The people of the Salish Sea wove all sorts of things from cedar bark – baskets, hats, blankets, all sorts of things to use and to wear and to admire.
When I found this pattern in a magazine, which I have not yet unpacked, but which I immediately saw as a Salish Blanket Quilt, I got to work. The white is probably muslin, but could be white quilt fabric. The colors are Batiks.
I got it made before I moved from ABQ, and pinned the front and back together to be a summer quilt. A summer quilt is roughly the same weight as two sheets, no batting between them. Then it got packed. I didn’t find it until last summer, when I decided to finish quilting it. And it broke my heart. I had pinned it with stainless steel quilting pins that were rustproof. Less than 10 percent were rust free. I got them out, I finished the quilting, and I cried.
One of my SOCs (sisters of choice) who is not only a quilter, but the one who saw too it I was bit by the Quilt Bug, did some research and sent it to me. It seems a lot of work, to rub some vinegar into the rust, wait, rinse, repeat, etc. I put the quilt away. I hauled it out this morning, put it in a tub of vinegar, and took it to Favorite Daughter’s home where I laid it out on the grass for the sun to help bleach. A lot of the rust came out, and I brought it home to work on individual spots on top of the washer. Vinegar, Fels Naphtha soap, and some detergent rubbed in, then washed it and dried it. The drying set any of the rust that didn’t come out, but most did, and what’s left really only shows on the white border on the front. Unless you get really close and look at it. Which none of my friends who love me will do.
Anyhow, it is my Cedar Bark Quilt, and tonight, I will sleep under it, once my room cools enough I need a cover. Our high (Sunday night) was 102F.
If you go to your search engine and search for Images of Cedar Bark Weaving, there are several sites to show you. Years ago, I had a friend who was an attorney, and he did work for one of the tribes. One of the women who wove hats, gave him one. Most of the hats went to Vancouver BC to be sold, and one day my friend and his wife traveled to BC and on the way home, he put his hat on the dashboard. When he got to Customs, the US Customs guy asked if he had anything to declare. He said no. The guy looked pointedly at the hat, and asked where he bought it, and how much he paid for it. My friend said it was a gift from one of the elders, and named her. The Customs guy grinned from ear to ear and said, “I thought I recognized Granny’s work.”
This is the quilt laying out in the sun. I left it back side up for an hour, then went out, turned it, and let it dry a bit before bringing it home to finish working on.This is the quilt on my bed. Look how yellow the lightbulb makes it appear. It’s very simple quilting, a long meandering line down every two inches. Sammy would get up on it, but if I pulled out my phone to take a photo, he’d get down but I’ll get him on it. Honest. Trust me.
Tomorrow (which is really today, as far as you’re concerned and reading this) I start work. I will get up early, feed and walk the dog, and be at my computer at 8am and work through until noon five days a week. It’s the only way I will be able to go through Thomas’s writings, and get things found, edited, etc. I’m just hoping I didn’t lose anything when my computer crashed. I lost a lot of stuff, but was able to find it somewhere. I really don’t know where, but good old Finder found it buried somewhere.
I plan to work 4 hours a morning 5 days a week, until I can figure out what I’m doing. And get some sort of rhythm going.
Do any of you know anything about Substack? Good, bad, or indifferent? Please, let me know. I’m considering it for some of Thomas’s writings.
The Desert Dog says it’s too hot, even for him. But he sends Pupkisses to you all, and hopes it’s cooler where you are. (And if so, can he come visit? He promises he won’t eat much.)
On Tuesday (that would be tomorrow), Thomas will be dead for 5 weeks. I am so fortunate to have had him in my life, and he was so fortunate he maintained his sense of humor until the very end. If all the people who wanted to be there to cheer him on, to wish him well, could have been there, the house would have split at the seams. Literally.
I am reminded of an old blog of mine, where I asked Are You Adoptable? Thomas was not only adoptable, but he was adopted by many people. More women than men, I think, but that’s okay. In fact, it’s not surprising at all. Women liked Thomas. He made us feel important when we were with him, he made us laugh, he brought all the romantic thoughts to the fore. When he was with a woman, he valued her.
When Thomas died, he was not alone—and yet he was. There were close friends there, and many close friends who wanted to be there. People wanted to be with Thomas. He made everyone important. He listened to them. He laughed with them. He was interested in them. But birthing and dying are two of life’s most momentous times, and we must travel that path alone. True, Mom isn’t far away on the former, and loved ones can hold you for the latter, but you still gotta do the heavy part all by yourself alone.
Most, dare I say all, of my good friends are adoptable. They like and love me, and I like and love them. I wish I could say ALL of my friends, but I have a couple of friends who aren’t adoptable. They whine, they are lonely, they are sitting in a corner of their house just waiting to die. That’s what old people do; isn’t it? Just sit in the dark and wait to die. Sigh.
I think I was very lucky when I was in my mid 30s. I went into a deep funk. Really deep. I started reading self-help books, and the two I remember, that really helped me was My Mother/My Self by Nancy Friday and another one the name of which eludes me, as does the author, but on the cover was a girl with her arms in the air, and she was happy. I did the exercises, well, most of them. The primal scream I didn’t. But I realized, I really had to change. Of course, the big thing that scared me no end about the self-help books is once I got to know myself, well, what if I didn’t like myself? That’s a scary thought, or at least it was for me. | Today is Friday, but my friend, Meg just gave me the title of the second book I couldn’t remember: Born to Win. Marvelous book, and marvelous friends.|
But I figured I really needed to do something, so I did it. And I figured out I was pretty okay, just needed some tweaking here and there. I became happier, I complained less, in effect, without realizing it, I became adoptable. It was a long road, but I had friends who saw the end much clearer than I, and they helped and encouraged, and ya know what? It is a process, and it’s ongoing. I figure as long as I have questions, I can still search out the answers.
Thomas and I had several discussions about what happens when we die? Nobody knows. People of faith are sure theyknow and they will go to their heaven to be with their God. Far be it from me to tell them otherwise. If it makes their dying easier, by all means they should believe it. I waffle. Since no one has come back with irrefutable proof of life after life, I figure my ideas are as good as anyone else’s. When Mole asked Raven Roshi what happens at the moment of death, Raven Roshi thought then said, “I give away all my belongings.” (From Zen Master Raven, sayings and doings of a wise bird, by Robert Aitken.) At the moment of death we give away all our clothes, our books, our computers, our wants, our desires, our anger, our love—we give them all away. We no longer need or want them.
As I said, I waffle. I hope my Ancestors will call me to them. But I really hope Schrodinger had it right, that we are on this planet both alive and dead until (God?) observed and we must decide. If dead, do we slide into another universe? Do we just die, everything goes dark, and that’s it? Buddhists believe in reincarnation. I’d like that if I can come back as a spoiled lap cat!
Will I see my family again, Thomas again? I don’t know. I can hope, I suppose I could have faith, but I won’t have proof until I’m dead. And then it won’t really matter, because I won’t be able to come back and tell any of you about my last adventure. Bummer. And I’d so like to share with y’all.
I only had Thomas in my life for about 5 years, but I am so fortunate to have had those years, and to have been introduced to some of his friends and family, so we can all keep him in our lives when we get together. I can truly say I am a better person for having him in my life. I have deleted his email from my contact list, but not his name. As long as he is remembered by someone, he isn’t truly gone. I’m still keeping my EBOC in my computer, as well as my heart.
If you missed my earlier blog, “Are You Adoptable?” or have forgotten it, and would like to read it, drop me a note and I’ll send you a copy.
Addendum: I wrote this over a week ago, then my hard drive crashed. I mistakenly thought my computer had suffered the lonesome blues while I was gone so long and had invited some outlaw bikers in to keep her company, and the not only trashed the place, but left her full of viruses, malwares and a trojan or two. Now, I have apologized hugely, because she was merely trying to keep the hard drive from dying. One needs to treat their computers nicely. It looks like the only thing I lost of great import is all my passwords. Oh, well…
Anyhow I have her back, and today is Tuesday, the 11th of July. On Sunday, the 9th, I was back on the Dark Side for the Celebration of Life we held for Thomas. It was beautiful. The sun came out, it was warm, and 50 people were there. I will post a couple of readings in the Spoken Word later today, or possibly tomorrow. As soon as I can remember how. 😉 And postings should begin, again, on Mondays.
This was the wine. The beer was in a washtub and a cooler or two, all filled with ice. Do you see the little ceramic shot glasses in the basket at the upper left corner? Those were made by Sheryl’s sister, Lori, who is a potter. She made 50. And the bottle of booze next to the wine is a bottle of Bullet Rye. When everyone had finished telling their Thomas Tales, we all got a shot glass, a shot of Rye, and toasted Thomas. The shot glass then went home with us. Thanks Lori for the wonderful memento, and thanks Sheryl for giving Thomas a beautiful place to live out his remaining time. I am so grateful to have met you, and Lori, and Matthew, Andrew, Olga, all the kids, two-legged and four-legged, and to have been so lovingly accepted by all.
Some of the people who came. They are looking forward to someone who is speaking. I am standing in the back, the short one with a black tee that says Metaphors Be With You that I bought in honor of Thomas, and holding the poem he wrote the morning after his sister, Sally, died. I managed to get through it and sit before I lost it. Photo is by: MarySue Finley
An elephant ear (baby, still growing) and a huge drop of water, either from a bit of rain, dew, or sprinkler. Not sure which. Probably a good tablespoon of water. It’s growing in MarySue’s yard.
Hey! You all have a happy Fourth!! Picnic, use sun block, drink lots of water (beer doesn’t count), and Auntie Lenora will return as soon as her computer is back from the hospital. Yes, she had to take her computer to the ER on Friday. Seems like she got lonesome while Auntie Lenora was gone, and invited a bunch of outlaw internet bikers over to party and they left her with several mal ware, viruses, and even a Trojan or two, and sugar in her gas tank.
Yesterday, Sunday, I drove half-way to one of Thomas’s nieces, to deliver his flute (carved wood), flute bag (handmade and beautifully beaded), and a painting of a sea turtle. Turns out it was her mom who did the beading (took her a year) and the painting. She told me many delightful stories of her Uncle Thomas.
Well, you know where my mind, what there is of it, went. A few tears on the way home, made it just in time for my 4pm Poetry Apocalypse zoom gathering, and any thoughts of a blog entry were gone. Poof! Which is really too bad because I had something fun to write about. Besides me.
I am, however, binging on Ted Lasso, 3 episodes a night. Thomas and Sheryl watched a lot of tv—movies and series—it was one way for Thomas to get his mind off his situation. I have a few months’ worth of same to review and get posted, Our two favorites were The Great on Hulu and Ted Lasso on Disney. The Great is an “occasionally true story” of Catherine the Great. One of the best series I’ve ever seen, however, they are serious when they say it’s for mature audiences. It’s is full of the f-bomb and c-word, but they fit, they are not gratuitous. We finished that series before Thomas died. The other series they watched was Ted Lasso. I came in at the beginning of S3, saw most of it (Disney didn’t dump the whole series, but parsed it out weekly, and I only saw up to the S3, E4 or 5). So, I came home, took my 3 months of Free Disney, and have started at S1, E1. I’m now into S2, E6. Surprise, surprise, that one has a few f-bombs, too. Why am I surprised? It’s a Disney show. Again, they work, and are not gratuitous. Ted Lasso is an American Football Coach who goes to England to coach European Football (soccer). He was brought on to run the team into the ground as payback from the ex-wife who got the team in the divorce and wants to hurt her ex. She forgot to tell him that, and he takes it in the other direction. Well worth the fun, like The Great, it’s a 3-season show.
My desk is a pile and a half of papers, etc. My housemate is threatening a bonfire (not really, he understands), and, the best news of all—my sewing “room” is almost put together. Need to get the sewing room finished today, then tackle my part of the office.
So, for now, your old Auntie Lenora is signing off. The normal schedule will be back soon. I hope.
Here’s a photo from yesterday, note the number of adult geese and juveniles? The will put several families together and the adults watch over them, herd them in the right directions, and protect them. Ducks aren’t that smart. Ducks do NOT like the offspring of any other duck, and if a little duckling gets lost or separated, and tries to join another group, the hen will attack it with the idea of running it off, or killing it, whichever comes first. They are not interested in protecting or helping any other flock. Also, I think the ganders help in the parenting, the drakes don’t.
Dear Virtual Nieces, Nephews, Families of Blood, and Families of Choice
Auntie Lenora taking a hiatus from Coffee Break Escapes for a short, but undetermined, time. Things are going on in Auntie Lenora’s life that she needs to attend to. She is well, so no worries, okay?
The Brave Dog is also fine. However, now that he has his own “column” and a newly found voice, he will sulk. But Spring is coming and soon the alligators and the giraffes will come out of their hibernation, and he will probably be too busy herding them to the island and keeping the hippos out of the parking slots. Life’s hard when you have short legs, a fear of anything taller than your shadow at high noon, and you have to do all that work. But he does such great job, the management is very pleased. Just wish they’d lower the rent. Or pay for his dog food.
All is well here, but your old Auntie needs a vacation. She’s heading over to the Dark Side of the Cascades for a bit to give someone in more need a staycation for a week or two. Stay tuned, she will return. Oh, yes, there will be weather in her absence, of that, she is sure.
Photo of the week:
We have visitors. After shooting them (with a camera) and putting my camera away so I could hold the leash with my short legged friend at the other end, they started “swimming” in the pond. The water is so shallow they couldn’t paddle, so they walked along it until they got out and went to the larger, and deeper, pond. Wish I’d been able to get a video of them walking, with their knee bones coming up, out of the water with each step. Use your imagination and smile at the sight.
I will be one of the three featured readers this coming Thursday at Fixed & Free Feb 23 features Don Krieger, Catherine Strisik, Lenora Good. If you are up for a night of poetry, and even a chance to read one of yours, contact Billy at Welbert53@aol.com get your free ticket to join us. Should be a night of fun and frivolity. Bring money and buy books!
Weather in the Tries: We have high wind warnings until Tuesday. We also have fairly warm days in the mid 50s, and on Wednesday, it travels downhill in a handbasket with our lows going into the teens and our highs barely above freezing. Friday is scheduled for a sunny day and Saturday starts warming up again. And it’s going to be cloudy. Hey! This is a desert—I don’t mind the cold, but dahyamn! the clouds belong on the other side of the Cascades! Those folk over there are called Mossbacks for a reason!
Sammy Needs a Job; This is a good news bad news story. A bit of background to explain how it all happened. Housemate Dan and I share the larger bedroom as a joint office. So we each wear ear pieces/headphones when we are watching something on our computers so we don’t disturb the other person. I have a pair of Beats ear pods. I really like them, and I take out my hearing aids so I can use them. The aids have a special place on my desk—a place that is seldom messy. The other day I received a ring light for Zoom/Skype meetings and moved my computer and extra monitor a bit to get it set up. I noticed one of my aides had fallen off its usual place. I did a cursory looksee, didn’t find it and decided to wait until morning. Big mistrake. Somehow, the one aide was knocked off and onto the floor and, being a dog who is always looking for snacks, Sammy grabbed it and proceeded to chew. Yummm, this tastes like my human. Crunch. Crunch. I’m so glad she threw it away. Yes indeed, he crunched it. Thank goodness he didn’t swallow the battery or break the casing! As you can see in the photo below, he did badly dent it. I took the pieces to the nice man at Costco and made an appointment for 31 Mar to get re-tested and order new aides. Remember, I said this story is a good/bad news one. Well, you now have the bad. The good is the replacement aides are considerably better than the chewed one, and cost almost half of what I paid for the last ones! A friend has suggested I see if I can get into the VA system for aids, but I don’t hold much hope. They declined me for medical because I have too good of insurance, but I did write Sen. Patty Murray about it and we’ll see what her response is. So much for the promises to our Vets! /snark/ The upshot is, Sammy needs a job to pay me for eating my right ear aide. Admittedly, his resume is a bit thin, but I list it here in case you know anyone looking for some help. He is excellent at keeping the Humpfolumpuses off furniture, and Hippopotamuses out of parking slots. And since he started patrolling the apartment complex we have had no alligator or giraffe sightings. He is also very good at disposing of snacks and cuddling for naps. Any help you can offer is appreciated
As it is still Black History Month, but you maybe aren’t reading like you’d like to, may I suggest some music and or poetry by Avotcja (pronounced Avatcha). She’s a fascinating person, check her out. YouTube has a few hours of her and others on this page. Chances are it’s been a while since you’ve listened to Johnny Mathis too, well, fix it!
Photos of the Week:
I’m just thrilled he didn’t eat the battery! Or break the battery casing!Suet feeder? What suet feeder? I don’t see no stinkin’ suet feeder here. –famous quote by Kirkland Tree MouseBewick’s Wren. Tiny, cute, and rather rare.
Entertainment: Books Read: If I finish it, I review it: https://lenoragood.blogspot.com Slim pickin’s—haven’t finished a single book or movie or even an episode of Bab5. Colds affect me that way.
Sammy Says: I don’t know why my human is so upset because I chewed her ear toy. It tasted really neat. Just like her. If she didn’t want me to chew it, why did she toss it down for me? Now she wants me to get a job to help pay for her new one. Oh, well. I’ll snuggle up to her, batt my eyes at her, and she’ll forget. Won’t she? She doesn’t understand, I work for treats, and she doesn’t like my treats. But if treats will help her get a new ear toy…Humans are so hard to understand.
Didja notice? Friday the 13th comes on Monday this month?
Weather in the Tries: Looks like the lowest low we’ll get is Thursday with a 27 the others will be hovering around 30 and our highs are going up to 51! with most days high 40s. There is a possibility of rain and a T-storm on Friday, but that’s so far down the line, anything could happen. Let it suffice to say, we shall continue to have weather, in whatever glory it chooses to show us.
Auntie Lenora’s Excellent Birthday Skydiving Adventure: While visiting my EBOC (elder brother of choice) in Kirkland, I celebrated my 80th birthday. Yes, indeed, it’s now official, Auntie Lenora is an Old Lady. I had planned on going for my first skydive from one of those planes that aren’t all that good (why else would anyone jump from one?), but I was visiting, and it was colder than a well-digger’s bottom, as well as raining, and I’m a Devout Coward, so I didn’t. Isn’t it nice that Auntie Lenora’s birthday comes in winter? She’ll probably never jump out of a plane on her birthday, but it’s fun to dream. And plan. And now and then plot. And you just had to read about it, didn’t you? BUT I did do something every bit as exciting. I bought a Yamaha! No, silly, not a motorcycle, an electric keyboard (If I was gonna buy a motorcycle, I’d get a Hawg! /snicker/snort/). Something that’s been on my list of things since I was a kid was to learn to play the piano, but could never afford one, and when this deal came up, I grabbed it. I know I will never be invited to play Carnegie Hall, but by golly I may be able to compete with Lt. Columbo at playing chopsticks! I understand the hardest part of playing the piano, at least for those of us who are, uh, mature individuals, is divorcing the left-hand movement from the right-hand movement. I expect my instructor will be able to help with that. And daily practicing. Housemate Dan bought the tenor sax. Alas, he’s already a musician, and I am not. And he’s already eyeing my keyboard.
There is a picture window in my EBOC’s room, to the lower yard. The house he lives in has upper, lower, and side yards, and are all wonderful! In the center of the window is a shepherd’s crook with a suet feeder hanging from it. I was able to get lots of bird shots through the window. I had to figure out why they spooked every time I raised my phone. It finally dawned on me, I have a flashy, blingy, phone cover, with little moving metallic parts. The parts caught the light and flashed, and the birds left. Once I took the cover off, I got some great shots. And there aren’t just birds wandering through the yard—there are squirrels, a racoon momma and 3 kits, bunnies, and other woodland critters. Including a bobcat! EBOCs care-giver, grabbed the photo below. Wow, what a shot. And she gave me permission to use it. He has some of the most wonderful care givers to help him. And to think, Kirkland is a densely populated city; fortunately, there is enough green space for the Bobcat. S/He probably helps in keeping the mouse & rat population down. Nice kitty, nice kitty.
I hope you are all enjoying Black History month, and reading at least one book by a black author, either fact or fiction. As well as Root. No matter what genre you read, you’ll find some very good black authors there. Read poetry? May I suggest Lucille Clifton or Yusuf Komonyakaa. Science Fiction/Fantasy? How about the inimitable Octavia Butler? Literary fiction? Tony Morrison. Nonfiction? Isabel Wilkerson, Jonathon Capehart.
Photos of the Week:
Bobcat photo going up the stairs from the lower yard to an upper yard. Photo taken, and used with permission by, Mikeshia Morrison
This is a Stellar’s Jay in the bare naked plum tree. I missed the crow.
Tree Mouse says he wants some of that suet, thank you very much.
Am still reading Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle by Lloyd Alter. Took it with me, but not conducive to interruptions, and besides, I was a guest, not polite to tell the host I’d rather read than visit. However, I did finish a piece of fiction that was great fun: The Second Hand Cursesby Drew Hayes. A delightful collection of re-imagined fairytales. See my review when it gets posted.
Movies: We only watched one episode of Columbo this time, no movies. Couldn’t seem to find anything that looked interesting. So, I read to him (EBOC) from the new novel manuscript by one of his friends.
Sammy Says: My human is home!! My human is home!! She gave me loves and snuggles and slept with me. Can you see me do my happy dance? She said I was her good boy while she was gone, she didn’t see any humpfolumpuses marks on the furniture, or hippopotamuses in the parking slots. Oh, I’m still her good and brave dog. She did say, though, enough already with the happy dance. It’s making her dizzy (whatever that is), but I’m sooooo happy. My human is home!!!
The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Weather in the Tries: Sorry, I’m still out of town, and the weather only goes 10 days out. However, I do believe it would not be far amiss should I state that we most definitively will have weather! At least I hope we will and the world won’t end before I get home.
A Shout Out and Happy Birthday to my Ex-Boss: How many of you can state that you actually hired you boss? Yep, I hired him to be my boss. Okay, I didn’t really hire him, I didn’t go to HR to hire him, but my boss needed another boss betwixt her and me and asked me who I’d like to work for. Other than saying “Huh?” at such a request, I didn’t have to think about it, and promptly named a gentleman we both knew and had worked with on our prior job. And that silly man said “Yes” when she called. She even told him I would be working for him and he still said “Yes”—there’s just no accounting for some people;-) Today is his birthday, and because he is such a wonderful and nice person, and still a good friend, I shall forego calling and singing him Happy Birthday. I think. I shall try not to do that. After all, he is a good friend, and he might get even. Oh. Wait. He would have to wait almost another year to get even, as my birthday is just a few days before his. Can he remember a vengeance that long? Bwahahahahaha
The Root: Did you subscribe? Will you read it at least once a day during February? I hope so. (Those are rhetorical questions; you need not reply 😉
Photos of the Week:
Sea Gulls on the snow covered roof of the Marina. The brown speckled ones are teen agers.A very cold Osprey on a tree at Allen’s Point, Bateman Island, across from my old apartmentA very cold Great Blue Heron looking for lunch. These three pictures were taken last February at the old apartment on the Columbia River
Entertainment: Books Read: If I finish it, I review it: https://lenoragood.blogspot.com I have something like 650 books on that blog, and a search engine, surely you can find something to read in there. I finished Meru by S., B. Divya. It is a page burner. Read my review here.
Movies/TV: You’re pretty much on your own for this one two. I have a few reviews up on this site, and several on the old site which you can access from Movies & TV above.
Sammy Brave Dog: Housemate Dan keeps telling me when my human will return, but I don’t understand things like days and weeks. I just know my bed is lonesome without her. H. Dan gives me treats, but I miss my human. A little bit. But if she doesn’t come home soon, I may forget her, and H. Dan will become my human. There! That oughta teach her!!
Weather in the Tries: This coming weekend it’s gonna dip back down into the teens for lows and below freezing for high. But, oh this coming week, while most of the lows will be under freezing a couple of degrees we’re scheduled for 50 on Friday. Can you see Auntie Lenora doing her happy dance with Sammy Brave Dog? Close your eyes and look! 😉
Are You A Fan of Football, Professional or Otherwise? I’m talking about American Football, not European Football that we call soccer. I used to enjoy watching football, I was very excited when the Seahawks started in Seattle, I’ve seen Joe Namath play when I lived in the South. True, we had nosebleed seats, but I still got to see him. I was never quite as rabid about football as those in the South seemed to be, except when the Crimson Tide played. I did have other interests. The first time I attended a college game in Alabama, it was cold, and we had cheap standing on the back side of the field ‘seats’, so I dressed in a warm sweater, jeans, wool socks, and tenny runners along with a warm hat and windbreaker jacket. Except for dearly beloved ex, who was dressed similarly, everyone else who stood on the grass wore dress clothes. The women wore high heels, fur coats, fancy clothe to wear to a restaurant that had white cloth on all their tables. Boy Howdy, were we underdressed—and did they let us know it! But we surely enjoyed that game. If you think I’m joking about the South and football, I assure you I am not. My brother-in-law was born without eyeballs. Two things he could not imagine were photos/TV and colors. I had a postcard of Bear Bryant walking on water and took it when I visited. I gave him the postcard and asked if he knew what it was. He gently touched all over it. Put the card down, and definitively announced to all in the room that it was, “The Bear, walking on water.” I still don’t know how he did it. No one knew I was bringing it, and no one told him. And what is New Year’s day without Football, and what red-blooded American would miss the Super Bowl? Of course, most people watch it for the new commercials and half-time entertainment, right? Yeah, sure. Let’s be honest about that. I don’t remember the year I stopped watching football, sometime after 2002, when it began to be known that concussions contribute to or cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and that football players are very susceptible to it. It just wasn’t fun to watch grown men concuss one another knowing they may go into an early, and sometimes violent, dementia because of CTE. Boxing, wrestling, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, rugby, and soccer are also on the list of risk factors, including the military, prior domestic violence, and repeated head banging. According to our good friend Mr. Google, more than 320 football players who were autopsied after death (I certainly hope it was after death) were diagnosed with CTE. (bolding mine) There is no way, at this time, to definitively diagnose CTE before death, though doctors can make an educated diagnosis based on history and symptoms. I no longer enjoy boxing, but then, since Muhammad Ali retired from boxing, why bother? The doctor I had in Albuquerque, and I were discussing ALS one time, and she said there is a correlation between professional soccer players and ALS. The mean age of ALS onset in the general population is 65.2 years, but for former soccer players it’s 20 years sooner. According to what she read, the medical professionals think it is caused by repeated head butting of the ball, not concussions. So, I am no longer a fan of anything in any sport upon which the head is beat. And, yes, that includes the Pee Wee games. If I may paraphrase Waylon & Willie, Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to Be…Football or Soccer players, Boxers or Wrestlers.
Photos of the Week:
Freezing fog. You can see where most of the birds are flocculating–on the ice. They get in the water for short doses, then back to the ice. Maybe they think they’re penguins?
Entertainment: Books Read: If I finish it, I review it: https://lenoragood.blogspot.com I’m now 80% of the way through Meru. Hope to have it finished in a couple three days;-)
Movies/TV: Am finally on Season Five of Babylon 5. Also watched Kiki’s Delivery Service, third of the Studio Ghibli movies. Review posted above, in Movies & TV. Also, I found something that said The Old Guard 2 will be released in July this year. I think it was July. I wrote it down and lost it. Sigh. Growing old is such hard work.
Sammy Brave Dog: Is liking the slightly warmer weather, especially the sunshine. He’s gone on a couple of what his human calls, “real walks” around the complex. His human is delighted to get a bit more walking in. She just wishes he’d walk for the pleasure of walking instead of reading and leaving messages at every third blade of grass. Sammy and his human both wish you a fantastically mahvelous week!
