All-Surrounding Grace

As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky 

and water bears them, 

as hawks rest upon air 

and air sustains them,

so would I learn to attain
free fall, 

and float into the Creator Spirit's
deep embrace,

knowing no effort 

earns that 

all-surrounding 

grace.

Denise Levertov

DNR

I kept telling myself that, at my age, I need to get that tattooed somewhere on my chest so it can’t be missed.

My problems are a) with my boobs rapidly descending to my ankles, it’s almost guaranteed to look like the Chinese hieroglyphic for Moo Shu Pork  and b) I have this whole aversion to needlessly  poking needles into my skin and injecting dye into the holes!
Other than that  I’d get right on it!

A recent news item that stirred up huge tempests in several teacups was about the nurse at an independent living center who dialed 911 to report a resident ‘down’ – and then refused to perform CPR on her while waiting for EMS to respond.

From the public outcry about her actions – or lack therof – you’d think she’d choked her, placed her in a garbage bag and left her in a landfill.

As I listened to the talking heads debate what happened and how reprehensible it was, it occurred to me that NONE of these commentators must ever have been in the position of making that decision for an elderly parent, never have faced end of life issues for themselves and are therefore still suffering from our cultures misguided belief that simply because we can do something, we should do it.

Seems simple - CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a means of trying to restore circulation and breathing to a person who has no pulse or is not breathing.

Portrayals of it in movies and on TV shows would have you believe that it is a highly effective treatment for just about anyone who has collapsed.

Come on now… do you believe everything else you see on TV? It's not called 'the boob tube' for nothing!

The success of CPR is based on many things, including the cause of the respiratory arrest, the underlying health of the victim, the time elapsed between the arrest and CPR being started and the technique used by the person performing CPR.

A recent study found that on TV shows, CPR successfully revived the victim 75% of the time – that is more than double the most conservative real-life estimates.

Most victims on TV shows were young and required CPR following trauma or a near drowning – conditions with the highest success rates.
Also, on TV shows, victims either die – or have a complete recovery.
Months of rehab, markedly impaired quality of life post CPR and lifelong disabilities just aren’t sexy sitcom fodder.

The reality is there’s less than a 5% success rate of CPR being effective for elderly victims with multiple medical problems.

I’m willing to believe the staff at the living center knew their patient, knew her medical conditions, what her wishes were and those of her family and had a better idea of how long she’d been ‘down’ than the police dispatcher.

The dispatchers heartfelt and I’m sure very genuine lament “This woman will die if we don’t get this started, do you understand?” needs to call us, as a society, to a deeper reality that we’re ALL  going to die – and that CPR – or any medical intervention for that matter, may not be either wanted or warranted.

I think the only thing that needs to be reviewed by this facility is their policy of calling 911 in the first place.

Note to self – or my children making the tough choice of where to ‘put’ me - check the fine print and make sure that’s NOT in the rulebook of the home you pick!

Or  sedate me and take me to the tattoo parlor first!

The Peeps Show

Did you know there are websites devoted exclusively to dioramas created with Peeps?

Don't worry this won't become one of them.
I don't have the talent or patience to set up whole shadowboxes with miniature props and costumes.

They DO, however, lend themselves to certain situations - and they make near perfect models - what with their inability to make any protests or move around as you fiddle with camera settings.

Playing with them is also the perfect antidote to hours spent in the afternoon helping police tell a 15 yr old that the man who shot her succeeded in killing her mother but, luckily, was killed himself before killing her 2yr old siblings, as he had threatened.

No doubt about it - - THIS was infinitely more fun!

OK... no dioramas...

but I also have no doubt, there'll be more - 

and they just may all find themselves in a book 

that certain family members 

will see in their Easter baskets!

Looking for love in ALL the wrong places!

It’s a good thing I get my news from several sources or I might have missed this life altering item from CNN Money.

I mean really, a girl could literally spend all day searching and reading the world wide webs in an attempt to keep up with all the salient news items of the day – you know, issues like did Kate really slip up while working the line and say she was having a Princess? Will that pesky divorce be granted for Kim before inducing so much stress in her life that she delivers Kimyes baby too soon? Has someone already mistaken Dennis Rodman for a representative of the State Department and started negotiating some treaty with him? Has the NRA successfully defined themselves as a” well regulated militia” as required by the Second Amendment? How did admitted killer Jodi Arias go from looking like a stripper- intimately familiar with poles- 
to looking dowdier than a stereotypical Marian the librarian?

But I digress.

I’m serious; this article could be a game changer for more than just me.
You see it appears that romance isn’t dead; it’s just hiding at Wal-Mart!

A study of missed connection posts on Craigslist found that Wal-Mart was the most popular place for people to find love at first sight, according to Psychology Today magazine.

More people thought they saw their future spouses at a Wal-Mart than anywhere else in 15 states. I'll let that sink in a moment ...


And, while the study didn’t elaborate, I think we can all guess what states made the cut for the top slots of those 15 – Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, Louisiana, West Virginia… oh, don’t get all uppity, you know you were thinking the same thing!

BTW - why is THAT any more slanderously stereotypical than saying, as the study did, that in New York, the most frequently cited spot was the subway or that, in California, the most popular was the gym chain 24 Hour Fitness.

 Here’s the bad news –

as if the People of Wal-Mart being someone’s idea of love at first sight hasn’t already made you toss your toast – age IS a factor.

The most common place for missed connections for 20 something’s was in an ice cream store.
At 30, it was a bar and, for people over 40, it was a strip club or an adult bookstore!

WTH??
Adult bookstores? Strip clubs?
That’s not a missed connection for love… that’s a missed opportunity to be someone’s next appointment and the next person on the list to be contacted by the Health Department!

You’ll also notice that people in my age bracket weren’t even included in the study!

Don’t know about anyone else but you’ll find me with the 20 something’s at the frozen yogurt store (ice cream stores are SO 2010) – and the only thing I’ll be looking for are the sprinkles!

Fading beauty

I'm certainly not the only one 

who finds beauty 

even in decay,

right?

Right?

“Beautiful things grow to a certain height 

and then they fail and fade off, 

breathing out memories as they decay". 

God loves all his Peeps -

NO exceptions!

ps: if the candy company was smart

they'd be marketing this option!

Reasons to smile - despite the sequester!

Spring is coming -

I know because some popped up

in my yard 

this weekend!

~~~~~~~~~~

If you were a puppy

who got your first 

'big girl' grooming...

what would your first act be 

when you got home?

 Of course!

 Dig in the dirt!

Notice Oreo looking at Pearl for some support?

Oh sister, you are SO barking up the wrong tree!

~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after Dennis Rodman announced
that North Korea Dictator,
Kim Jong Un,
was his new BFF,
the US State Department announced
that he was NOT a spokesman
for the US Government.

Honestly, who thought THAT was necessary?
Was there really a possibility that someone
was going to confuse him with
the Secretary of State?

~~~~~~~~~~
And, even if spring is on the way,

there will be plenty of nights when a hearty, easy soup
will be the perfect meal!


This 'dump' soup was just right for tonight:

Taco Soup:
1can chili beans in sauce
1 can pinto (or black) beans
1 lb ground beef, cooked
with chopped onions (if desired)
and drained.
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
(do not drain)
1can regular diced tomatoes
(do not drain)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet dry ranch dressing
Dump all ingredients into pan,
bring to a boil, then simmer.
I used V8 juice to get consistency I wanted.
Top with corn chips.


Now, I also have lunches for the next week.
~~~~~~~~~~


The end.

Avert your eyes

if you're sick of my roses... 'cause I'm not ... and here's some more!

Playing favorites:

Playing with words:

and loving the whole bunch!

I think I might need a 12 step program soon!!

Warning: Metaphor ahead

An empty 'attachment' box:

either very sad

or very Zen...

you decide.

Valiant try

She cut the ends off the straws 

in an attempt 

to have the world 

suck a little less!

Shadow side

So long, farewell...

I had decided I wasn’t gonna go there… the Pope resigning … and all that goes along with it.

A persons faith and religious upbringing are tender things and no one should be made to feel bad about what they believe, don’t believe or how it gets expressed and acted out in this world.

You can’t live where I do – in a town named for a Catholic Saint, for Pete’s sake - and work in the healthcare system I work in - and NOT know hundreds of faithful Catholics; not one of whom believe in the totality of either the church’s teachings or the infallibility of the Pope.

We’re all perfectly willing to accept that every church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.

I was willing to take the Pope at his word that age and infirmity had taken a toll and the responsibility of his office had finally exceeded his physical ability to carry out his earthly ministry.

I think we can all respect that.
Anyone who has even remotely followed religious events over the years could see his visible decline.

However, it was the ‘throwaway’ phrase of a representative of Rome that got me thinking about the backstory - - coupled with the sudden resignations of the Archbishop of LA (Roger Mahony) and, on the other side of the pond,  the resignation of the highest ranking Roman Catholic in the UK (Cardinal Keith O’Brien) - - that reminded me anew that transparency is NOT, nor has it ever been, one of the churches strong suits.

During a televised story about His Eminence retiring to a life of seclusion and prayer, "removed from the world" in a Vatican monastery, a spokesman mentioned that, because he would be the first living ‘retired’ Pope in nearly 700 years, his correspondence and all church documentation relating to him, his ministry and his ‘reign’, would NOT be placed in the Church Archives as is the usual tradition.
Nope, it’s all going with him into the monastery and will not be available to anyone until after his death.

Really?
How convenient.

A Pope presiding over some of the worst sex abuse scandals in its history, a pope accused of condoning, through silence and the systematic protection of offending clergy, the abuse of thousands of children worldwide gets to take ALL his paperwork into seclusion with him - - just as investigators from several countries are closing in on him and his minions?

The church has always been good at 'redefining' reality – but turning witness protection into retirement may be its best trick yet!

Junk Science

I know you heard it – it was hard to miss – it was on every channel –
all the talking heads exhorting us to ‘go Mediterranean’ and eat a diet based on legumes, fish, fruit and vegetables.

Guaranteed to help you live longer – and they can prove it!

The study was SO overwhelmingly conclusive that they stopped it early.

All the typical claims of any good snake oil salesmen.

Don’t get me wrong – maybe eating that way will buy you an extra year – only YOU can decide whether an extra year of eating beans and nuts is a life worth living.

My quarrel isn’t with the touted benefits for your heart.
My quarrel is with attributing the longer lives of people in the Mediterranean as only being the direct consequence of their diet.
That’s hogwash.

ALL the Mediterranean states have state funded, universal healthcare.
ALL the Mediterranean states have an average of 36 paid days off from work per year.

Have you been to any of these countries?

They’re lovely – the people are lovely – but their work ethic stinks.

They have 2-3 hours off for lunch – some practically mandate a nap.
For a chunk of every day, their whole damn countries shut down.

They’re not getting in a car, sitting and driving an hour each way to work so they can sit at a computer in an office for 8-9 hours a day, working through breaks and lunch.
They’re walking across town, down the stairs, or out the door to work in the family store, local company or fields.

They’re shopping every day on their way home from work to buy all those locally grown fruits and legumes from local farmers because the ‘refrigerators’  fit under the kitchen counter and are the size of coolers!

Their entire countries are the size of one of our states.
Italy? Roughly the size of Arizona.
Spain? The size of Texas
Greece? The size of Alabama.

They have entirely different cultures than we do, different standards of living, different infrastructures… the list goes on.
That’s not judgmental; it’s neither good nor bad… that’s just reality and it’s just that different.

And all of those lifestyle differences might very well contribute significantly to their healthier hearts and longer lives.

It’s comparing apples to oranges – and there are two of the fruits you need per day right there.

When our country decides to give me universal healthcare, over a month off and a different lifestyle, THEN they can suggest what I eat.

In the meantime, they can keep their magic potions to themselves.

Monday, Monday

Really?

Before I even get my coat off 

for the start of a work week

you're calling me,

yelling, swearing

and insisting that I mail you a rape kit?

We're supposed to be on the same team, pal -

or hadn't you heard?

Police and hospitals

work together 

to protect kids!

We don't try to throw each other under a bus - 

or tell them to do something so patently stupid.

Have you ever heard of chain of custody?

Maybe mailing critical evidence works for adults

when you have a witness 

who can speak for themselves 

on the stand...

but not for a 2 yr old rape victim 

who had to go the OR 

for surgical repair.

You don't take a chance on the only evidence

you may have collected!

Oh, and threatening 

to report me to the States Attorney?

I'm 6o+ yrs old - 

do you honestly think I give a rats ass

about some black mark 

"on my permanent record"?

Not since grade school, honey!

Coming home to these

redeemed the day!

How can you be in a bad mood

when you have roses in the house?

You can't!

Officer WHO?