“Meister Eckhart instructs us that to ignore our capacity to give birth, to run from our responsibility to create, is to run from goodness itself: If human beings have something that they do not bestow on others, they are not good.”
~Matthew Fox
Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/07/03/one-liner-wednesday-did-you-know/
One of the substacks I read regularly is Joyce Vance.
She is a lawyer and legal scholar whose commentary I hear often on television. She writes long and thoughtful posts about the current legal issues in the United States, of which there are many.
To lighten things, she also posts about her hobbies.
She will show us what her latest knitting project is, for example.
The thing other than law about which she posts most, though, is her chickens.
She and her family keep a coop with several varieties of chickens. She posts about what she is feeding them. Their interactions with the family’s dog and cat. Their new coop. What they are doing around the yard. How they hop up into her lap sometimes.
She will also occasionally post photos of their eggs. Because there are different breeds, the eggs are various colors and sizes.
The chickens bring Joyce comfort and joy, which she shares with her readers.
I admit that I have no desire to care for chickens myself, but I appreciate Joyce’s sharing her love with all of us.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “chicken or egg.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/06/28/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-29-2024/
This non-partisan checklist (from NETWORK, based on Catholic social justice principles which are shared by many people of faith, as well as totally secular people) will assist viewers of the US presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump tomorrow (Thursday, June 27 at 9 PM EDT) in tracking the candidates’ views on a range of issues.
This public service announcement comes to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday series. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/06/26/one-liner-wednesday-have-you-ever/
on gun violence and public health
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
Today, the United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis. His advisory gives an overview of gun violence, contributing factors, and impacts on communities, children, adolescents, and families. It concludes with a section on taking a public health approach to reducing risk and preventing gun violence.
I’m grateful that Dr. Murthy has called out the scourge of firearm violence in the United States and framed it in the context of public health. While mass shootings are surely horrific and generate the most press coverage, most gun deaths and injuries in the US are either self-inflicted or among families/communities. The trauma they cause lasts for years. It is very much in the interests of public health to work to avert as many instances of gun violence as possible.
One of the criteria I use in evaluating candidates is their views and record on gun safety and violence reduction. Two years ago today, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which has increased prosecution for gun trafficking, made more firearm sales subject to background checks, and funded community safety programs and red flag law initiatives. President Biden favors further tightening of background checks and a ban on civilian ownership of military-style assault weapons. By contrast, Donald Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association convention in May and promised to roll back any of the Biden administration initiatives on guns.
It is also important to look at the views about guns expressed by candidates for Congress, given that national legislation is the clearest way to protect people and communities. The Supreme Court has overturned executive orders and state level laws that were meant to promote gun safety but national law is likely to be more durable.
In a first for a presidential candidate, due to his 34-count felony conviction in New York, Trump’s firearms license has been revoked. This would stay in effect during any appeals process. Of course, as a former president, the Secret Service protects him at all times. Still, I find it sobering that he is legally barred from owning a gun. If he is not trustworthy enough to own a gun, how could he be trustworthy enough to decide important matters about public safety – or anything else?
On the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
I’ve written several posts dealing with abortion – after the leak of the Dobbs decision, about the aftermath of the first month after it was handed down, and about a year later in a post about the out-sized influence of the Catholic Church with conservative members of the Supreme Court and some governors.
Today is the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which overturned the national right to abortion recognized by the decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Some of the worst fears of the public have already occurred. With many states imposing total or near-total bans, people with a problem pregnancy have been forced to flee to distant states to receive care. This has even happened when the mother’s life, health, and/or future fertility are under threat or when the fetus has a problem that is so severe it is “incompatible with life.” Women have even been refused treatment when they are clearly in the process of suffering a miscarriage, the commonly used term to describe a spontaneous abortion. Unfortunately, some of these women will go on to develop sepsis or life-threatening hemorrhage which could have been avoided by performing a timely D&C.
Remember also that abortion is safer than pregnancy and childbirth. This is especially true for girls and for women of color, who face higher risks of life-altering complications and death. Mifepristone, one of the most-used drugs for medication abortions, has a lower rate of complications than acetaminophen (Tylenol).
It has become clear that some state and national level elected officials want to make all or nearly all abortions illegal in the United States. Additionally, there are threats against the legality of contraceptives. Fertility clinics that offer IVF face uncertainty in states that want to recognize that life begins at conception, bestowing personhood rights on fertilized eggs.
I find this argument particularly unconvincing, given that, in the course of a woman’s life, a substantial number of fertilized eggs don’t even implant and cause a pregnancy. Conception seems to be much too early a marker of life. A common rejoinder if one is unconvinced of personhood beginning at conception is to ask when does life begin. I think that life begins when one can breathe, which is already part of our legal definition. If a baby is born but never takes a breath, it is recorded as a stillbirth, not a birth and a death. People die after they take their last breath. Interestingly, the legal framework for abortion under Roe v. Wade relied on viability; given that the lungs are the last major organ to develop fully, the ability to breathe is inherent in the definition of viability.
The person who is definitely breathing and alive and a person through all this is the person who is pregnant. Their life and their rights should be clearly recognized and respected. No government official should be able to dictate their medical care. Period.
In the upcoming state and federal elections, when looking at candidates’ positions on issues, evaluate their stance on abortion and contraception. Do they allow each person to make medical choices regarding these issues, relying on their own judgement after consulting medical practitioners, family members, faith leaders, etc., or do they favor laws that substitute their preferences and beliefs over yours?
On the presidential side, it is clear that the Biden/Harris ticket advocates for the right of the individual to make personal medical decisions unencumbered by government. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been bragging about his Supreme Court appointees overturning Roe. Project 2025, a blueprint for a second Trump administration, reveals ways it would impose abortion restrictions throughout the US.
Also consider how candidates regard women’s rights. For some candidates, attacking abortion and reproductive rights goes along with the idea that women should go back to “traditional” roles where they didn’t work outside the home. A few have even suggested that women should not be allowed to vote!
So, vote like your rights – and the rights of your family, friends, and neighbors – depend on it.
That may very well be literally true.
So, here is a reminder for those of you caught under a heat dome as we are here in the Northeast US at the moment: Drink plenty of water.
“Water” is Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week and, as always, you are invited to join us.
Admittedly, I’m mostly posting today for SoCS not to talk about water but to let people know that I’ve finally managed to do the health update I promised at SoCS last week.
And now, I need to rest.
Maybe I should have some more water first.
Ugh! I’ve been putting off writing a health update post, hoping to get to a more definitive place before sharing but it’s taking long enough that I figured I better try.
Regular readers may recall that I started having trouble with tinnitus on my left side a few months back and wrote more about it on Mother’s Day. An MRI had been scheduled for June 21 with a hearing test to follow the next week.
Unfortunately, I was accumulating more symptoms on my left side, some visual difficulties in my left eye though the eye itself was fine, pressure or headache behind that eye, discomfort on the left side of my neck, intermittent tingling behind my left ear, a tendency to get lightheaded and feel off-balance, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating, perhaps caused by having to divert conscious attention to things like vision and equilibrium that are usually unconscious. I had been to my primary care provider several times but they needed the information from the MRI before we could proceed further, so the plan was that, if my symptoms worsened, I would go to the emergency room at our local hospital.
In early June, things did get worse. The most alarming part was that the tingling on the side of my head started spreading into my face and toward my neck and became almost constant. I also was having increased problems with my thought processes slowing down as I spent more and more brainpower remembering to move my head and body slowly so that I could keep my balance.
So, B took me to the hospital emergency department, arriving a bit before 9 AM. It was very busy, partially a result (we found out later) of difficulties at a neighboring hospital due to a cyber attack. It was so busy that I spent the first six hours based in the waiting room, going out for various tests and then being returned there. They did a brain CT relatively quickly to make sure I wasn’t having a stroke or some other acute thing. The results came back as “grossly normal” with some aspects being labelled as “grossly unremarkable,” which quickly became a favorite phrase for me, thus, the title of this post.
The waiting room became so crowded that they asked non-patients to leave shortly before noon, unless they were needed for patient care, such as parents of children or people who were acting as translators. So, B had to leave me; he waited at the hospital for most of the afternoon but eventually headed for home.
Mid-afternoon, there was finally a space in the treatment area for me, albeit on a gurney in the hallway, and the decision was made that I needed an MRI – which I already knew because I had one scheduled – but it was too late in the day to fit me in. I got to eat supper and eventually was moved to a room with hospital beds where several of us were on observation for the night.
Or so I thought.
Around 3 AM, I was moved upstairs to a unit that houses neurology patients. Somehow, they seemed to have missed all the stuff that happened in the ER and I had to prove to them that I wasn’t having a stroke all over again. I did have the MRI with contrast in the morning, which also proved to be grossly normal. This was, of course, good news in that it ruled out any tumors in my brain or sinuses, as well as other brain diseases or strokes. However, it didn’t tell us what was causing my symptoms.
The most useful thing that happened was a consultation with physical therapy. Dianne detected that my eyes weren’t tracking as well as they should be. She also did an evaluation for inner ear problems, where crystals in the inner ear loosen and migrate and cause eye and balance symptoms. While I don’t have the most common form of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, I may have a variation of it with the crystals in a different part of the inner ear canal affected.
The maneuvers that Dianne did with my head and neck during the evaluation did help relieve some of my symptoms. The constant discomfort on the left side of my neck went away and I could move my head more easily. The tingling on the side of my head, which by then was constant, disappeared. Dianne recommended that I see a physical therapist who specializes in vestibular therapy and I have an appointment scheduled for next week. She also gave me an eye exercise to do at home in the meantime and some tips on posture. Additionally, a neck X-ray revealed some arthritis, which will be useful knowledge for the physical therapist.
I was discharged from the hospital that evening. There are supposed to be appointments for follow-up with a neurologist and a referral to an ear, nose, and throat specialist but I haven’t heard when those will be. The tinnitus is still constant and I may or may not have answers about that from my hearing test next week.
Over these last couple of weeks since my hospital visit, the severity of symptoms overall has been creeping higher. The current heat dome that is parked over us here in the Northeast US hasn’t been helpful; I’ve been feeling worse despite staying in our geothermal-heat-pump-cooled home as much as possible.
I’m looking forward to my vestibular therapy appointment on Wednesday, hoping that their experience will make more sense of my situation and maybe even arrive at a diagnosis that will explain some of my symptoms. It’s possible that there is more than one condition going on. For example, the tinnitus could have a cause not related to the possible inner ear issue.
Meanwhile, I’ve had to clear most of my usual activities from my schedule. My lack of concentration is making reading and writing more challenging, which is a shame, given that that is what I usually spend most of my time doing. I will try to do a quick update late next week after my vestibular therapy appointment and hearing test.
Hoping for some good news to share.
Other than being grossly unremarkable.
I got news yesterday of the death of a college friend.
Joan and I met in Ron Perera‘s first-year music theory class. Like me, Joan was a western Massachusetts native and a Catholic with close ties to her family. She was a talented violinist. I remember her giving a demonstration to our theory class, showing us all the techniques used to create different sonorities for us to use in our compositions.
For junior year, Joan went to the University of Michigan and decided to transfer there to finish her education. However, “once a Smithie, always a Smithie,” Joan remained a member of the Smith College class of ’82.
Joan went on to a successful career playing in orchestras, concluding with a long tenure with the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra in Washington, DC. Her performance schedule kept her busy but, two years ago, she was able to attend our 40th reunion in Northampton, visiting family in the area which hadn’t been possible during the height of the pandemic. While we had been keeping in touch over the years, it was the first time in decades that we had seen each other and it was great. We started speculating where we would each be living post-retirement when our 45th reunion rolled around.
Right after reunion, Joan developed COVID. Fortunately, she wasn’t very sick but she was bummed about missing some of her opera performances.
It was a shock when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoma that fall. She immediately began chemotherapy. Due to the intensity of the treatment and her weakened immune system, she had to stay at home, where her husband Paul was her loving and capable caregiver.
In summer of last year, Joan was able to resume performing while her treatment migrated to a maintenance regimen. This January, she was posting about the orchestra.
And, sometime since, her remission ended and the cancer came back with a vengeance.
I didn’t know.
Early this month, I had emailed her some new photos of my granddaughters and Joan sent a reply about how beautiful they are. Sending photos had been something I had done during her home-bound period and continued to do from time to time. I am grateful that I was unknowingly able to add a moment of love and beauty to her final weeks.
Hearing the news of Joan’s death from our Smith friends was a shock and brought waves of tears. It’s also brought to mind this recent Washington Post article, raising the disturbing prospect that SARS-CoV -2 infection may play a role in the development of cancer, particularly rare or unusual ones. It will take years of research to determine whether or not this is the case but the mystery of it all is disquieting.
The final commendation at Joan’s funeral will begin, “May the angels lead you into Paradise.” May there be a beautiful violin waiting for you there, Joan.
Photo Credit: Andrea Eastman
Today is celebrated as Father’s Day in the United States. My dad, known here at Top of JC’s Mind as Paco, passed away in 2021. My spouse B, father to our daughters E and T, is visiting with extended family in Maine; T is with him but I wasn’t able to make the trip.
Because of all that, I wasn’t really planning to observe Father’s Day today but I got an email from my younger sister, asking if I had a hard copy of the photo above. Nana and Paco had this portrait taken at Eastman Studios in Binghamton, New York, after they retired here. I don’t have an exact date, but I’m guessing it was taken in the late 1980s-early ’90s.
I went upstairs to look for it in the two large bags of photo albums and framed pictures that we had taken home from Paco’s last apartment. The first album I picked up was one that my sister had put together for one his last Father’s Days.
Of course, this photo was part of the album.
I spent some time going through it. It begins with photos from Nana and Paco’s youth and their wedding in 1954. There are photos of my sisters and me growing up, our home, extended family, and travels. Later, there are photos of them with their grandchildren and finally photos of their great-granddaughters.
So, I did get to spend time with my dad today and see his smile – multiple times.
Happy Father’s Day, Dad.
Miss you.
I briefly considered trying to stream-of-consciousness style sum up the last couple of weeks but thought better of it.
When I do manage to get that post together I’ll come back here to add the link.
[Update here.]
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week was sum, either alone or as part of a longer word. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/06/14/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-15-2024/
Joanne Corey 