Legendary Etta James Dies

The great Etta James passed away this morning just five days short of her 74th birthday. She had battled leukemia and dementia for some time.

I’m proud to be one of her biggest fans. I was privileged to see her six times in concert, and I’ve read her autobiography twice. The best concert experience I had with her was at the LA House of Blues with Niece Shannon. We stood about 10 feet in front of the great lady and could see every wink, grin and eye rolling by Miss James. She gets pretty raunchy in live performance. She can slip gracefully from suggestive jokes and motions into the silky sounds of ‘At Last’ and ‘My Funny Valentine.’

I also had the opportunity to see her at LA’s House of Blues when she was being filmed for a DVD. I looked hard at the finished product and found myself a few times in audience shots. I doubt that anyone else could spot me, but it was a thrill nonetheless.

Miss James had a turbulent life – heroin addiction, alcohol, bad men, obesity, and other health problems. Her voice got huskier and more edgy, but it only made her better. She received four Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I’ve said it before and am doing so again: Someone needs to make a movie of her life and Jennifer Hudson should play the lead. Beyonce played Etta in the movie Cadillac Records and didn’t even come close. She just doesn’t have the attitude.

The following link leads to a CNN story that provides more biographical information.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/20/showbiz/etta-james-obit/index.html

Naturally, I have to post a few of her songs, but if you only have time for one, this is it, my very favorite.
Damn Your Eyes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INrYDcQCoxs

My Funny Valentine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt7eqkPXO8A

You Can Leave Your Hat On (a raunchy great)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01L21HayIcU

At Last – This is a wonderful concert video of probably her most famous song. We used her original recording of this as our wedding march when Mike and I married in ’04.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADDigK8LwyE

I join the rest of the world in condolences to Miss James’ family and friends. I will miss her, too.

'The Most Dangerous Chef in America"

I was completely offended earlier this week when I heard that Paula Deen has Type 2 diabetes. Yes, I'm sorry that she has this disease, but it's sort of like when a heroin junkie od's. Didn't they see this coming?

I was even more offended when I learned that she's known about her condition for three years while she continued to push recipes dripping with butter, cream, grease and sugar. I just think that's evil. So now she's hooked up with a big drug company as a paid spokesperson -- yes, now she's telling the truth and perhaps will back away a bit from the dangerous foods she touts. One of her own sons has a cooking show titled "Not My Mama's Meals."

She might as well be hanging out at playgrounds offering free tastes of her food to get our children hooked. Oh, excuse me. They're already hooked.

Anthony Bourdain, who once called Deen "the most dangerous chef in America," also had this to say: "When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you've been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you've got Type 2 Diabetes ... It's in bad taste if nothing else," he said.

Read the rest here:

http://www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com/2012/01/paula-deen-has-type-2-diabetes-officially.html

Casey Anthony - My Turn

Everyone else has piled on with observations about the Casey Anthony trial and verdict, so I might as well join the fray. I watched a good bit of the trial live on HLN and have seen endless commentary – all of which gives me absolutely no authority to discuss it, but that hasn’t stopped anyone else with as little knowledge as I have.

First, I think the defense did a good job of throwing so many vegetables into the stew pot that the jury and interested viewers had difficulty finding the actual meat. The question of George Anthony sexually molesting Casey was thrown in. It makes no difference. He was not being accused of molesting and then killing Caylee. If Casey had been molested, we would have felt bad for her, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with whether she was or was not responsible for her daughter’s death. Molestation does not make someone a murderer.

Whether or not George had a mini-affair with the search volunteer has no bearing on Casey’s guilt or innocence. Yes, the difference between his response to that question and that of the volunteer goes to his credibility, but having extramarital sex doesn’t implicate him for any other wrongdoing. And, everyone lies about sex.

And then, the defense repeatedly directed your attention to a possible accidental drowning. There was no more evidence to that than there was evidence that the poor baby was attacked by space aliens. Smoke and mirrors.

The defense wanted us to believe that George Anthony instigated a cover-up for an accidental drowning. That George, an ex-cop, would make an accident appear like a murder is inconceivable to me. He’s a cop. His immediate instinct would be to dial 911. Tragically, accidental drownings are not rare. They happen every summer. It’s heartbreaking, but you call authorities. Anything else simply doesn’t make sense.

And then, they threw suspicion on the meter reader who found the remains and repeatedly reported the discovery to police.

It’s classic magician tactics. “Look over there while I pull the card out of my coat pocket. Wow. It’s magic.” That’s how I felt the defense ran their case.

I don’t know if the prosecution is required to provide a motive, but I shuddered at the one they delivered. They asserted that the fact that Caylee was becoming more verbal threatened to topple Casey’s house of lies. I just don’t buy it that any mother, even a bad one, would one day decide to do away with a child because she was beginning to talk. I think that something else happened.

I could have believed that Casey used chloroform to sedate her baby so she could go out. Maybe she used too much and that caused the death that she had to cover. But, here’s this. Why would anyone put duct tape over the nose and mouth of someone who is already dead? I can’t think of a logical answer to that question, and that makes me conclude that the tape was deliberately the cause of death.

Clearly, Casey was involved in some way in her daughter’s death. Even her parents reported the smell of death from the trunk of Casey’s car. Casey’s behavior in the 31 days following Caylee’s disappearance is the most damning evidence. Whether the child was missing or already dead, no normal mother parties and enters a hot body contest. No normal mother concocts lie after lie to misdirect investigators. She was trying to protect herself, and she didn’t care that her child was gone.

I won’t pretend to know what really happened. Hopefully, someone some day will divulge the truth.

Facebook Changes

Like most folks who are online, we are on facebook and currently distressed. They've changed profiles, messages, groups, and so muxh more.

And here's what's important -- they haven't asked us, their users. Today, they finally made me mad. The result is that I've created a group titled "Facebeook - No More Changes."

So, I created "Facebook - No More Changes." Join the group. Re-post. Tell facebook that they're not in charge. Their users are in charge. Please go to the group. Join. Re-post. Let's tell them that they need to ask us what we want.

It's "Facebook - No More Changes." Please, let's make the numbers count.

You Could Have Heard a Pin Drop

I ran into this today and wanted to share. JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when De Gaulle decided to pull out of NATO. De Gaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible. Rusk responded, "Does that include those who are buried here?" De Gaulle did not respond. You could have heard a pin drop. `````````````````````````````````````` When in England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush. He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return." You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?" A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?" You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?" Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German." You could have heard a pin drop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And this story fits right in. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. "You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready." The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it." "Impossible.. Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France !" The American senior gave the Frenchman a long, hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchman to show a passport to." You could have heard a pin drop.

It Gets Worse

First it was baby dolls that simulate breast-feeding (see post below), and now it's a padded, push-up bikini top for seven-year-olds. Oh, how I wish I were kidding. In the Abercrombie Kids line from Abercrombie and Fitch just such an item is being marketed for girls age 7-14. When parent outrage swelled, A&F renamed the item from Push-Up Triangle to Striped Triangle, but the padding stayed. What the heck does this tell little girls -- and little boys? See the story at http://abcnews.go.com/US/abercrombie-fitch-padded-bikini-top-year-olds-parents/story?id=13236904

Breast-feeding Baby Doll?

As of today, I may have heard everything. Don't get me wrong. Breast-feeding is great. It's extremely beneficial to infants and enhances the bond between mother and child. But now there's a doll that allows little girls to simulate breast-feeding, and I ask "why?"

I don't really want little girls thinking about their breasts-to-be. Let them think about arithmetic and reading. Let them pretend to be princesses or cowgirls or mountain climbers or President. But, seriously, little girls don't need to be concerned about whether or not they'll breast-feed 20 years down the road.

Check out the details at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,537261,00.html

Justice

Here's a piece I ran into about a little five-year-old boy who didn't fit someone's mold. Sometimes, folks, the right answer isn't the obvious one. I'm thinking parent conference -- referral for evaluation -- many other options. This teacher needs to sit in the corner wearing a dunce cap.

In May 2008, classroom disrupter Alex Barton, 5, was finally made by his teacher at Morningside Elementary kindergarten in St. Lucie County, Fla., to sit down and listen to the accumulated complaints of his classmates, who then were asked to vote on asking Alex to leave the class. (He lost, 14-2.) Shortly afterward, Alex was diagnosed with a form of autism, and his mother filed a federal disability discrimination lawsuit, citing Alex's "humiliation" by the voting incident. A settlement was reached in February 2011 when the school district agreed to pay Alex $350,000 (which included legal expenses). Said Ms. Barton, "Money can't take care of what (the school district) did to my family." [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 2-3-2011]

Two and a Half Men Minus Charlie?

Star of Two and a Hal Men sitcom Charlie Sheen seems to stay in the news for his raucous behavior, and now he’s back in rehab. Or, as they tell us, he’s in “home rehab.” CBS affirms that they’re interested in Sheen’s well being first and foremost. Well, that and all the money they make from the show.

Mike and I are fans of the adult-oriented tv show. Great writing. Top-notch acting by the entire ensemble. It’s really, really funny. Truly LOL funny. Another regular viewer of the show moaned to me recently after Sheen’s New York escapade, “What if the network terminates his contract? There would be no show without Charlie Sheen!”

I beg to differ. And I will present to you what I believe to be a perfectly plausible and entertaining way for the show to move forward sans Sheen.

First, we have to explain Charlie’s absence. A season or so ago, Sheen’s character branched out into writing and performing quirky children’s songs and became quite popular. So, we’ll say that Charlie Harper is on a world tour promoting his new album. Rose, Charlie’s stalker and a great character, can even report from time to time that she’s visited Charlie.

Alan Harper is Charlie’s brother who moved into Charlie’s beach house along with his son when his wife kicked him out about seven seasons ago. Alan’s character is played amazingly by Jon Cryer who has received at least one Emmy for Best Supporting Actor. Alan Harper could easily step into the starring role. His role has almost eclipsed Charlie’s while Sheen is still on the show.

Alan’s son Jake (the half in Two and Half) was really cute and funny seven years ago, but not so much now. Let’s write him off – maybe to the merchant marines,

But now we’re one and a half men short. That’s easy. First, MY show does what all other shows, the Bill Cosby show in particular, did whenever a cute little tyke grew up. You bring in another cute tyke. Alan went through several episodes wishing he had another child. So let’s have him adopt one. Maybe an ex-fling shows up and presents him with a five-year-old. Now there’s only a deficit of one man. And we’ve got that covered, too.

Judith, Alan’s acerbic ex-wife, married a second time to Jake’s pediatrician. To her horror, Alan and the new husband became friends, so (in my show) when Judith finally kicks out husband #2, he moves in with Alan. The funny, gawky Herb is a shoo-in for the number two spot. And there you go – another two and a half men.

The rest of the ensemble – Berta, the earthy housekeeper, and Evelyn, the plastic surgery sculpted, non-maternal mother of Alan and Charlie, plus Judith and Rose – continue doing the wonderfully funny things they do.

The show would have just as many plot options and just as funny as it is now. Everybody’s there except Charlie, and I don’t think he’d be missed. So, CBS, have at it.

Tragedy in Tucson

As all other heartfelt Americans, I have been horrified at the shootings of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and others in Tucson. The act was tragic beyond words and, while prayers continue for those recovering and the families of the deceased, attention also turns to the causes of this dreadful event.

Many are pointing to Sarah Palin’s website that showed rifle crosshairs superimposed over an image of Giffords’ district – and those of others on Palin’s target list. I am no fan of Sarah Palin, but the blame for this mass shooting should not rest solely in her lap. All the same, I expect she now certainly regrets her famous campaign quote: “Don’t retreat. Instead, reload!”

Yes, folks, political rhetoric is dramatically out of control. Politicians and partisan commentators seem to incite hate and fear rather than rational debate and intelligent questioning. But their anger doesn’t stand alone.

Our society has produced teenagers who shoot each other over a pair of tennis shoes. Last year in Memphis, a man shot and killed another man in a dispute over a parking place. Supposedly well-balanced parents end up brawling at their kids’ sports events.

It all seems to be part of a national devolution of good sense and the ability to disagree agreeably. Senseless violence in this country is a cancer that has metastasized to every segment of our society. It has to stop, and I believe we can reverse the trend – one person, one family, one school, one business at a time. Will you help?

New Year's Resolutions

With the Christmas glow dimming, our thoughts turn to the more frantic New Year’s Eve and the opportunities and fresh slate of a brand new year. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Here are some famous comments on the subject to get your ideas flowing.

Mark Twain

New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions.

Brooks AtkinsonDrop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

Bill Vaughan

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.

Jay Leno

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have met your New Year's resolution.j

James Agate

New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.j

Eric Zorn

Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.

Bill Vaughan

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Oprah Winfrey

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right.

Mark Twain

New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

Anonymous

Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.

Joey Adams

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions!

Anais Nin

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.

Oscar Wilde

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.

Anonymous

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other.

The Worst Generation

If you’re a member of the Baby Boomer generation – or interested in the group – you’ll want to take a look at the article on the other end of the following link. I mean, any article that begins with “I hate the Baby Boomers” is worth at least a partial read.

I’m a proud Boomer and was very curious about what might follow such a strong statement. I alternately chuckled and grimaced as I plowed through the writer’s logic. The author does make some relatively reasonable points along the way. He claims that we’re self-centered. Well . . . the groundswell of our numbers certainly created a societal tsunami that washed a wave of scurrying change by adults to accommodate us throughout the K-12 education system and beyond. Once we became teenagers with disposable income, product and services marketers licked their lips and targeted our allowances. It’s been that way ever since. Everybody wants Baby Boomer bucks. Advertisers still kowtow to us. Maybe that lifelong attention does incline us to expect it.

On the other hand, the term “Me Generation” was coined to describe the generation behind us, beginning around 1962. They were also called Gen Y and Echo Boomers and also self-absorbed.

At one point in the article, the author described Boomers as drinking, toking, fornicating and voting Ronald Reagan into office. I don’t know a lot about the hippies he described, but I never met one who was a Republican.

Toward the end of the article we learn that the writer is younger than the Boomer clan. Sounds like generation envy to me.

Check it out:
http://www.superseventies.com/worstgen.html

TSA Outrage

In the past, I have been somewhat ambivalent about TSA screenings at airport security. Okay, I did once refuse to remove my shoes and walk barefoot on the nasty floor. That earned me a serious pat down. Then I learned to take socks with me so I could comply and still have clean feet.

But now, with the new and extreme pat-down procedures, TSA screeners seem to be getting out of hand. More airports are sending them packing in favor of hiring private security firms with better-trained employees to handle that responsibility.

We, as a country, seem to handle airport security in a purely reactive manner. Someone tried a shoe bomb, so now we take off our shoes. Someone tried the underwear bomb, so now we have full-body scanning. Then terrorists put explosive material in a toner cartridge, so now airlines won’t ship toner cartridges – as if that’s the only way that damaging material could be placed in cargo. So very frustrating.

Israel, a country with a target painted on its back for many years, has an excellent record for air travel safety, and they don’t use some of our foolish methods. They profile. They have highly trained individuals working at airport security lines. Maybe we should get smart and hire them as consultants to perfect our airport procedures.

In the meantime, the following links will take you to real-life TSA outrages. The first is the manhandling of a little three-year-old. The second is a story about a TSA agent who pulled down the blouse of a female traveler and exposed her breasts. Unbelievable!

toddler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ByKOhAhsU

woman exposed:
http://gizmodo.com/5692583/woman-suing-federal-government-after-tsa-screener-exposed-her-breasts-to-entire-airport

The Death of Civility?

The Today Show aired an interesting segment recently based on a new book by Jane Jacobs titled The Death of Civility.

Have we completely morphed into a society without minimal, common courtesies? An era in which strangers who accidentally bump shoulders in a crowd snarl at each other? Where soccer moms and dads yell obscenities at the refs and other players and get into fistfights with each other? Where frustrated motorists scream vulgarities at other drivers and sometimes shoot them?

Take a look at recent headlines and you’ll answer “yes” to all of the above. Where did we go wrong? Who forgot to teach their children the magic of “please” and “thank you”? When did children forget to learn to share? How did we as a society allow violence and hatred to permeate our culture?

If you follow the link below to the Today Show, you’ll see a comment in which a reader asserts that today we’re all too stressed and in too much of a hurry to be civil. What a load of bunk! (Oh, was that not civil?) Taking a very few seconds for even the most basic elements of civility can lessen stress. Back to the shoulder-bump example. A quick smile and “excuse me” takes one second and allows the bump to become a non-incident. A response of “you #*$@^” just elevates both parties’ blood pressure and sets them up to growl at the next person. This is so obvious and basic that I can’t believe it’s even a topic of conversation.

I remember in the third grade I had a buddy at school named Terry B. He was walking home with me one day and we were going to play in my yard. But, first, I would need to take him inside, introduce him to my father and receive my father’s permission for Terry to stay and play for a while. The closer we got to the house, the more nervous I became. I knew from experience at school that Terry did not have the manners that were expected in our household. Finally, as I was about to open the front door, I turned to Terry and told him that he must say please, thank you, yes and no sir, and yes and no ma’am or I would not be allowed to play with him. Third grade. My parents taught me well.

Those are the small gestures that I believe – or hope – can serve as a foundation for larger acts of civil behavior. There weren’t always riots after sporting events. Young people didn’t always gang up and beat the odd kid in school. But then, my life motto is “I live in hope.” I politely avoid being disillusioned.

Check out the links below. Are we really doomed to become an angry, snarling society? Or can we elevate the importance of kindness? Tell me what you think.


Today Show - http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39946277/ns/today-today_people/
Book review: http://www.caddicks.com/blog/2010/11/03/death-of-civility/

Hospital Lesson Learned

It’s one thing to hear an expert on a tv talk show spoon out good advice. It hits home when you encounter the event in real life.

Everyone from Dr. Oz to Dr. Phil and all those in between will give you the same advice: take responsibility for your medical care; pay attention; ask good questions. Here’s why.

I spent a couple of days in the hospital last week. It was a bit of a surprise last Thursday, but I’m fine now. They did some tests, drew a bucket load of blood on an every-six-hour basis (which madly bruised my arm from wrist to crook of left arm), and the doc decided on a medication, then was ready to discharge me.

Saturday afternoon, a nurse came into the room to handle discharge paperwork. She began by stating that she would review the medications the doctor was prescribing for me. There were three.

I was startled. He’d only told me of one medication that he wanted me on. She continued.

She said that the first prescription was for drug X. “No. No way,” I said. “We had a long conversation about X and he decided not to give me that, but to put me on something else.”

She insisted that she had the signed document in front of her. I insisted, pointing to the end of the bed, that he’d stood right there and told me that he wasn’t going to give it to me. I told her that we needed to get this cleared up.

There was some muttering, and she went on. The next prescription was for a drug used to do something about the thyroid. “What?!” I told her there was nothing wrong with my thyroid. She said that thyroid problems sometimes cause the irregular heartbeat that I’d had. “Okay,” I replied, “but everyone reported that my blood work was fine. I don’t have a thyroid problem. Something is really wrong here.”

She moved on. The last Rx was for a tranquilizer. I did the “Whaat/!” again, and Mike laughed. I was about ready to take a tranquilizer. At that point, I was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, pounding my hand on the bed – and trying to get that woman’s attention. I told her there was no reason that the doc would have prescribed that for me. She insisted that she had his signed authorization.

I told her that we needed more than that. This was simply wrong. Someone needed to call the doctor and determine whether or not he had prescribed those meds for me. “If you won’t do it, I will,” I proclaimed.

She finally got the message and huffed out of the room. I took deep breaths and leaned back in bed wondering what she was doing to my heart rate.

Fortunately, my room was next to the nurse’s station and she’d left my door open and I have amazing hearing. She had actually placed the call and was talking to someone in his office. My ears perked up at “some questions from patient Patricia Berry . . .”

“Whaaaat?!” I turned to Mike and stammered, “Will you please go out there and tell her that my name is not Patricia frickin’ Berry?”

He did so and she returned to my room – perhaps embarrassed, but also defiant. She reclaimed her seat and presented her excuse. She was trying to discharge four patients and all the info was on one sheet of paper. “Simple mistake,” she said. I actually said the following: “That may be so, but you see, I’m vain, and I only care about me.” I probably could have said that better, but I guess I made my point. She still tried to wiggle out of responsibility, but I got her re-focused; we took the one Rx that we expected; Mike signed paperwork; and we got her out of the room. There was nothing else I cared to say to her.

The woman had not checked my wrist band when she came into the room, nor did she ask my name and birth date. She was careless. If you’re checking out four people, you might want to be four times as careful.

Truth is that nothing medically serious would have happened. When Mike finally had the prescriptions in hand, he probably would have noticed the foreign name. If not, the pharmacist certainly would have because he knows us. Worst case – we’d have had to go back to the hospital – as would have Ms. Berry – and get the prescriptions exchanged. I would not have taken the wrong meds.

But here’s the thing. If she had been dispensing meds instead of discharging, would she have omitted checking my bracelet? Would she have put the wrong med in my hand to consume? What she did this time was not potentially dangerous, but this kind of carelessness is definitely potentially dangerous. After we got settled (gratefully) back at home, I called my internist to clarify a different question and told him about the nurse. I don’t know if he will do anything.

I have not yet filed a complaint against her, but I think I will. Not so much for me, but for the potential that her carelessness could cause a more serious problem.

I fear that some folks resist doing what they perceive to be “causing a scene” or bucking authority. That mindset can be dangerous. Caregivers actually do have more than one patient, and they’re human. They make mistakes even though we depend on them not to do so. We each must be involved in our medical care, pay attention, research, refuse what we must refuse. And, most importantly, demand verification.

I learned this lesson first-hand. I hope it can give benefit to all of my readers.

Education Puzzlement

Students in the United States rank 17th internationally in science. They rank 24th in math. Twenty-five percent of our students drop out before graduation. What happened? What do we need to do to correct this?

Talk to me.

Online Dating Services - Buyer Beware

During light dinner conversation last night, Mike reminded me of these stories he’d shared previously. Don’t know why I didn’t write about them back then because they’re absolutely true and truly delicious. Here ya go.

Online dating services are commonplace these days as super-busy singles see their real-life options shrink for meeting people. With caution as a high priority, the routine generally takes folks from identifying likely dates, exchanging emails, progressing to telephone calls, and finally to meeting in-person, in daylight, in a public place.

These are the steps that are supposed to assist in weeding out the crazies. They didn’t work for a couple of Mike’s friends.

A lady we’ll call Patty had been investigating online dating and thought she’d found an interesting fellow. He said he was an entertainer; he had a good sense of humor; and they seemed to have enough in common for a coffee date. Patty said she would wear red. He said he’d be able to spot her.

Patty arrived at the designated place at the designated time and scanned the room hoping to see an attractive man headed in her direction. She quickly observed someone walking toward her with a big smile of recognition. Patty blinked, gulped and considered making a dash for the door.

The online Romeo had neglected to inform her that his “entertainment” gig was as a female impersonater. And there he was, fully decked out as Reba McEntire. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a female impersonater. But don’t you think you might mention that before a first date? Or don’t you think you might tell a person about that instead of showing up in full regalia? I’m just sayin’.

Patty is a polite lady, so she sat down with Reba for the coffee date, then went home and deleted him from her prospect list.

Then there was Mary’s coffee date. She was in her mid-40s, and the witty gentleman online was supposed to be 51, charming and available. As she drove into the parking lot of the meeting place, Mary saw a “mature” gentleman leaning on his cane at the front door and felt a sinking sensation.

She was right. The senior citizen was her date and he had seriously fudged about his age, but she would have coffee with him so as not to be rude.

Don’t know why she let him in her car to pick up coffee at the drive-through. Not a good plan. Both coffee and conversation were adequate, but there was not going to be a second date. Mary was looking for someone closer to her age. And something just felt odd.

They exchanged polite good-byes. The man exited her car, and Mary started driving away. Only moments later, she spotted his wallet that must have slipped out of his pocket onto the passenger seat. (Mary later surmised that he must have left it deliberately.) She circled back to the parking lot and, when she failed to see him, looked through the wallet for an address. While looking for that, Mary found his Medicare card indicating that he was at least 65. She located the necessary information and made the short drive to his house to return the wallet.

As Mary walked up the sidewalk to the front door, she could see that, although a storm door was closed, the front door stood open revealing a view of the house’s interior. Stepping onto the front porch, Mary saw no one in the living room so she rang the door bell. And then – Mary saw the dating service Lothario approaching the front door . . . completely naked. She threw down the wallet and ran like hell to her car.

I don’t know, but maybe these guys need some coaching on how NOT to send a lady screaming to the nearest exit.

'Memphis Beat' Mis-Step

Last night I watched the premiere of Memphis Beat on TNT. The reviews I’ve read this morning were quite positive. I have a slightly different view.

There were some strong positives about the show: good visuals of Memphis, excellent use of Memphis music, and a great PSA about music from Memphis that you thought came from Detroit. My personal highlight was Alfre Woodard who played the new precinct lieutenant in this cop show. The core plot was interesting as well.

On the minus side, I groaned at a few over-the-top, melodramatic speeches like the one from the detective star of the show exhorting a group of uniformed officers before a neighborhood search: “Aren’t we all here because we love Memphis?” It was almost “Win one for the Gipper.”

Here’s my really big gripe about Memphis Beat. The show’s writers and producers apparently suffer from the delusion that all Southerners are hicks. I can’t recall a single character last night who spoke proper English. I blame the hick factor partially on the use of Jason Lee in the starring role who formerly played the title character in My Name is Earl, a program that would be listed under the definition of “redneck.”

It’s a sad commentary on the prejudice that still exists about Southerners and the South. May I point out that many great writers came from the South: William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, John Grisham. FedEx originated in Memphis. Holiday Inns was born here. The South produces literate, talented people. Perhaps the Memphis Beat writers should break through the negative stereotype while still portraying the charm of the region.

If that can happen, Memphis Beat might even become popular in Memphis.

A Spelling Conundrum

When I recently heard there were protesters outside the national spelling bee, I thought I must have misunderstood. Why the heck would anyone protest a spelling bee?! Then I learned that they were objecting to the difficulty level of standard English spelling.

They’re right. English is a difficult language, but I’m not sure that trying to simplify it would be simple. The word through, they claim, has too many letters. It should probably be thru. But what happens to threw? Would it become thru as well?

Then there’s lead – as in “I will lead you through the maze.” Not to be confused with lead – the iron-like metal. Never to be confused with led – as in “I led you through the maze.”

But wait. Corn is also referred to as maize. Would that become mays?

I’m confused, in a daze. Or should that be days?

Maybe the protesters are right after all.

I Fought the Phone -- -- -- And I Won

One of my tasks last week was to call our insurance company and inquire about an unpaid claim. Immediately I know that you know that this is a dreaded undertaking.

I dialed the 800 number and was not surprised to find myself entering a robotic menu. Bot-man proceeded to obtain identifying information only surprising in that the recordings included a clickety-click sound to mimic a human’s typing the data. I was then put through several choices which I made carefully in hopes of reaching a human being.

As I sensed my destination approaching, bot-voice posed the instruction for me to provide the exact dates of service in question. I was stumped. We had submitted nearly a year’s worth of pharmacy receipts. Even if I’d anticipated this question, surely they wouldn’t want the date of each time we’d filled a prescription. The only answer that immediately came to mind was “2009.” Bot-voice responded: “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand. Would you please repeat?” Robots are very polite.

I scrambled for a new answer. “All year.” That didn’t work either. Like a naughty child, I was being sent back into menu purgatory, but was somehow disconnected en route. Or maybe deliberately.

Next try. I yawned through the interminable collection of ID info. Went through the round of choices, confident that I was headed in the right direction and was prepared to answer the trick question that had previously stumped me.

There it was. Give dates of claims. “I want a person.” It couldn’t hurt to try. Bot-man couldn’t understand me again. “Wanna person,” I said quickly. Bot-man again apologized for not understanding and then said the beautiful words: “I’ll transfer you to an agent.” Omigod, I had broken through. I almost heard the human’s entire greeting before we were disconnected again.

I muffled a scream, but realized I’d found the answer.

Eagerly, I redialed and zipped through the lengthy, but now predictable portions of the call. Then the critical question. “List dates . . . blah blah.” I replied quietly: “mumblemushmumble.”

Bot-voice didn’t exactly say HUH? – but he did apologize and ask me to repeat. Just as quietly and mush-mouthed, I said, “mumbledymumble.”

“Please hold while I transfer you to an agent.”

Yee-hah!

Nice lady answered. Efficiently took care of our issues. And I learned a valuable lesson that I hand to you as a gift. Telephone menus don’t like mumblers. Next time, I’ll just do it earlier in the menu.