Myron's Daily Update

Evening all,

My brother had a very busy day today. He had the ventilator tube removed from his trachea, only to be replaced by a trach tube. (tracheotomy) While it is still something to aid his breathing it is not as restrictive. Then a peg tube(feeding tube) was inserted into his stomach, and finally the wound vac was removed from his left leg as the amount of fluid drained from the leg is now nil. He was sedated for it all and probably hasn't yet come to.

It's one day at a time on the long road to recovery for him.

I still am not allowed to see him. grrrrr

Thank you for your prayers.

Sue

Mary Landrieu's Town Hall Meeting

Well, here goes. Finally comes the post on the actual town meeting held by Mary Landrieu in Reserve, Louisiana, which I've been putting off for days, because, on the whole, the experience was most depressing, as you see if you read my initial post on the two hours waiting outside the door to get in. Part 2 is likely to be anticlimactic. This story has become what seems like a life's work for me, but it's been only a few days

What a relief at 1:00 PM, when the doors were opened, and we got inside the air-conditioned auditorium and off our feet into chairs. Of course, we were surrounded by anti-reform folks. The young woman sitting in front of us was a flight attendant for an airline on which I recently traveled. She said, "Hello," to me as though she knew me, and I responded. Although, she looked vaguely familiar to me, she lived in Baton Rouge, and I could not place her. I wondered if she had been an attendant on one of my flights in the last several months She was against health care reform, because, "I work hard for my money, and why should my tax money go to people who will not buy health insurance?" I asked about folks who couldn't buy health insurance, folks who were poor, folks who were sick and couldn't get insurance. She shrugged and said, "Well, I wouldn't want them to die on the street. They can to to the ER for free."

I asked her if she minded that trillions of her tax money went for a useless war in Irag. She said, "Oh, I love the Iraqi people. I love everyone in Iraq." One day, I will be found dead, and the cause of death should read (but won't), "Death by torture due to excessive exposure to non sequitur.

Once the man on my right learned that I was on the "wrong side" of the issue, he began to harangue me with his series of "facts" to attempt to turn me from my wicked ways. I pointed out that some of his "facts" were not true, and then, as he went on and on, I began to tire, and I said, "You will never convince me, and I will never convince you, so let's agree to disagree". He continued with his harangue, as though my words had never been said, with the folks nearby nodding their heads in agreement. Finally, I lost patience, and said, "Could you please stop. Just stop!" And he did.

The anti-reform folks took up their "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" chant from time to time and shouted one-liners against reform. I thought to myself, "I'll be really angry if I stood outside in the heat for two hours to listen to folks chant".


A little after 2:00 PM, the meeting began. The man in the purple shirt in the picture is the Roman Catholic priest who gave the invocation and benediction. He's only a priest, mind you, and there he is wearing a bishop's purple shirt. Imagine! (An insider comment for Episcopalians) The MC was a lawyer from the area, Larry Aucoin, pictured above, who, before he introduced Sen. Landrieu, gave a very good pep talk on civility, and allowing folks to speak, and hearing people out. He said that Sen. Landrieu was there mainly to listen, which was indeed the case. After he introduced her, she made a few brief remarks, and then it was on to the questions from the attendees.


Sen. Landrieu, who shall be Mary from here on, said she hasn't made up her mind how she will vote. Mary often does this. I'm not sure if it's actually the truth, if she likes to be wooed, or if it's a defense against a long period of criticism, should she announce her position too early.

There was a bit of chanting, which died down rather quickly. I stood up and glared at a group of noisy standing-room-only folks, and I'm quite sure that my glare made them stop. Early on someone asked her a question about "the bill" that I didn't understand, and apparently Mary didn't either, because she said, "I'm not sure what you're referring to." Then the crowd started chanting, "Read the bill! Read the bill!" She told them, "There's more than one bill." And then to the questioner, "Which bill do you reference?" The 1000 page bill that came out of the House committee is the only bill the antis seem to reference. She, along with several other senators, is co-sponsor of a different health care bill in the Senate. I hand it to Mary. She really listened, and she repeatedly urged the rest of us to listen. She asked every questioner about their health care coverage to see where they were coming from, and she asked questions to gain a better understanding of the questioner's concerns.

There were a few questions about tort reform, which some folks seem to think would drastically reduce health care costs. Texas passed a law capping the amount that individuals can collect for personal injury lawsuits, but health care costs have not come down. That's not to deny that we are far too litigious in this country. Some amongst us want a perfect outcome from every medical treatment, and that's just not possible, however tort reform is not the panacea that some see it to be.

One woman asked her if she would give her word that she would never vote for a bill that included federal funding for abortion. Mary replied that she had never been in favor of federally funded abortions, but that according to the Constitution, women have a right to choose. That was a pretty deft, although cagey, answer. She promised nothing, stated that she was against federal funding for abortions, and reminded the audience about the right of women to choose.

Another questioner, with his copy of the Constitution in hand, asked where in the constitution does it say that the government has a right to legislate on health care. Oh my! I didn't even hear Mary's answer because I was so distracted by the stupidity of the question. Where does it say in the Constitution that the president can fly around in Air Force One? George Washington didn't.

I had my hand up, but I never was called on, however, it really didn't matter, because others mentioned my concerns, that a single-payer system would be best, and barring that, at the very least, a public option. Others told sad stories of being denied coverage by insurance companies because of pre-existing conditions and being thrown out by their company after a serious illness. A couple of people said that insurance companies would not say beforehand whether certain procedures were covered by their policy or not.


I came away with the sense that a great mass of the citizenry of the US have no care or concern for the common good. I've got mine, the hell with you. What's so sad about the knee-jerk opposition to health care reform is that a good many of the people against reform would probably benefit from it.

I have a lot more respect for Mary since the meeting. Considering the hostile crowd she faced and the anger and the ignorance, she was calm and poised and treated everyone with respect. Give her points for courage. She listened well, and, for the most part, answered the questions well. She stayed past the allotted time, thereby permitting more folks to have their say. I understand what she's up against as a Democratic senator in a conservative, Republican state. Although, she has voted in a way that I would not have wanted more times than I like, the one vote that I'm most distressed about is her vote against the anti-torture bill. It seemed to me that she could have voted for it without taking too much heat. Most people who were against the bill already didn't like her as their senator.

I may write the senator a letter thanking her for holding the meeting and complimenting her on the manner in which she conducted herself. Mary is likely as good as we will get here in Louisiana. We could do a lot worse.

UPDATE: Another photo showing the mix of ages in the crowd.

Pluralist - Out Of Bounds!

Adrian at Pluralist Speaks is incorrigible. See here and here. If he had not left Anglicanism of his own volition, surely we'd need to show him the door. I'm all for inclusion, but surely, there are boundaries....

And yet, and yet, I'd still share the table with Adrian, but - alas! - he won't share the table with me, more's the pity.

How To Dance In The Rain

From a surgical nurse.....

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late...He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?' He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, That is the kind of love I want in my life. True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

What a beautiful story of unconditional love.

From Doug. He doesn't do only jokes.

Sprout May Be On The Way

If you could please keep me and (Mrs. H.) in your prayers today we would appreciate it. It looks like she is in the first stage of active labor, so we may have Sprout by the end of the day... Thank you all and I'll post to the blog and facebook as soon as I can on the progress.

Arkansas Hillbilly

UPDATE: It's a girl!!! Go see the little beauty at Hillbilly's blog.

Contratulations to Hillbilly and especially to Mrs. Hillbilly, who, after all, did the hard work, which turned out to be not so hard, because Sprout was kind enough to her mama to come quickly. Thanks be to God. Great news and great rejoicing all around! Welcome to our world, dear little Sprout.

Thanks, IT.

Update On Sue's Brother, Myron

Hi Everyone,

While I didn't get in to see Myron today, ( I'm still awaiting results from his cultures to come back negative), Stephanie posted a brief up-date on the Carebridge page.

Myron was kept sedated last night and today because he became agitated. So much so that his blood pressure became elevated and he required a B/P medication to bring it down. This could have been associated with pain or a drug reaction to the versed. He is being weaned off the Versed and begun on Ativan. The wound vac was to be changed today and there was a possibility that it may be completely taken out.

He will have a feeding tube inserted into the stomach and possibly a tracheotomy done to replace the breathing tube.

He has continued to responded to people, but not today due to the sedation. This is a small set back, but I don't think it is anything to be greatly concerned about.

I'll keep you all posted.

Sue

Thanks for keeping us posted, Sue. Prayers continue.

Watch This!

Fr. Terry Martin, aka Fr. Jake at his blog Father Jake Stops the World, gave a lecture in a series on evangelism in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC. His lecture is excellent. I've had the pleasure of meeting Fr. Terry at our gathering New York some years ago and again in Anaheim, where we had a lovely chat in the lobby of the Hilton, and I enjoyed his company at another gathering of a group of us the following evening. He's a bit of an introvert, which was the only surprise to me when I first met him. I expected him to be an extrovert. So much for expectations.

The video is nearly one hour long, but it's well worth your time. You watch TV that long, don't you? Well, take the time to watch this TV. The time flies. You won't be sorry. Fr. Terry is not selling snake oil in the video.

Italian Honeymoon

After returning from his honeymoon in Florida with his new bride, Virginia, Zio Luigi stopped by to say hello to Grandpa.

Grandpa said, "Hey Luigi, how wasa da honeamoona?"

Zio Luigi said, "Everyting wasa perfecto except for da train ride down."

"Whata you mean, Luigi?" asked Grandpa.

"Well, we boarda da train at Grana Central Station. My beautiful Virginia, she pack a biga basket a food. She broughta da vino, some nice cigars for me, and we were lookina forward to da trip and open upa da luncha basket. The conductore come aby, waga his finger at us anda say, 'no eat indisa car. Musta use a dining car.'

So, me and my beautiful Virginia, we go to da dining car, eat a biga lunch and starta ta open da bottle of a nice a vino!

Conductore walka by again, waga his finger and say, 'No drinka in disa car! Musta use a cluba car.'

So, we go to cluba car. While a drinkina da vino, I starta to lighta my biga cigar. The conductore, he waga his finger again and say, 'No a smokina disa car. Musta go to a smokina car.'

"We go to a smokina car and I smoke a my biga cigar. Then my beautiful Virginia and I, we go to a sleeper car anda go to bed. We just about to go boombada boombada and the conductore, he walka through da hall shouting at a top of his a voice...'Nofolka Virginia! Nofolka Virginia!'

"Nexta time, I'ma just gonna taka da bus."

PS: I should tell you that no man in our family ever dated or married a woman named Virginia again.

That would be Doug's family, not mine.

Italian-Americans who read this, please note that I post this joke with all the good will in the world. I have three Italian-American grandchildren, and I love them very much. I think the joke is hilarious, and when my grandsons grow up, I hope that they would laugh at it. One of the boys is 15 and another is 13. Maybe they would enjoy it right now.

Send Prayers Their Way

Not much comment on Susan Russell's blog posts about being in the shadow of the Station Fire, Miss June. This morning winds are worse and I fear for their family and neighbors. The Jet Propulsion Lab stands between them and the fire, not good news for JPL/NASA either. There is also a wide ravine, but that will be nothing against wind-blown sparks.

I get the feeling not many people know. Would you ask for prayers please.

Thanks and God bless you and your loved ones!
Pat Klemme

See Susan Russell's post at An Inch at a Time and let them know that you care.

This Will Crack You Up

The delightful Dom Deluise with an egg trick on the Johnny Carson Show.

From Doug. I don't know about you, but I need cheering up.