Thursday, August 17, 2017

Side Effects

I take quite a few medicines, but I refuse to read the side effects, I know the power of suggestion is great, so I ignore them. It has been increasingly difficult to do so because they have commercials that list every possible side effect, like, diarrhea (does anyone actually know how to spell this word?) constipation (I REALLY feel like I need to poop but then I'm afraid I'll get there, and nothing will happen.) Death, always death, dizziness, fatigue, joint pain (that's what I'm taking it for!), blurred vision, diplopia, drowsiness, headache, tremor, rapid weight gain (of course), abnormality in thinking (that explains a LOT,) confusion (ditto), speech disturbance, vertigo, xerostomia, increased appetite (can't catch a break), twitching - look at my eye twitch, and farting. Well, maybe it says passing gas, whatever. 

Paul heard these side effects one day and said why in the world would anyone take something like that?

Uhm, I do, but I've never known all the side effects before, can you go get the thermometer, I don't feel well. I would go get it but I've got a headache, my vision is blurred, I can't really focus, and can you make me a sandwich, I'm starving. 

No, I'm not doing any of that, you heard those side effects, and now you have them. It's all in your head.

No, it isn't. How would you know, have you ever had diplopia before? 

Yes, it certainly is and no, I've never had diplopia, and neither have you. You don't even know what it means.

It means you're allergic to dip. 

You love dip.

I know, that's what makes it so tragic.

Earlier, before this stupid commercial did you say you needed help with something?

Oh yeah, can you help me download some pictures? I tried to figure it out, but something is zipped up.

You don't know what that is?

I can't believe you asked me that! We've been together 30 years, and you're still asking stupid questions, Whoever said there's no such thing as a stupid question was an idiot.


I can't believe I asked it either. OK, let me show you how to unzip the file then you can download the pictures. 

Paul unzips the file. 

Do you know how to download the pictures?

Yes, I do know how to do that.

OK, I'm going back to read my book, it's terrific.

I download pictures.

Where the hell did they go? I better try it again. Where are they? Maybe I'll try the EPCOT file instead. Where did they go? OK, Animal Kingdom will work, nope, Hollywood Studios? Hmmm. Let me start over with the Magic Kingdom again. OK, it's not working.

Paul, can you come here, please?

You didn't know how to download them, did you?

I did know how to download them, I didn't know how to find them once I did. I don't think the pictures are there.

Where?

I don't know where that's why I called you.

OK, let me explain it to you.

Paul explaining...

Random thoughts going through my mind...

I wonder if Ethel Merman had any other hits besides that Roses song? When he's through gibber jabbering maybe I'll Google it. Ethel, that's such a horrible name. Oooh, almost forgot to nod and say uh huh. Kids these days have no idea how good they've got it. We had to look everything up in an encyclopedia. Computers are amazing when I first started working on a computer we had to worry about baud rates. I wonder what a baud is, I'll Google it later. I need to get cat food. Nod, say uh huh. Dear Lord, he's still going. I bet he's telling me about the computer he worked on in college that was as tall as the Empire State Building, took up 3 blocks, and needed some sort of cards. I've heard that one a million times. 


Are you even listening?

What? Oh yeah, I sure am.

What was the last thing I said?

Listening.

Heavy sigh. Well, you had a really far off look like you weren't paying attention.

No, I'm really interested in whatever it is you're talking about. I guess I got distracted by the way your beautiful eyes light up when you're excited about a topic.

OK, as long as you're listening I'll carry on. 

Whew, that was a close one! Gosh, this man can talk. I wonder how much mall Santa's make. I'll Google that later too. He's taking longer to explain this than I did taking the pictures. Maybe I'll take guitar lessons. How did Cinderella's shoe fall off? It fit when she put it on, feet swell during the day, especially after dancing, so they should have been too tight. Oh crap. He might have said something important. What did he say? Crap. I think he said, something about saving as and renaming. What am I renaming? The file I guess, I'm sure you don't have to change the name of every picture, that would be stupid. So, what do I do? If I show my confused face will he start all over at the beginning or will he just get to the stuff that I need to know? Hmm. Probably shouldn't risk it. I'll pretend like I know what I'm doing.

Two hours later...

Paul, can you come in here, please?

You've been in here a long time, you must be about finished.

Well, about that...

You didn't listen to a thing I said, did you?

It's possible I missed a couple of things. I really wanted to pay attention, but I have xerostomia.

You don't even...nevermind. 




Monday, August 14, 2017

What to say...

Katy asked me a couple of weeks ago if I regretted voting for Trump. I guess the honest answer is yes. I'm not going to discuss the reasons that I voted for him and the reasons that I would NEVER vote for Secretary Clinton, that ship has long ago sailed. I wish that I had written in my hero Condoleezza Rice even though it would have been a throw away vote. Realistically, my Trump vote was a throw away vote even though I didn't think of that way at the time, but Secretary Clinton would be the winner, it was a sure thing, so it didn't really matter how I cast my vote. Well...

The events in Virginia have left me discouraged. I mourn the death of  Heather Heyer and commend her for her convictions and morals, and I mourn the loss of the pilots in the helicopter crash Lt. Pilot Cullen and Trooper Pilot Bates. Altogether senseless deaths.

I've blogged before about my relationship with a woman of color, Imani Williams and how she has drastically changed my perspective on racism and privilege. I've only met one other member of her family, her mom, Vincine Brown but because I consider Imani family, her family is my family. How do I look into their eyes and talk about this, and what would I even say? I'm sorry? These are words that mean next to nothing in this situation. I am sorry, ashamed, shocked, and enraged. The people that did this are NOT my sisters and brothers, and they do NOT represent who I am or how I feel, but that doesn't accomplish healing either.  These assholes hurt my family.

The question is, are these evolutionary failures emboldened because of Trump? Would this riot have happened if Clinton were President? I think the answer perhaps is yes to both. I believe the riot would happen because of the controversy over statues of Confederate leaders, although it's possible that it would have been a more peaceful gathering.

Situations exist that shaped us as a country, three of the most important (in my opinion) are our fight for independence, slavery, and the Civil War. These happened. They cannot be erased from our history, nor should they be. The struggles and sacrifices for freedom that were made for people of color need to be remembered by all. Even though it's a heinous event in our past, in my opinion, it can't be forgotten. However, if we erase this history and destroy statues of these men, how do we explain Dr. Martin Luther King? If you erase this past and erase slavery, then Dr. King's and all other civil activists at that time are not essential, their stories don't happen. We can't erase one without the other. Tearing these statues down is a step in expunging a major part of our history, and I don't think it should happen. Yes, I'm white and cannot relate to these feelings that people of color must overcome. It's how I feel though and hopefully people of color can respectfully agree or disagree with my opinion.

April 15, 2018, Katy my eldest daughter is marrying a wonderful man that I love dearly. We have bonded with his family and eagerly look forward to this union. Jared and his family are Jewish. When I saw those neo-nazis and their heil Hitler signs, I felt sick to my stomach. Again, I can't relate to a situation where vile "people" attempted to exterminate an entire race. I cannot comprehend this level of hatred. Also dismaying was the number of young people participating and exhibiting their malice. How on earth can you possibly be filled with so much hate? These assholes hurt my family.

Much of history is painful and so many have died to make positive changes in our society, and it would be wonderful if we could erase all of the bad things. We can't, we simply can't.

This song is actually about protecting our planet but I think it complements my message.


So I won't bend and I won't break
I won't water down my faith
I won't compromise in a world of desperation
What has been I cannot change
But for tomorrow and today
I must be a light for future generations

If we could find a way to preserve our faith
So those who follow us
See the price that was paid
Then maybe when they question
What it's gonna take to survive
They'll find the strength to carry on
In what we leave behind

4Him
"For Future Generations"
The Ride
Benson, 1994