So, do Arlo and Janis still work? Yes, they do. They’ve been luckier than many over the years; they’ve had stable employment, maybe not with the same companies the entire time but in similar fields and environments. There is no doubt they’re in that winding-down phase of employment, when the management would love to get rid of them and replace them with someone younger and cheaper or, more likely today, outsource their work entirely, but they just know too damn much about how things work. Perhaps one of them will be offered the “consultant” track soon, where they’re paid half the money to clean up after a workforce making even less. Speaking of money, they like the money, of course, but they would leave for a new challenge and less remuneration in a heart beat, say helping run a fun little local-food enterprise, but the benefits are the trap, especially the insurance. See? You don’t really want to hear all this. They have modern jobs, sure, but they still are modern cartoon jobs. It’s nice work if you can get it.
240 responses to “Harpe Diem”
Dear emb, thank you for the spelling correction. I really do know what augury is, or was in ancient Rome, and while typing that comment had a mental picture of soothsayers in togas, poking through the insides of sacrificial birds and animals. Isn’t it amazing what some people will believe! (Nudge nudge.)
Have realized for some time that Ghost and Jackie have met at last. It’s like a fairy tale, very romantic. So happy for them.
‘Have realized for some time that Ghost and Jackie have met at last.’ Some people are quicker than others at realizing such things are afoot. I’m one of the others, basically clueless.
‘Isn’t it amazing what some people will believe?’ Yep. At BUMC, adult Bible study sometimes becomes Book study. We’re almost done now with ‘The Righteous Mind’, by somebody Haidt, pron. height. Similar group did it at First Lutheran, a block east. I’ll have to ask Linnea [their assoc. pastor] how it went. Good friend, was very close to Elaine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Mind
Not a light read, but an excellent one. Explores many aspects of how people come to conclusions about right and wrong. One of our psychological quirks is the fallacy of agency: if something happens that we cannot account for [e.g., the wind blows or not, it rains or not, a volcano erupts, none of which our ancestors could make sense of], we easily conclude that some supernatural agent caused it, so we have Thor, the god of thunder and such. We now know lots of natural causes, but the fallacy is deep-seated. When people ‘think things happen for a reason’, they don’t mean a low pressure system caused the rain, they mean the gods or one God willed it. It’s past bedtime, but maybe I’ll post a copyrighted column I did yrs. ago. I don’t think I’ve done that one here. Probably in 3 posts, since it’s several hundred words.
Peace,
Color me “clueless”, too…very, very little Hollywood/entertainment data lies in my skull. That I am not in VisageVolume probably abetted my ignorance.
Augury: Back in HS some 60 years ago, I was elected “pontifex maximus” [= “highest priest”] of the Latin club. My main job was to perform auguries at the club meetings, so I put together a few basic chemistry tricks as a show there. In one case, I kept 2 test tubes corked in my pocket all day – we did not have lockers or anything similar; carried all our stuff everywhere – waiting for the Latin club meeting after 3 p.m. I knew the 2 liquids would turn a brilliant red when mixed, and I also knew I just didn’t feel like attending a meeting that afternoon. Thus, when called upon, I grandiosely announced that the mixture ought to show up green upon mixing. Well, when it showed up really red, I was shocked; SHOCKED, I tell you! Promptly, I suggested cancelling the meeting at once since the augury was bad. My favorite Latin teacher – only one I ever had in those 4 years – wasn’t buying it and commanded the meeting proceed anyway. So much for my temporal powers in that exalted position….
You could have knocked me over with a feather. I had no idea. I’ m so glad you
for the two of you. It’ s wonderful that your knee surgery went so well. Jackie, you go girl.
Actually it has been like a fairy tale or more like a Jimmy Johnson cartoon in many ways. Ghost does resemble Arlo in many ways, as do I Janis.
Right now I am being discharged and we are going over to the LA Quinta a block away to join Dickens the Adventure Dog for a day or so. I hope that gives me a chance to build stamina for walking.
Dickens adores Ghost and has been with us everywhere. He prefers to sleep on or with Ghost. You wake up to a red version of Snoopy as the “vulture” peering down at you atop Ghost’s shoulder above.
We have worked out the size differences. Ghost is tall indeed. I am short.
Jackie:
Fine, but I wasn’t worried. Reminds me of a non-PC joke, which anyone can figure out from the punch line, ‘How?’ Which in turn reminded me of a mental query from a wk or so back:
How many racist verses, phrases [e.g., “Indian giver”, “Shortnin’ Bread”], were standard fare in the ’30s that no longer are? So I searched one, which I first heard sung by “Uncle Don” on WOR in ’35 or so, and found it, verbatim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0SkWCCWrF8
Bet it’s used less widely than heretofore.
Peace,
good morning, all. Very stormy night in Oklahoma last night. Here in Tulsa we got lots of rain and lightning with strong winds. Forecast calls for as much as 1 3/4 inches of rain today too. Some parts of state had tornadoes.
As the sergeant on Hill Street Blues used to say, “Let’s be careful out there.”
Congratulations on both fronts, Jackie. May your relationship be long and happy for both of you!
Charlotte: Re earlier post: Believe I have your email. Lemme know here if you receive the column [or if I’ve sent it previously]. Peace,
I see I need to spend more time in the Village these days! Jackie and Ghost Sweetie, I wish you every happiness!
Reporting for “Nurse Dixie”, to keep her out of trouble: Jackie has finished her final session of PT with Torquemada, the hospital therapist, and is back in her room awaiting discharge. We will be staying over in Broken Arrow tonight and likely tomorrow night to give her a little more recovery time before hitting the not-too-smooth road home. Updates to follow.
When I was in high school my Mom, who was a nurse, and I had a discussion about body parts. While it is correct that each part is the same, my mother realized that to many of her patients, they most definitely were not. She would never say that the patient is shameful. It only made them even more uncomfortable.
She told me that some patient would lie around completely uncovered making HER uncomfortable. Others would barely let the nursing staff do their job as they did not want anyone to see private areas. My Mom was closer to the later, but said, “if you are in enough pain, you begin not to care anymore”
Basically, she told me to respect a person’s right to privacy because we are all different. I am still more like my mother. I like my privacy in the bathroom, locker room, the beach would prefer that people would dress more modestly. I really try not to judge, but I often shake my head privately and look away. However others are entitled to their opinion and I try to respect it as I hope that they respect mine.
I’ve been”away” for a while. To Ghost and Jackie: Enjoy your life. Congratulations!
God bless us every one. God bless the USA.
As Ghost always says, the ones you don’t want to see are usually the ones you do. I just had an example of that in physical therapy room. Man in my class had on hospital gown and no discernable underwear.
Not a pretty sight.
I had on one of those fitted heavy weight body con tanks that look like an exercise bra that goes below your butt. With underwear and shorts as well.
It’s common sense isn’t it? Not so common anymore. I dressed the same during my hospital stays…well no tank, but at least some running shorts.
Jackie, it sounds like your recovery is going along splendidly! Will you be continuing a PT program when you get home?
Ghost of Nurse McCall, the Torquemada name made me laugh inappropriately. Thinking of Mel Brooks and his musical turn in History of the World: Part I. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Link, Mark?
And Jackie, yours had me thinking of a Seinfeld episode. Jerry had a parade of starlets and models as his one-episode only girlfriends, often with titillating results. That is to say it made small birds laugh. In one such storyline, an otherwise beautiful woman played the part of a nudist. Jerry decided the relationship must end when he saw her bend over to reach something on the ground. The punchline came in describing it to George along the lines of ‘some things don’t look good on any body.’ [not an actual quote from twenty-some years ago]
Hunh, I must have had a lot more time on my hands, a long time ago.
Oy, the agony! Oy, the pain! To make my privates public for a game?! — Mel
Confirmed, I crossed my Iberian Catholic comedy references.
For the other, see Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Both were favorite viewings on videos with my group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf_Y4MbUCLY
Bring out the comfy chair!
And here’s your other, Morphy.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf_Y4MbUCLY
We successfully made the trek (about .5 mile) from hospital to hotel, thence across the hotel lobby, which Jackie likened to scaling The North Face, and she didn’t mean the popular garment manufacturer. When she got off the elevator on our floor, I created a field-expedient wheelchair by grabbing the desk chair from the room; seating her in it; and pushing her down the hall, past a couple of bemused housekeeping ladies.
She is ambulating remarkably well (with a walker), with an equally remarkable lack of expected swelling and bruising at the surgery site. I got her into bed pretty easily (get your minds out of the gutter), and she is napping now. I will wait until she awakens to make a food and Rx run to Wally World. I have left strict instructions with the front desk that if there is a fire alarm or other emergency, Fire/Rescue *will* come to this room first.
Yes, Smigz, Home Health will come to her house Monday to begin 3-times-per-week formal PT. In between times, yours truly will put on his Torquemada cap and make sure she does her daily exercises.
Lovely, really lovely. I meet families in the ‘while in surgery’ phase every wk., many of them with the same later phases in prospect. Gratifying work. Peace,
She is lucky. I gained 10-15 lbs after my hip replacement and my legs were terribly bruised. Of course they are literally hammering the new socket in place. I would suggest drinking a lot of water, even though it might mean more trips to the bathroom. Besides the medicinal benefit of hydrating, it forces you to move more often. I quickly went from walker to came and “the heavy drugs” to Motrin in about two weeks. I was very lucky.
Of course listen to your Doctor/PT and not some stranger on the internet!
I meant to add that I lost the 10-15 of water in about 10 days. I wish that I had taken pictures.
Good afternoon Villagers….
Yes. Yes. Yes!!! I knew Jackie had the fortitude, along with a great mascot (GR 😉 ) and cheerleader team (the Village). Relieved to hear she has a home health care coming in next week.
Dad and I made an agreement….every other day we will go ‘riding’. Wednesday, we went to Williams’ Dam…a very nice ride with lots of Southern Indiana hills and curves. The ride starts in the Hoosier National Forrest. I try to make it at least a two or more hour excursion out for him.
Today, we went to Mitchell, to Apple Acres. I bought a couple of tomato plants, apple butter, and cinnamon bread…also a few apples. Every thing is made on site. Look out midnight munchies 🙂
Tomorrow is my one niece’s graduation party from high school. Five families went together and are putting it on. The place where they are having it holds 500 people…..arrggghhh…. Dad was funny…said we’d better go or we’d be on someone’s s&^t list. Personally, I feel the graduates will get lost in all this ‘festivity’. For Ian’s, it was a backyard come as you are thing…very casual and close in family and friends.
In the meantime, I am scouting out where to plant my “Big Beef” tomato plants…they need full sun. In the ground tomorrow.\
ya’ll have a peaceful, easy feeling tonight.
FB post from Jackie
Here’s my newly replaced left knee. I am being discharged today after physical therapy. Pushed down hall in a recliner with a walker in my lap.
I am so short they had to get a child’s walker to fit me! My feet don’t touch floor either.
Knee looks good and little swelling or discoloration.
Knee two in September.
https://scontent-dft4-3.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18527989_1787315178246882_2891249620209647100_n.jpg?oh=ddd0ab70b25d554367e05836e2788426&oe=59A5735E