11/20 Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. It is also World Children’s Day. I find that appropriate, and also ironic. I cannot begin to imagine what transgender children have to go through (heck, I can’t even imagine what some left-handed children still have to go through, and I can simulate that.)
I have a contractor coming today, so this will be all today.
So, first full day home amd I am grumpy as a grinch. No one’s fault (unless there are some kind of gremllins that are in charge of these things.) And it’s a story going back to 1976, when , newly out of the Marine Corps, I sprained my ankle. Of course I used “RICE” and eventually it stopped hurting – until the late 1990s, when it started to notify me that I had osteoarthritis there. That was when I started using a cane. I would not call that a flare-up – just a more or less constant annoyance which gradually eased off. I didn’t forget about the sprain, because it had affected the angle of the left foot a little, as well as the configuration of the arch area (which is a story in itself, but not for now), which were always reminders, but I had forgotten about the pain – until today, when I woke up with a full-blown flare-up – along with my usual back pain, which is on the right side. Suddenly, when neither leg is weightbearing, using a walker wasn’t so easy any more. Normally I ise the TENS in the den (at the opposite end of the house from the bedroom) but I wasn’t going to get there without something giving. Fortunately I remembered I had taken a spare TENS to the bedroom ages ago – the pads were smaller than I use on my back (they were intended for my shoulder) and the TENS had gottn unplugged from the charger somehow (fortunately there was enough charge to get me vertical) so I made it to the den, getting ice for the ankle along the way, so I’m much more comfortable now. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the flareup won’t be back tomorrow morning, and the next morning, and the morning after that, for up to four weeks. I did get a new wheelchair ordered, the samre make and model I have been using to visit Virgil, but one size smaller because doors (and just enough weight loss to fit comfortably),but that was about it. I did note that, one day after SCOTUS adopted a “Code of Ethics, ” pundits are saying it is about as efficacious as a paper parasol in a hurricane – which was what I had guessed, and y’all had probably also guessed.
I shall now leave the “den” (and therefore the good computer) for the living room for a while, and attempt to find some things that I know I packed to come home with me – so they must be somewhere – but I haven’t figured out where yet. Wish me luck!
The call went swimmingly … it did end up requiring help from one of the hospital staff who was most gracious also. We could hear eaxh other clearly (lix\ke most of our convwersations, it was fairly monotonous – a lot of “I love you,” “I love you too,” :I miss you,” I miss you too”s But it lifted both our spirits
If I can find a way to express my gratitude to Governor Polis without getting intercepted by some Karen just waiting to jump on someone for being compassionate, I shall. But Karens can be sneaky.
I am packing up the lapto now, to save time later, and to force me to watch and read the instructions for discharge So probably no more till tomorrow. – even responding to comments.
I wish this meant that I’m fully recovered. It doesn’t. It does mean that I am recovered enough to manage my own recovery from here. And that means work. And that means less time and energy for PP during the process.
It does, of course, also mean a good shot at a better future. But that will require patience… and we all know cats and patience.
On the bright side, I just got a call from Virgil’s facility and they will arrange a call from him today between my therapies. Woo hoo!
Nameless asked me in an email whether I had an idea of goals toward discharge, and whether I was being unexpectedly moved around and returned to my room (as his Mom was after hip surgery and found annoying.) Well, his Mom (and others who felt the same) must have impacted the standards of care.
Yesterday, here is the printout schedule I received (abbreviated):
OT 7:15-8:15 patient room
OT 8:15-8:45 patient room
PT 10:00-11:00 Gym (This was a sitdown lecture/roundtable on avoiding future falls)
PT 11:30-12:00 Gym
It all adds up to 3 hours, so I know it’s the full schedule – they have promised me three hours a day and no more (it may even be only 5 days a week.)
As far as goals toward getting out, that iis largely what they are working on shaping for me. The first PT workout Tuesday was exhausting, but it gave me a very clear idea of what they want me to be able to do. Some of it I can do now but need repetition to build strength and stamina – like walking with a walker around the gym. Tuesday I did it and it didn’t affect my oxygen but it skyrocketed my pulse. Yesterday I did it much more easily. (Interestingly, Tuesday also made it clear that my pulse going up presents as shortness of breath. But I digress.) Other tasks I can do but not in the target time frame. Still others – mostly those involving balance – not in this universe at this time (It’s not the fall – I have had balance issues my whole life. Of course the upside of that is that I have a pretty good idea of my limitations.) So specific goals are being formed, and I haven’t looked, but it would not surprise me if they are being slipped into the binder they gave me. And if not, I can probably request a copy. Also, at my leisure, the center’s TV system has about a dozen treatment-related videos, including one about what to expect on the discharge day.
I hope no one else here will ever need to go to rehab. But if you do, I hope this will help you have an idea what to expect, and mitigate any fear or nervousness. And the staff have been great (sure, some are better than others,and sure, some of them, being demanding is their job, so they are not going to seem as warm as others. But they are good at what they do.)
This is all for today, other than reading and rating comments (and responding to a few.) Today But rest assured I’m feeling good for the circumstances and getting better.
Today is the Marine Corps Birthday. Trinette has the day free after a long hard week of training and will be able to visit in daylight even in standard time. I shan’t be idle.
Click the picture for a guided tour
p. s. They also have an in-house psychologist! We just met, and I don’t think I’ll need her, but then I didn’t have surgery, so no mind numbing anesthesia, and besides I have Trinette and you all.
Yesterday, Mike Johnson was elected Speaker, ending 22 days of one kind of chaos (and probably beginning a slightly different kind.) I figured that out a couple of seconds before I saw the actual email announcing it – because a slightly later email (and I read down) announced that Colorado’s GOP delegation of three all supported him, and, as you know from yesterday (if you didn’t know it already,) our delegation contains 3 reps, none of whom plays well with others, including each other. I figured if they could all get it together, the whole GOP would be a cinch. Apparently that was a good bet. That doesn’t mean he will be a good Speaker, or even a minimally competent one. Andy Borowitz suggests that “Johnson Promises to Be Greatest Speaker of the Seventeenth Century.” (I note that that century includes the year 1609.) Also, I got an email from Pat, who is down in the dumps because her physical included a diagnosis of short term memory loss. She authorized me to share that, so I am. (She didn’t mention how severe they said it was. I certainly would nbnever have guessed.)
On the plus side, a late night email from Margaret Atwood came with a video – she promised all her subscribers a post-op tap dance. I wish I had ber energy!
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The Daily Beast – Trump Says Only Jesus Christ Could Be Elected House Speaker
Quote – Twenty days after Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker of the House—and with House Republicans once again starting from scratch to find a new leader—former President Donald Trump declared on Monday that there was just one candidate who could win enough support. “There’s only one person that can do it all the way,” Trump said before a New Hampshire rally. “You know who that is? Jesus Christ. If Jesus came down and said, ‘I want to be Speaker,’ he would do it. Other than that, I haven’t seen anybody that can guarantee it.”
Click through for details. Jesus Christ would not get a single vote. Democrats would not vote for him because we believe in church-state separation. Republicans would not vote for him because he is brown, he is woke, he does not speak English, and he was not born in America. Not. one. single. vote.
The 19th – U.S. Mint announces final 5 women as it finishes its quarters program in 2025
Quote – The program began in 2022 as a result of legislation introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat. “I wanted to make sure that women would be honored, and their images and names be lifted up on our coins. I mean, it’s outrageous that we haven’t,” Lee said when the program was first unveiled in 2021. “Hopefully the public really delves into who these women were, because these women have made such a contribution to our country in so many ways.” Lee began drafting legislation on the coin program with help from Rosa Rios, the Treasury official who oversaw the United States Mint under former President Barack Obama. She introduced her bill, the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act, with two Republicans, Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Deb Fischer of Nebraska. It was signed into law in 2020.
Click through for story. I don’t think I have handled cash since the start of the pandemic … so this went over my head. Which is a pity – because these are all remarkab;e and truly diverse women, and while I knew of some, I don’t think I knew as many as half.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, this paragraph was in the public radio newsletter: “Colorado said the bridge that collapsed near Pueblo in a fatal train derailment was owned by the railroad company, but the company says the state owns it.” It’s going to be a long wait. Sigh. “Photos and videos posted by authorities showed the partially collapsed bridge with the semi-truck caught beneath in the right lane. The images also show a pileup of train cars and wheels scattered across the scene and loads of coal covering a portion of the highway. Thirty-nine cars of the 124 being hauled derailed, the National Transportation Safety Board said.”
Also, my ballot arrived. I already knew how I wanted to vote on the two issues, but there is also a school board election. Five candiedates. Two vacancies. At least this time Ballotpedia came through on a couple of them (one yes, one no) and another candidate ‘s name was unusual enough that just her name brought up that she’s registered D. So I had two that I could vote for, and did. The other two should have filled out the questionnaires.
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John Pavlovitz – The One Place to Stand in The Israel-Palestine Violence
Quote – As a person of faith, morality, and conscience, I don’t know where to stand in times like these—other than with squandered, brutalized life. That means I don’t get off so easy as to be able to make a tidy little declaration and walk away feeling good about myself. It means I have to leave the shallows of ambiguity and into deep waters of nuance and history and human nature. It means I have to read and learn, to listen and reflect, to pray and wrestle. It means I’ll end up with fewer answers and more questions and I might be sick to my stomach. But this place of staring at the ugly unfigureoutable is where I am, where many of us are.
Click through for full secular sermon – which is what I found it to be. Yes, John is a pastor, but he does his best to speak to everyone, and often succeeds. I think he succeeds here.
Colorado Public Radio – Navy honors sailor who helped stop Club Q shooting
Quote – During a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 5, Rear Adm. Scott Robertson, director of Plans, Policy and Strategy for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command, presented the medal on behalf of the Navy…. “I myself can only hope that I would channel the courage in our Navy core values like he did,” Robertson said. “But, we don’t have to wait for crisis to apply core values. We can and should apply them every day. That’s what I am taking away from the lessons you taught us all.”
Click through for full story. This is a week or more old – I saved it until Pat got back. Thank God Tommy Tuberville didn’t have his way before this occurred – it could have been much worse.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, I saw Virgil (who returns all greetings, spoken and unspoken.) We played Scrabble, getting very liberal, even multilingual, especially the last game. But it’s all in fun. After I got home and posted my safe note, I was listening to tha radio and heard something I certainly never dreaned it was possible, and I’m not 100% positive how it was done. I heard four snare drum rolls (2 sets of 2) played by a classical guitarist, on the classical guitar. It was in an orchestral piece, transcribed for guitar, which starts with a little fanfare of two drum roll and then repeats it later. It was a piece I’m familiar with, so though they didn’t sound exactly like drum rolls, I recognized immediately what they were meant for. No transcription ever sounds exactly like the orchestral piece anyway, so I thought they were pretty darned good. My best guess is that he knocked or slapped the guitar through the open strings – but that’s quite a feat , since the parts of the strings that are directly over the sound box of the guitar are mostly over the sound hole.
I apologize for not making a graphic for Indigenoua People’s Day. The reason was that – there are so many tribes – all over the Americas – and every single one of them has rich cultural traditions and images – and every single tribe also survived over 2000 years by living sustainably. Even just in my corner of the United States there are multiple tribes with multiple traditions. And I didn’t want to leave anyone out, nor did I want to fall back on stereotypes, many of which are not even respectful. So I’ll just wish you a happy indigenous people’s day and leave it at that.
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TeenVogue – The Supreme Court Must Protect Domestic Violence Survivors By Overturning the Rahimi Decision
Quote – When I was a young girl living in South Carolina, my mother, Patricia Ann, was shot and killed by an abusive dating partner. He murdered her in front of my three younger sisters — who were 10, 11, and 12 at the time — with an sawed-off shotgun. He was a convicted felon who should never have had access to the firearm he used to take our mother away from us forever. My sisters and I are grown now, but we still feel her absence every single day…. The Fifth Circuit’s decision in Rahimi is putting domestic violence survivors living in the Fifth Circuit in danger right now. I know firsthand that this is not an abstract exercise. If the decision is not reversed, domestic violence survivors face the prospect that their abusers can arm themselves immediately. This ruling is a potential death sentence for countless women and families.
Click through for article. If you had the idea that TeenVogue was a shallow, ditsy publication all about clothes, makeup, and maybe a little sex, hold that thought – for when you are around MAGAts. For the sake of democracy, never let them find out how woke it is. It is stepping in where schools and scared parents fear to tread – has actually been doing so for some time.
Colorado Public Radio – Colorado’s Black history — and future — go on display in a new unlikely center of Black culture: Boulder
Quote – [A] new exhibit at the Museum of Boulder, called “Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History,” gives the community and the state another chance to reflect on the past, celebrate the accomplishments of those who have persevered, and create joy for the future. The exhibit opened Sept. 29, and the museum plans to have it on display for two years. It comes shortly after a documentary released in 2022 called “This Is [Not] Who We Are,” which explores “the gap between Boulder’s progressive self-image and the lived experiences of its Black citizens,” and the opening of the university’s new Center for African and African-American Studies, which is meant in part to help build community…. Adrian Miller, the lead curator of the new Museum of Boulder exhibit… is conscious of the specific cultural moment when this exhibit is opening, three years after massive protests for racial justice, and amidst a celebration of Black culture in Boulder centered around the football coach.
Click through for story and some pictures. CPR calls Boulder “unlikely” on the basis that Boulder is like 90% white and only 1% black. But the thing is, the main University of Colorado is there. And one of the things Republicans hate about education, especially higher education, is that academics tend not to shy away from research, from finding out truth, and then from sharing that truth. My only issue with this being in Boulder is hoping that fact doesn’t turn out to limit access.
Food For Thought
