I should have mentioned in last week’s tirade that the hospital I was in when the events resulting in my tirade occurred was Fairchild in Yreka, not Dignity Health in Mt Shasta.
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Tomorrow is the anniversary of my chosen sister’s birth.
I have known her since the 60s.
We are soooo different.
But there are real intersection points.
We’ve shared joy and dreams and are now sharing loss and grief.
I’ve come to question a lot of the ways people use the word “love” … but I love her and affirm my wish that Blessings be hers in the days to come.
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We had a touch of pre-dawn showers twice last week. But so far no real rain. Dawn temps have been in the highs 30s and low 40s. Daytime temps in the mid-60s.
Snow had been predicted down to 3,500’. The altitude here is about 3,200’, and we didn’t see any white, not even a skiff. There was some dawn snow skiffs one day last week over in Mt Shasta.
And the deciduous trees are changing. Winter approaches.
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Life always presents surprises.
Twice in the last couple of weeks, as I went down for my nap, I could hear something (the space is too small for a person or a bear) which sounded as if it was scrabbling around just outside my bedroom wall.
I banged on the wall and waited. There was a pause, then a resumption. The next time I banged with more force … and repeatedly.
Success.
After my nap I walked out to take a look and see if I could see any trampling or scat signs. I thought it might have been racoons even though they are usually active at night. Nothing.
Then last wednesday … it happened again.
This time I went to the window in my loo which is the only window opening into the area involved and yelled “Who’s there?”
No answer.
Just then a neighbor who walks the loop came into view and I called to her asking if she could see any action in the area. Her reply was “Two crows on the roof.” She told me occasionally she has the same problem.
Question solved.
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Thursday last I had to go to the Weed clinic for inoculation updates. A friend came by to take me. She drives a big Jeep which you have to climb up into, so I was sure I could get in, but in-and-out-and-back-in was a question.
Result … I surprised me and did it with only a slight rise in respirations. My caregiver stepped in for an eye over while I was there and approved my phone report in re my physical condition. He also had my SAT checked and, contrary to the SAT of 90% and pulse of 133 which was the machine’s evaluation on which the Fairchild doc based his incorrect script putting me on betablockers, my SAT was 95/96% and pulse was 80 … both well within normal for me. Maybe it would have been good for the Fairchild doc to hear the advice I gave to the students to “Listen to your patients.” even when he had consciously turned away.
Last thursday had been a busy, sort-of tiring morning and so Darlene went through the Burger King drive up for chicken salads which we brought back here and shared with comfortable conversation.
When we arrived here about 1145 the back-up generator was running. Everything in the house was normal, so I gave it no thought. My reaction was it was most likely the weekly check-up and gave it no further attention.
But when it was still running as Darlene left at 1230, I began to wonder. I put in a call to Campora, the company who manages the propane for the generator, but the woman with whom I usually talk was at lunch.
By the time I reached her I had heard from the power company telling me my area was under a power outage while repairs were being made.
The power came back on and the generator quit at 1310 and the change in noise was my only clue.
Now I know how that system works, and that it does work.
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Another couple of insights this week …
Farm-based wake-up times do not work in an urban setting.
I find I still wake up between 0545 and 0615. Then I listen to the early PBS news, brew a couple of cups of tea, have a basic breakfast with fruit, do my basic computer checks … then I sit and wonder what comes next. Basically nothing … local activities (i.e. south Siskiyou County) aren’t usually open for business before 0930 at the very earliest … more likely 1000, sometimes even noon. Even NPR is mono-broadcasting.
Possible solution? Learn to sleep later or find something to do during the newly available time.
Second insight (not necessarily “new”) … my enjoyment of most music noted as “Classical” is not universally shared. LA’s Dudamel is quoted as saying “A lot of those who think they don’t ‘like’ Classical music have never really heard it.” My personal experience has been with at least two friends who humored me by attending an HD live presentation of a Met opera and then ended up anticipating what will be offered this coming season.
An aside to this insight is and has been the understanding that an identical taste in music or other entertainment neither guarantees or hinders friendship. As with my belief concerning most choices in life … I choose for me and you choose for you. We can always agree to disagree and move on from there.
But back to my first thought in re music … When I hear dates attached to a piece of music, a musician, or a composer I find myself wondering if any of my ancestors alive during whatever time period which has come to mind ever had the opportunity to experience that music, musician, or composer. Knowing my ancestry, the answer is most likely probably not.
Oh well …
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And an interesting thought for contemplation …
The picture for this month on my calendar is a Manet painted in 1881 titled “Woman Reading”. It is in the Chicago Art Museum.
The thought that is giving me question is that it doesn’t look to me as if she is reading the book/magazine in front of her but actually looking past the magazine to her right at someone else in the room.
What do you think?
Maybe it needs to be seen in person.
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A week of small accomplishments and some lessons.
The idea of growing into the unique person that is you is interesting. Like Dr Seuss says “ there is nobody youer than you”.
We have all been created with gifts and limitations and do our best to navigate our lives. We need to be grateful for the gifts and even the struggles.
Feel a sense of gratitude for each new day.
So … ‘til next week …