to people? I'm not sure I remember the next few patients I registered - I felt like I was having tunnel vision, and in a vast echo chamber where I could hear, but it all sounded so far away. Once it slowed down a bit, the nurse and provider surrounded me with hugs and advice...should I have reconstructive surgery? Who is the best plastic surgeon in the area? And look at the great tattoos I can get to cover any scarring!
The good news is that surgery can be done here in my small town hospital. The bad news is that if I choose a lumpectomy, the radiation treatment is an hour away. And treatment is 5 days a week, up to 16 weeks. The prognosis is good, and about the same with either option I choose. If insurance covers it, I'm leaning toward total mastectomy...of both breasts. I've never been a girly girl, and am not defined by my extra female bits. I wonder if it means that I can go shirtless in the summertime? When I first started developing, I was so mad at my Mom for making me put a shirt on around the boys. Didn't seem fair to me, when they got to run through sprinklers bare chested.
So many questions to answer. I feel like I'm back in school again, learning a new subject that I better know backwards and forwards 'cuz there will be a final exam. Have no doubt - I will ace the exam.
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