The weather is feeling like an actual change of seasons … chilly mornings in the low 40s, followed by midday middle temperatures, evening highs in the low 60s, and rain of varying intensity requiring a flannel sheet with a light blanket and a crocheted throw overnight.
Morning walkabouts are starting about 0830 rather than 0715.
I’m enjoying it.
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I am in the process of changing my primary care provider from a PA in Weed to a FNP in McCloud. It has been quite an adventure.
It started when the car decided to do the “I won’t start right now”. It has done that a few times in the past (three or four that I recall) and when I found someone to help, which for some reason was usually a man, the car started right up. The last time it happened I called Mark who was already in Weed and, as in the past, he got in and the car started.
A car with a mysynogist streak?
But Mark showed me the “secret” which was to make sure my foot was firmly on the brake and the “shift” was in park. At any rate, since then I did as he taught and hadn’t had any further trouble until last wednesday.
Then it happened again. I tried all the tricks and, after several attempts, the car still refused to cooperate. Mark wasn’t available so I called John.
I had made an appointment to start the care provider transfer and so John took me to the clinic. Then due to the tremor, which makes my handwriting erratic (even my printing), John helped me fill out the forms.
We brought the forms home to be filled out and John would deliver them back to the clinic on his way home. While he was finishing that, I went out to try the car and it started without a hitch.
I tried twice to make sure, and no problem.
Go figure.
The forms got delivered, an appointment for an introduction and initial exam was made, and the car hasn’t been a problem since.
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I have long been involved with EMTs and then Paramedics in ambulances and as first responders in the field. I had always thought that was the brainstorm of an MD at LAGeneral Hospital.
Then last tuesday I heard an article on NPR’s Morning Edition over JPR, our local NPR outlet, about a Black group in Pennsylvania who had created a group called Freedom House, to act as first responders, who were accepted as part of first response teams quite a time before the LA program. (for more information see How working-class Black men in Pittsburgh pioneered emergency medicine … 20 September 2022 NPR Morning Edition … “Freedom House was Pittsburgh’s first professional ambulance service, and likely the first anywhere. The first paramedics were a group of Black men from the city’s historic Hill District.”)
The EMTs, played in the popular tv show “Emergency” was about EMTs as part of an LA Fire Company crew, (Randy Mantooth, Kevin Tighe, Julie London, and Bobby Troup) were all white actors. No mention of their black role models.
Now, thanks to NPR, I know the rest of the story.
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On my mondays for the elder lunch, I often use Old Stage Road since I don’t like driving the freeway. Never have.
On those drives I noticed the pine trees seem to be becoming more obviously infested with pine beetles. Trees with pine beetles die from the top down. When they are either already dead or dying they are obvious brown among all the non infested green trees.
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Even the BBC can be caught in the disinformation quagmire …
The BBC headline reads “Occupied areas in Ukraine call vote to join Russia” while the article points out that it is actually Russian backed officials calling for the vote, not the people.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismisses the votes as a sham and says they will not change anything.
Beware of distorted headlines.
(That reminded me that those who write headlines don’t always know proper grammar like the time a headline read something about responding officers killing the dead men.)
Read carefully, even from usually trustworthy sources.
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One last (?) observation in re the Hill fire … While driving through the burnt area in the Heights on my way to the elder lunches …
That fire is no longer news but the damage lingers. Oregon fires have surpassed California fires in acreage, but the damage to Lincoln Heights was severe, including two deaths, and the fire damage in Shastina was limited to a few houses and was lighter and more spotty.
Now over 50% of the residential area in the Heights no longer exists. The Heights is a predominantly Black area, previously called “The Quarters” which was and remains a predominantly segregated area as a result of the timber milling in this area where blacks were hired (imported) to handle the more dangerous jobs.
One of those jobs was on a piece of loading equipment securing large logs to transporting trucks requiring the use of heavy iron chains subject to breaking and snapping which resulted in the free chain ends whipping around and often !!! hitting those handling the loading. It was called the “Nigger killer”.
As a result of the Mill fire, HWY 97 just outside of Weed, looks like some of the bombing pictures from Ukraine but without bomb craters. Instead it is flat destruction.
The highway just north of Weed is yellow taped off with no slowing or parking admonitions.
Some of the traffic slowed anyhow … rubbernecking, filming, or taking photos.
I didn’t even slow. I will be driving through there once a week for several weeks since the Community Center where we usually have lunch is unreachable. Access to the
Community Center goes through the burned area so we are meeting in a church to the north.
The fire went around the church area because it had been cleared of trees, brush, and duff as CalFire has been advising be done by all property owners in fire prone areas.
I can rubberneck on one of my trips to lunch.
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Now to end the week …
I was the recipient of a small Random Act of Kindness a few days ago.
I was checking out at the grocery store and I was short 17 cents. I was getting ready to use my debit card for the purchase knowing there was sufficient money in my checking account to cover the groceries (I had paid in cash) when the lady behind me in the checkout line said “Don’t do that. I’ve got seventeen cents.” and she paid for me. I thanked her and assured her I would pay the act of kindness forward. We shared a smile then the cashier and the lady behind my benefactor joined us with their smiles.
I was reminded that …
… even the smallest bit of kindness can cause a big ripple in the world.
So, ‘til next week …