Good Night, Sweet Prince

Thumper, my friend's cat, died of kidney failure. He was 16 1/2 years old.

I met him in Germany.

Good night, Sweet Prince. Good night.

Something to Remember

"Often people with chronic illness may become trapped and invalidated,
not by the force of their disease but by the power of their beliefs about it.
Disease is at various times is brutal, lonely, constricting, and terrifying.

But the life in us can be stronger than all that and free us even from that
which we must endure."

~ Rachel Naomi Remem, MD, from My Grandfather' s Blessings ~

Fitness Guru Battles ALS

I don't normally like to watch TV, but this video on the Today Show about a man who made millions in the fitness industry was extremely inspirational.

He found out that he had ALS and started to fight the disease. Because of his fundraising efforts, the scientists have found the gene indicators.

However, he said something that really hit me hard... I will paraphrase.

We can mourn our limitations or we can accept them.

Everyone that I have talked to who have a chronic disease talk about when they realized what they had lost--fitness, health, etc. They cry.

Here is a man who decided to fight. I salute him.

My Grandfather

Earl E. Bagley died January 01, 1994. At the time, I was in Galeta Island, Panama on a mid-watch. I had finished my work and was sitting down for dinner. It was around midnight.

My husband called. "Your grandfather just died," he said. My mother had called minutes before to let us know. She wanted to know if we would be at the funeral. Of course not. The Navy allowed us to go home for immediate family. Unfortunately, grandparents were not defined immediate family unless they had raised the service member.

I remember being in total shock. My grandfather had been close to me all my life. I knew that he was having problems, but I had not thought it was serious. My great-grandmother had lived until about 96 or 98... At 82 or so, my grandfather was pretty young.

I called my Warrant Officer. It was obvious that I would not be able to finish my watch. I was too much in shock. He sent me home.

My husband held me tight as I talked about this man who had so much influence in my life. I cried.

***The link goes to a story about my grandfather when he was in WWII. He was a radar operator/technician on the USS Gambier Bay. During the battle of Leyte Gulf, the ship was sunk. This incident was a defining moment in his life.

Aunt

In my area of the country, aunt is pronounced ant. I didn't know that other people said it differently until I did my time in the Navy. But, that is another story.

My aunt Lorna was my favorite aunt. In the sixties, she had this great poncho. When my grandmother asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I asked for a poncho just like hers. My grandmother made me this poncho that was a dark tangerine color with a white band on the bottom. I wore this poncho until I grew too big for it.

Every time I touched this poncho, I felt a kinship with my aunt.

As I grew older, my father said that I looked just like her. I was taller and more adventurous. I had left my family just like she did. She went to California and tried the hippie lifestyle.

My father saw me travel the world and join the Navy. He thought that when I finished my rebellious streak that I would go back to Utah, marry a nice boy, and settle down.

And there was at least one difference between my aunt and I. She came back to Utah. I have thought that moving to Utah was her big mistake. Her husband became bitter. He could not find a job to support them. He tried to convince her to move. She wouldn't. When his girls were all grown, he left. Now, my aunt lives in Utah by herself.

I met my aunt again about two years ago. Because I believed my father, I thought that we were alike. No, we just look alike. That's all.

Jingle Jingle: Merry Merry Christmas

Christmas Bells

We are very very sorry

I am deeply saddened by the flagrent display of our young lovely, Ms. Nevada. Oh sure, you say, it was only one night of displaying as she says, "My thong", but rumor has it that it was a full moon. It was very poor judgement on the part of the Silver State's beauty queen to additionally have shown off bits and pieces of her chest to be photographed.

We, as Nevadans, ask the country's forgiveness for this unrestricted display of body parts, but we do need to mention that if it had happened in Las Vegas, no one would have said word one. Young girls do the same, nightly, to the wee hours, and... you can get married as the sun rises. Ask Britney "Oops, I did it again!" Spears.

Lessons in not getting caught having your nude photos done by a fellow high school student will be added to next years freshman class curriculum.

Luckily, Reno is in the same state and you can get divorced before nightfall.

Regards;

E. D. Tune

Scams and Scam Artists

I read a few years ago that most scams start in Las Vegas and then spread across the continental US. The reason these scams are developed in Las Vegas is that if you can scam a cynical Las Vegas resident who sees scams every day, then you can scam anyone.

Las Vegas has more than its share of scammers. One woman would stand on a street corner asking tourists for money. She looked obviously pregnant. Unfortunately she had been pregnant continuously for eight years. After nine months in one area, she would move to another area before the police were called.

Another man had his own begging street corner for over thirty years. He made more money begging than I made repairing Xerox machines. He would show up to his corner in a limo at 4 or 5 in the morning. The limo would pick him up late at night. He also had an expensive house in one of the better areas of town.

I also have had my experiences with these cons. One day when I was on a break and was sitting in the parking lot near my car, a man came up asking for money. His wife was in the car. All he needed was fifteen dollars to get her out of town. He had five dollars. If I gave him twenty, he would give me the five with the promise that I would receive my money in two days.

My co-worker laughed. "It is a scam," she said.

But, I decided to give the man a chance. I explained that this money was my lunch money. If he did not come back with it that I would have nothing to eat for the rest of the week. He nodded his head. We exchanged money.

My co-worker was right. He never showed up with the money.

Another case, my husband and I had just travelled to northern california for my chemo treatment. We had just come back to Las Vegas and had stopped at one of the malls so that I could walk and use the restrooms.

Unfortunately, I had underestimated my need for the restroom and had an accident. The mall was not going to open for at least ten minutes. My husband sat me down on the cement pedestal of a parking lot light. Then he walked back to the car. I did not have the energy to go anywhere.

While I was waiting for my husband, a truck drove into the parking lot. Four men jumped out of the back. They consulted with the driver and then started to spread out over the lot.

One young man saw me sitting. He walked towards me. He was a handsome, muscled, well-fed stranger.

When he reached me, he said that he didn't have any money and he was hungry. I looked at him carefully from his head to his toes. All his clothes were new.

Then I said to him, "I have an autoimmune disease. I take chemo-therapy every four weeks. I am close to dying."

The young man stared at me intently. He didn't move. Didn't speak.

"By rights, I should be asking you for money."

He turned around and left.

Finally Caught the Blogger Train

A couple of days ago, I was offered the new blogger format. After much soulsearching (30 seconds), I changed over.

What convinced me to change? The label function.

You can now find all my posts labeled. I even have label urls for all my posts on the left hand side of this blog. So if you are searching for something I wrote a few months back, it should be much easier to find.

And for the rest of you, have a happy holiday season.

Poetry Thursday

When I was in the U.S. Navy, I spent a couple of years in Misawa, Japan. I became fascinated with much of the Japanese culture--kappa, ghosts, karaoke, and fests. I learned about haiku in Japan, but it wasn't until I moved to Germany that I wrote in this form.

I enjoy its cleanness of form. I know I am not the best haikuist, but I am not the worst. ;-)


Raven’s harsh laughter
proclaims the coming dawn—
Odin’s remembrance.

Boanerges, the
Sons of Thunder, roll on the
night air—Thor’s Hammer.

A daffodil
Ringed by a fence:
Wild in a horse pen.

I am a Great Aunt

On November 22, 2006 my niece Jessica had her first baby. It is my sister's first grandchild.

Congratulations, Jessica!

Isn't she beautiful?

Poetry Thursday

Poetry Meme

1. The first poem I remember reacting to was a nursery rhyme called "Dr. Fell."

I do not like thee Dr. Fell
The reason why I cannot tell
But this I know and know full well
I do not like thee Dr. Fell.

2. I was forced to memorize Shakespeare in school and would always pick something from Hamlet. It is still my favorite play.

3. I don’t read much modern poetry because I find it too pretentious. I enjoy reading American 19th century poetry. And, I love Emily Dickenson.

4. A poem I’m likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is Dorothy Parker's "News Item." It is so fresh and so true. It could be a poem for today.

5. I write poetry, but since I became ill I have not published much of it. Maybe because I now need more words to say what I am feeling. I write essays and stories now.

6. My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature. It is harder work. ;-)

7. I find poetry in everyday life--in the birds, the flowers, and the trees.

8. The last time I heard poetry was a year ago at a Christmas party. A couple of the men performed cowboy poetry. It was fun and hilarious.

9. I think poetry is like the subconscious speaking. Poetry=dreams.