Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Just Don't Read This If You Need Cheering Up


Poor August has been sick again, this time with fever and a cough. Jessie took him to the doctor on Friday and he didn't have covid and he didn't have the flu so it's probably viral. He's getting his adenoids out in a few weeks and we're hoping that's going to help. Have any of you had experience with that situation? 

So he was home with his mother today who was so very tired. She worked yesterday and the hospital where she works, which is Tallahassee's main hospital, has had some sort of computer information cyber attack and they're not really talking about it but the FBI is involved and it may be a ransom ware issue and things are a complete mess. EVERYTHING in the hospital involves computer technology. They are having to do manage it all on paper and with phone calls and faxing. I asked Jessie if they even still had charting forms for them to use and she said they did but they are so outdated and have been copied over and redacted and it's all just a shit show. That everyone is walking around asking everyone else how to do things and saying, "This is just a complete shit show." 
They're not even accepting any but the most serious of trauma cases and only doing absolutely unavoidable surgeries. BUT- babies will be born and that's the area Jessie works in so they are just having to work-around and figure it out. 
So yes, she was tired today. 

I suggested we meet up at the park by the library and have a picnic and she liked that idea and so did August who is in good spirits despite his whatever-he-has. The hoop-a-coodus as my mother used to say when one of us was displaying symptoms like August has. Jessie went through the drive-in at the Pitaria, our favorite Mediterranean place and we sat in the sunshine and ate our hummus and pita and falafel and dolmades. So, so good. August was funny and jokey. At one point he said, "I wish Levon was here." 
Which was pretty darn sweet. 
He'd brought a book and after we ate I read a little of it to him. It was mostly a wonders-of-nature thing and included dinosaurs and the creatures who live in forests and deserts and in the ocean. He leaned up against me on the bench we were sitting on and both his mother and I tousled his hair and stroked his head. I swear- that boy is changing so fast. Every time I see him he looks different to me. I mean, always like August, but a different August. 
I know, I know, I KNOW! This is the way of it but damn. 
Remember when he looked like this?


That was five years ago. He was such a little monkey boy. 

Well, sigh. 

When Jessie and August left to go get Levon, I went in the library and returned two books and got some more. I just finished one last night that I have truly, truly enjoyed. It's called "The Whalebone Theater: A Novel" by Joanna Quinn. 


Holy smokes! What a ride! It floats from a sort of magical realism situation to WW II and all in-between. There are three children, growing up rather feral, and the book takes them from their beginnings growing up in a house on the sea in England to their lives as young adults, working in various capacities in that war which affected so many people so profoundly in ways that we cannot even comprehend.
Beautifully written, dreamlike in some places, starkly realistic in others. I do recommend it. I hated to finish it. 

After the library I went to a nursery to buy peas, potatoes, and onions to plant. While I was there, I heard someone on the intercom saying, "I have a customer who is asking for Mexican grass. Do we have any?"
I could not help but laugh. 
And when I went to check out, I told the guy behind the counter that I, too, would like to know if they have Mexican grass. He was about to get on his intercom device and I rushed to stop him and said, "Whoa! Wait! It's a joke!"
I don't think he got it. 

And then I went to Publix. But not MY Publix. Or any of the other two Publixes that I am used to. This Publix is a larger Publix and it is arranged completely differently than the others one. I mean- the bananas were on the wrong side of the aisle! I might as well have been shopping in France. However, they did have the Quaker oat bran that I haven't been able to find lately and I bought two boxes of that to make muffins with and add to my bread. 

And thus- my exciting day. I'm feeling a bit flat. I need to take another good walk tomorrow and I probably will. I have four new books to read from the library and there's got to be at least one good in there. I also finished listening to the Billy Porter memoir today and I will not soon be forgetting that. What a beautiful, strong, complicated, dedicated human being he is. He is so firm in his commitments to equality for Black people, for differently-gendered people, to his art, to his husband, to his right to feel joy. 
And boy, does he hate Orangina, as he calls Trump. Not only that but he calls out people who support him who have gay sons and daughters, who claim to be champions of art and the people who make it. 
And as you can only imagine, he writes and narrates with style and FLAMBOYANCE! He cherishes his flamboyance, being told for years and years that he was too much of that for one part after another. And occasionally in the book, he bursts into song which brought me joy. 

But tonight I am mourning the seven thousand people (at least) who have died in the earthquake in Turkey. I am shuddering at the thought of what the incident with the Chinese spy balloon may lead to. I may or may not watch the State of the Union address. Can even dear old Uncle Joe bring us reassurance? Bring us any sort of comfort? 

I just read that one of the officers who has been charged with the death of Tyre Nichols took pictures with his personal cell phone of that innocent man, propped up on a police car minutes after the beating and sent the pictures to friends. 

I sometimes (too often) feel like we humans are not going to make it. And you know what? I'm not sure we deserve to. 

I think the only thing I can do right now is to be as kind and as loving and as helpful to those around me as I can be. What the fuck else can we do? 








34 comments:

  1. When the adenoids are removed ... so are the tonsils! That should take care of a lot of sick days for August.
    I am waiting for the State of the Union address ... I fear the idiot Republinuts will be making further asses of themselves! You know who they are!
    I am hoping the aliens show up and do whatever it is they are going to do to our planet and us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marge Taylor Green once again showed her true colors during last night’s speech. The woman has no class, no cooth and no common sense.

      Delete
    2. Not always, Marcia. They can do one and/or the other. The doctor who saw August said his tonsils looked fine.
      As to those aliens- girl, I've been looking for them for a long time. And yes, as Anonymous said, Marjorie Taylor Greene did indeed show her true colors and her ass. As did other Republicans. And Biden played with them like a cat plays with a mouse.

      Delete
  2. Yes, wtf else can we do? I hope August gets well soon and the adenoid removal helps. Thanks for the recommendations, Orangina made me snort laugh.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  3. So sad about the poor people in the earthquake zone, some already war refugees. There was a baby born under the rubble and rescued alive. No word on the poor mom, so I pray she survives too.

    Sorry about the seemingly endless ailments too. Maybe the surgery will help. I hear that part of the recovery involves ice cream..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw the baby being rescued with its umbilical cord still attached but I'm afraid the mother died!

      Delete
    2. I can't watch the footage of the earthquake rescue attempts. I am very glad that baby lived. I weep for the mother.
      Boud, I too, have heard that ice cream is involved! I was just thinking today that Levon will probably get some too and he doesn't even have to have surgery!

      Delete
  4. That's what they told me, too, Boud. And 79 years later, that is my biggest memory of surgery for tonsils and adenoids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was the big selling point for tonsillectomies.

      Delete
  5. I hope August recovers quickly. I don't know anything about the adenoids, but if they need to be out then so be it. Cyber hackers should all be sent to hell with no reprieve. I hope Jessie's hospital gets sorted out soon. That's just too much work writing everything on paper forms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And it goes so much further than charting on paper. Everything from ordering meds to doctor's orders are having to be done differently. And it is not resolved yet.

      Delete
  6. 37paddington:
    Darling Mary, my brother had his tonsils and adenoids removed at Augusts age because they kept being infected or inflamed or something and he had been sick a lot before the surgery and he wasn’t after. I hope the same for August. Poor Jessie. I can’t even imagine what the hospital must be dealing with. Is this the latest thing? To attack our infrastructure? I understand feeling flat. Sometimes it’s all too much and we have to disconnect. Go dim. I’m on dim myself right now. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for telling me about your brother. I hope this for August, too. Poor little guy. And of course Jessie is in a constant state of feeling like she's doing something wrong. Which she isn't.
      Yes. I think that hackers are definitely attacking the infrastructure. I hear the ransom ware shit is happening for utility companies too.
      Big, giant, loving hugs to you!

      Delete
  7. My brother also had that surgery. I was jealous...he did very well after a couple of days of misery- he preferred popcicles though. After that he rarely, if ever ,got ill again. Until, you know, got cancer from smoking and died...
    We are way too dependent on computers goes without saying!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a feeling that August will get more popsicles than ice cream but whatever- he'll love it all.

      Delete
  8. Who the hell takes a picture of a young man they have just beaten - to death as it turned out!!!! Sometimes I agree - there is no hope!

    ReplyDelete
  9. In answer to your last question: Nothing. We cannot do anything to change the big picture, but we can change the small picture.

    Cerelyn Davis, chief of police was fired from a previous job in Atlanta for instructing investigators not to look at the spouse of a police officer in the investigation of abuse of underage girls (he was later found guilty of the charges). She was demoted from Major to Lieutenant as a result of that. She also had a similar 'tactical' group in Atlanta that was disbanded after multiple lawsuits alleging brutality and excessive use of force. I'm going to say it out loud. Memphis hired a bad cop to run the show. When the leader is a bad cop, you will not have a good police force.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not only will you not have a good police force, you will have a horrible police force. Funny how the term "bad cop" is so universally understood.

      Delete
  10. Sorry to hear August is sick again and I hope the surgery ends that problem. I remember that from when my brother had his tonsils out years ago. And it is true that he got ice cream to recover.
    I heard that the State of the Union address went well and the Republicans looked silly compared to the President who kept his cool.
    The earthquake news is horrifying. It is difficult to not be sad these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. August is mending again! Like the phoenix, he does rise. I sure hope the surgery helps though.
      I did watch the SOTU address and I thought Biden did a very good job.

      Delete
  11. There have always been awful people in the world; angry, scared people who don't want to look at themselves, who only blame others. We can only do our best.
    Sending hugs and love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. Fear is the root of so much anger and hate.
      Sending hugs and love back to you.

      Delete
  12. Every new bit of information about Tyre Nichols is more awful than the last. And all of it has been just awful. It does make it hard to feel hopeful for the world at times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. All of it has been awful and it only gets worse.

      Delete
  13. First, I'm sorry August is sick again. What a drag. It IS remarkable how he and all your other grandkids have grown. It's the way of it but it still seems surprising and way, way too fast!

    Believe it or not, I think we have "Mexican grass" in our garden. We call it Mexican feathergrass. I assume it's what those people were looking for. (Or maybe not?!)

    I laughed at "I might as well have been shopping in France."

    Your last paragraph says it all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WAY too fast! Dang.
      Oh, I totally believe there is such a thing as Mexican grass which is not, uh- weed from Mexico. But I just thought it was funny.
      Glad you liked that line about France.

      Delete
  14. Sorry August is sick again......maybe having his adenoids removed will help overall? Hope so. And sorry for Jessie's dilemna at work.... Could not bring myself to watch the SOU address last night....but read about it today. I prefer to channel my emotional energy (what I can) in lamenting SO many lives lost in Turkey and Syria. Our state of affairs is one thing.....but THAT is a true tragedy.
    Susan M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was just going to watch "a little bit" of the state of the union but ended up watching it all. I thought that Biden did a terrific job, honestly. It's all theater and he is a consummate politician but I do think he is a very good man.

      Delete
  15. The blogpost title, "Just Don't Read This If You Need Cheering Up" is a little misleading because your blog is always uplifting. Your ability to strip away the camouflage that hides the reality within is rare and it sings out to readers that we have much in common when it comes to being human.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Mr. P! That was so sweet. Thank you. You have absolutely warmed my heart.

      Delete
  16. And in more bad news: Fabuloso product recall. https://www.fabuloso.com/recall
    Sigh - in the bigger picture a small thing, but jeez!

    Chris from Boise

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh dear god. And I have one of those products although barely used. Thanks for the heads-up.

      Delete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.