The Hazards of Early Success

I just read about Harper Lee suing to have the copyright and royalties on “To Kill a Mockingbird” restored to her.  She’s 87, dwells in an assisted-living facility, can’t see or hear well, and admits to “memory problems”.  Since I don’t know Miz Lee and am not a lawyer, of course I can’t resist stubbornly trying to read between the lines of this news story.  That’s my specialty, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Viewing Tragedies in Proper Perspective

Confusions Over that CPR Incident

(This is from the form used in my state.)

Some of my friends have been asking me to react in print about the case of Lorraine Bayless, who died Feb. 26^th.  Now that more of the facts are known, I can admit that I was misled by news reports, as most everyone else was.

The Micro and Macro of Spending

The day after my birthday was my afternoon off.  Mary and I were together, enjoying each other’s company and trying to make responsible spending decisions.

In Anticipation

Like the weather in my region, I’m in a holding pattern.  I haven’t felt the need to write much lately.  I’m recharging my psychic batteries, reading, dreaming, and waiting for it to get warmer and dryer so I can enjoy more outdoor activities.

Irrationalities

I’ve been hearing a lack of reason in the current debate over how to deal with our violent culture, including through gun control.  I can’t go very deep with this subject, because the flaws in these arguments are so obvious, but I still feel the need to give some simple reactions.

Fear Not: For, Behold

The Gun Control petition I reprinted yesterday went viral.  It gathered more than 200,000 signatures in support, and the author, Staci Sarkin, will be going to Congress in person to present it.

There’s some current woo-woo about the world ending on December 21^st, because that’s when the Mayan calendar “ends”.  I wouldn’t put much stock in the prophetic abilities of the Mayans.  They stopped calculating their calendar because they were too busy dealing with the invasion of the Spanish, and two centuries of drought, both of which decimated their culture, neither of which they saw coming.

Gun Control

Reblogged from H. B. Henderson Blog:

On December 14, 2012, at least one gunman entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and opened fire, killing what is currently being reported as a minimum of 27 people, 20 of whom were children. Completely innocent unarmed victims.

Columbine. Red Lake Minnesota. Essex Vermont. Lancaster. Virginia Tech. To name a few.

How many more innocents must die at the hands of an antiquated and oft-misinterpreted amendment?

Read more… 161 more words

I really do not know if the signatures of ordinary citizens on a petition can ever equal the clout of well-paid lobbyists, but I'm willing to give it a try.

I Want a Revolution Like This One

Historically speaking, most political revolutions do not end well.  They create violent, bloody counter-revolutions in reaction.  The American Revolution (1775-1783) was highly unusual.  We didn’t have a counter-revolution.  There are other kinds of revolutions too, revolutions in ideas.

Are We Better Off?

So I guess it’s supposed to be the election of 1980 all over again, and the relevant question assumes that I and everyone else must base “better” solely on whether we have more money.

Into Sure Wood

(The best Robin Hood in movies was Errol Flynn’s, performed in 1938.)

I grew up loving stories about Robin Hood.  Were these tales based on the exploits of a real outlaw?  There might have been a number of Robin Hoods in the original region, including some women.  It’s an open question if he really lived or not, but what an inspiring symbol.

My Kind of Prayer

As regular readers are aware, I’m committed to radical inclusiveness.  I don’t deny friendship to people because they hold different political or religious views than mine.  I don’t think any belief system except a forgiving orientation toward service can encompass the entire truth of life.

This is How

Here’s a better answer than I wrote before for those of you who wondered how it’s possible to emotionally handle giving up a wonderful dog like Spice, after raising her for a year in preparation to train as a guide dog.  This is excerpted from a letter we recently received from the new owner of one of our graduates, a black lab named Camille.

Review – “I Am Jennie”

This is an irritatingly difficult challenge.  Since I began blogging, I’ve asserted that you can’t write about yourself with complete accuracy, no matter how hard you try.  When we tell our own life stories, we portray ourselves as we imagine we are and have been, and it’s inevitably subject to all our biases, the self-protective and the self-destructive ones.  No one is merciless and/or fearless enough to do it.  That’s why I’ve always said I’m writing here about a character based on me.

UPHELD !!!

I don’t normally get up early to hear Supreme Court decisions.  All their decisions are legally important, but many of them don’t directly affect my profession and the people I provide service to.  This ruling about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act affects all citizens.

To Our Honored Dead

A Memorial Day Observance

My feelings about holidays that commemorate and accept war as a historical inevitability are complicated.  I realize that millions have sacrificed their lives in acts of service to the nation.  That’s a deeply honorable choice, worthy of great respect.  However, wars aren’t really winnable, any more than executing murderers prevents murder.

Deja Vu All Over Again?

There’s a book (and later film) by Dalton Trumbo, one of the “Hollywood 10”, a screenwriter blacklisted in the 1950s.  It’s called “Johnny Got His Gun”.  In that story, a wounded soldier is only able to tap messages in Morse Code using the back of his head on his hospital bed frame.  His face and limbs were removed in an explosion.  Those caring for him assume he’s been de-cerebrated and has no original thought to contribute.  I feel a bit like that.

Get Used To It

There’s more than one way to learn acceptance and understanding, but the fastest way I know is to make friends with people who are different than you are.

Combating Misinformation About Vaccines

Working in health care requires me to constantly help the doctors educate and inform those who seek treatment.  Patients are always missing the forest for the trees, focusing on some minor possibility while ignoring obvious larger causes for diseases.

Unforgivable

Barbara Johnson’s mother died unexpectedly.  That’s always sad.  Her family planned a simple funeral for last Saturday in the setting of her lifelong faith, the Roman Catholic Church.  The priest, Father Marcel Guarnizo, learned that Barbara is a lesbian when he was introduced to her partner of 19 years shortly before the funeral mass.