Potholes

I grew up in the northeast, and spring was pothole http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pothole season. But in West Texas, pothole season has more to do with an extended period of moisture, whether it is rain or snow. Well, over the last few weeks, we have had an extended period of rain, and with the rain, came the potholes. That is to be expected:  the ground swells with the moisture and buckles the top layer of the road, loosens it and makes it vulnerable to becoming a pothole.   Some places are worse than others.  Often, they are repaired quickly.  That is good.

Is it the Nature of the Sport?

Why are there so many domestic violence crimes surfacing among the players of the National Football League.  I have an hypothesis.  American football is a violent sport.  How do you separate the violence in your profession from the violence in your personal life.  I am not sure you do.

Years ago, when I started working in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice http://tdcj.state.tx.us/ system, the then many Vietnam War veterans generally said the same thing:  We were taught to kill for our country, and then sent home from the war and not given any other skills, so we continued doing what we knew:  violence.  It makes sense.

Learning from the patients I dealt with in TDCJ, I realized that many of them were raised in environments in which the only answer to conflict was violence. They thought a violent response to an affront was acceptable.  With that mind set, of course violence will wage in people's lives.

And, we are becoming more immersed in violence:  Many of our games and play are violent, especially video and computer games.  Violence in the news media, and in the  entertainment media desensitizes us to violence.  Young people do not see violence as horrible acts against humanity. They see it as temporary entertainment, possibly even something that is not permanent as the players revived in the next episode of play.  I think many young people have the mind set events in real life can be "do overs" as they can be in games, and in the entertainment world.  Like little children, even young adults do not understand that violence is life and death, and there are no second chances.

So, a person whose profession is violent, who past times are violent, whose upbringing may have taught him or her that violence is the acceptable answer to conflict, can be expected to live a personal life of violence, right or wrong. So, is it any wonder that NFL players have violence in their personal lives? 

Sports and Social Responsibility

Most recently, there has been a rash of events of domestic violence in the lives of NFL http://www.nfl.com/ players. I am not going to rehash the stories here.  I am going to write about the role of the professional athlete and their place in public as a role model.

Professional athletes are not perfect, and never have been.  Babe Ruth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth was reportedly a womanizer who drank to much alcohol. Lance Armstrong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong. tried to beat the drug testing authorities.  Mickey Mantle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mantle drank too much, for years. Ted Williams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Williams was criticized for not being present at the birth of a child. In times past, the press allowed them their transgressions. More or less.

NASCAR has their bad boys.  They have played down the "rum runner" history of Junior Johnson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Johnson.  Currently, Tony Stewart http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/16/us/tony-stewart-grand-jury/index.html, who has a history of anger problems, is under scrutiny for his part in the on track death of Kevin Ward Jr, at Canandaigua Race Track earlier this year.

Michael Vick was castigated, and expelled from the NFL, for his part in dog fighting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick.  Michael Vick was "rehabilitated" and welcomed back into the NFL, such was his talent.

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps has had his share of legal and social problems.

Charles Barkley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Barkley famously said that he is not a role model. Maybe he did not get into professional sports to be a role model, but guess what, when someone becomes a superstar, they are cast as a role model, whether or not they like it.

Pennsylvania State was embroiled in a child abuse scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_child_sex_abuse_scandal from which they could not extricate themselves, and which took down the (formerly) beloved Coach Joe Paterno.

Don Sterling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Sterling former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers was banished from the NBA for his racist comments.  Atlanta Hawks Bruce Levenson http://www.nba.com/2014/news/09/07/hawks-owner-statement-on-team-sale/index.html voluntarily resigned based on years old emails that had racist comments.

So now, the NFL has several players who are being investigated for domestic abuse incidents: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/15/us/nfl-fallout/index.html Ray Rice, Ray McDonald, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Hardy, if not others.

The NFL authorities keep talking about "getting it right." But what is "getting it right."  I fully support the "innocent until proven guilty" philosophy of our country.  So, I am not sure what the NF response should be.  I think the "deactivate status" works:  a player cannot play, but is still on the payroll.  It is equivalent to some local situations in which school officials have been charged with child abuse, and "suspended with pay."  This keeps them (ostensibly) away from the students, but allows them a livelihood until a verdict is achieved.

But first and foremost, their response should be that they have zero tolerance for domestic violence of any kind.  I am comfortable with the response that they do not know if someone is guilty of domestic violence, but they need to contain the situation and the involvement of the player in their sport until the situation has been resolved.

But really, what is our expectation of professional athletes?  Realistically or not, we expect them to present a positive role model that presents their team and their sport in a positive light.

Is that fair? Is that realistic? Babe Ruth's transgressions were generally downplayed  As were Junior Johnsons, and Michael Phelps. Why do we forgive some athletes, and crucify others?

Years ago, the press was more forgiving of our sports heroes.   But they sure got into the lives of our entertainment stars.  Should the public scrutiny be the same, for sports heroes, entertainment stars and political bigwigs.   I think it should.

People do not accidently find themselves in the role of sports hero, entertainment star or political bigwig.  It is a career path down which they purposefully, and dutifully roll. 

Entertainment stars have long been known for their scandalous behavior. And, many survive the publicity, usually because a newer, juicier story comes along.

Sadly, in this day and age, people do not always get into politics for the common good.  Often, politicians are drawn by greed for wealth and power.  And, our politicians may not start out with wealth and power, but they usually end up with both, at least while in office. Our leaders just are not noble anymore. (If they ever were.)

So, why do we hold our sports stars to such higher standards and ideals?  I am not sure.  But I think it is in part because we pay large sums of money to these athletes so they can continue to play the games we love.  And, because they are playing, it is as if we think they continue to be young innocents. 

I think it is also in part because these athlete perform wonderful feats of strength and daring do, and garner our admiration.  And because they do have our admiration, we endow them with special powers and character traits that make them special.  We want them to be special, good, innocent and right.  We want them to be superheroes, and lift them upon a pedestal of goodness and right.

Is that realistic?  Probably not. 

I think it is amazing that we hold our athletes to codes of conduct that some of their fans violate on a regular basis.  Because we violate those codes, does that mean they should or can without recrimination?  I believe the sports heroes should be subject to the same laws as the rest of us, and should not be given a "bye" because of their fame and fortune.  Granted, there wealth gives them access to better legal representation than most of us could even think to hire.

And, there are always those who will hang on to stars for the secondary gains that association with the wealthy, powerful and famous provides us. 

O J Simpson escaped conviction when accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Simpson, and waiter Ron Goldman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_the_State_of_California_vs._Orenthal_James_Simpson. 
It was like the jury bought into Simpson's fame and gave him a pass for his involvement or behavior. Not so, years later, when he was arrested for robbery in Nevada http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Nevada_v._Orenthal_James_Simpson,_et_al. The American public could not be bought off by his fame twice.

And, since then, sports figures have been held to that higher standard.  Should they be?  I think the law should be applied equally to all, and if domestic violence is not tolerated by sports figures, it should not be tolerated any where in our society.  Child abuse, and sexual exploitation should not be tolerated anywhere in our society, no matter the perpetrator. 

I know that is not going to be the case.  I believe there is currency for prosecutors to go after sports figures when they commit crimes, especially domestic violence crimes. The prosecutors benefit from the publicity.  I wonder how vigorously these same prosecutors are pursuing the others in their jurisdictions accused of the same crimes.

So, should their sports sanction these accused?  Well, as I said, innocent until proven guilty.  But, being accused brings  shame on the sport, and the sport does have the right to sanction players for bringing bad publicity to the sport. (To avoid sin, avoid the near occasion of sin.) We cannot keep our sports pure, but we can insist that the mess their athletes create be cleaned up quickly and thoroughly, but judiciously.

If the accused are found not guilty, they can be given second chances, as would any common citizen. (Do we give people found not guilty of heinous crimes a second chance?  Sometimes.)  Of course, it is not that easy.  But these accused must go on, as we all must, when we make mistakes.  Accept the responsibility, accept the consequences, including punishment or re-integration as the verdict requires or allows.   The Michael Vick case is an example of that, good or bad.

Flooding in Lubbock

We got more than 4 inches of rain last night.  And, there was flooding in Lubbock http://kfyo.com/evening-thunderstorm-creates-flooding-and-power-outages-in-lubbock/.  Even today, there were places in town where there was water on the roads, and the evidence of flooding remained.  

Like so many places in the southwest, Lubbock is not set up for large amounts of rain in small amounts of time. The drainage is awful. The ground is heavily clayed, and is either hard pan dry or, now waterlogged. 

So, of course it floods in Lubbock when we get a lot of rain in a short period of time.

Thunder Storms!

The weather forecast included a strong possibility for thunder storms to occur in the afternoon and evening.  I watched the clouds all day, and they built and dissipated to the north and west.

When we left work at 5 PM or a little after, tonight, there was a small cell to the south west of the unit, and a light ridge of clouds to the north.  But really, nothing promising as far as rain goes.

My plan for the night was to go home and feed the cats, go to the Lifestyle Center to exercise in the pool, return some books at the library, and pick up some more, then get some groceries, including the Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Liver https://www.fancyfeast.com/gourmet-cat-products/wet-cat-food/gravy-lovers/chicken-hearts-liver-feast-in-gravy that Sake will eat.

I had finished feeding the cats and was cleaning cat pans, when the weather radio went off, alerting us to a severe thunderstorm warning.  A warning means it is in the area.  So, I watched the TV and hunkered down, including putting the car in the garage. These weather conditions meant the pool at the Lifestyle Center was closed. I knew without even calling.

After about an hour and a half, the storm had dissipated some, and I did go to the grocery store, but blew off the library.

The storms had a lot of impact on Lubbock tonight.  My power flickered briefly.  In fact, this is the third time I have been on the computer, because it seemed when I thought the storm had died, it resurrected when I got on the computer. 

But that is minor.  There was also street flooding. And the South Plains Fair http://www.southplainsfair.com/ certainly felt the effects, because the Midway rides had to be closed, and people had to seek shelter in the buildings.

Initially as the storm rolled in the meteorologists suggested that it would blow through.  But, it has not. Or, at least, it is not blowing through as quickly as the meteorologists suggested it would.  

Although the farmers probably want the weather to dry so they can get the cotton in, we need the rain.  I saw some statistics on the level of lakes http://www.waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/statewide and it is appalling. Of course, most of these are man made lakes, so why would we think they would consistently hold high levels of water? But we do.

This time, as I am on the computer, it seems the lightning has abated.  The rain continues, however, but that is okay.

Weather and Yard Work

We have had rain on and off now since last week.  I had thought to mow the yard last Sunday, but it was wet, and I hate to mow when it is wet.  And, on Saturday, I had done some serious housework, and my back was bothering me.  So, I let it go.  I thought I might mow one night during the week, as the temperatures were not suppose to be too high.

But, it continued to be wet.  And, my back still was bothering me.  I laid off on a couple of the exercises that I thought was aggravated the pain, as it felt more like muscle pain than the nerve pain I know I have, and that helped.  I also remembered to eat bananas, because some of the muscle pain was spasms, which might be due to low potassium.

I have kept to the schedule of water therapy regularly. I started feeling better by Wednesday.  But, when I left work, I saw lightning.  I did not check on the pool status.  I do not care if the pool was open, if I saw lightning, I did not need to go to the pool, so I did "dry exercises"instead.  Thursday, I did not exercise, and Friday, I was hurting.  But I was in a workshop most of the day, and went to the pool. And felt much better Friday night.

Today, I ran errands in the morning, and rested until later in the afternoon, then did housework and yard work! After the housework, which usually bothers my back, I was not hurting.  And, I was not hurting after the yard work!

I am hoping to do more yard work on Sunday.  I have to remember that I have to rest a lot.  But that is okay.

I am now taking Arthrotec http://www.rxlist.com/arthrotec-drug.htm as my nsaid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-steroidal_anti-inflammatory_drug. I am not sure it is as good as Celebrex http://www.celebrex.com/default.aspx. But, it makes the insurance happy. I take the Arthrotec twice a day, which is helpful to me  I forget to take the pravastatin http://www.drugs.com/pro/pravastatin.html  at bedtime, but my provider agreed I could try it in the morning, or do as I had started doing, and take it before bedtime.  So, with taking the Arthrotec, I am reminded to take the pravastatin, too.

So, the sun came out late this afternoon for a while. We may have some weather blow in tonight, but I am hoping for some clearing so I can do some yard work. We shall see.

Am I Being Played?

That Sake is ill with a mouth infection is well documented.  The Monday before Labor Day I took her into the vet because she seemed to just barely eat over the weekend, although it did not feel like her weight was down (it was not.)  She objected strongly to being crated for the trip to the vet, and when she said "aaah" (hissed), the vet said her mouth did not look as bad as it had. 

Since then, her eating habits have not varied much:   She eats a little at meal time.  When I am not home during the day, I do not know what she does, but she does not show up at meal time as if she is very hungry, sniff the food, and leave. She may or may not show up at meal time.  Because she prefers her food fresh, I wait until she shows up to put it out, and she usually eats something, even if it is a small amount of something.

She has been getting chicken, and eating at it  She has stopped eating beef liver, but continues to get chicken liver, which she eats at.  Haiku likes chicken liver, too.  I discovered Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Liver, http://www.fancyfeast.com/gourmet-cat-products/ and the cheddar meals.  She really goes for the Gravy Lovers Chicken and Liver.  Which makes sense, since I am giving her chicken and chicken liver. I add the cheddar meal for variety.  Sometimes she chows down. Sometimes, no.  But I know Taki and Haiku have started invading her space on the dining table and sharing in her foods.

Sake has been grooming more.  She also has been more active, chasing around the house, asking to sit in the garage.  She hisses at Taki when Taki tries to invade her space while Sake is eating (when she was really sick, she just walked away.)  She is also asking to eat on the kitchen floor with the other cats, and not away from them, as she had before.  And, if she is interrupted while she is eating, she is not easily frightened off, as she had been for a while.

She is still matted, and not as fluffy and chunky as she had once been.  But, I think she is doing better. We will be going on 4 weeks since we have been to the vet. This is good. But in the past, her eating as turned off, as if a switch was thrown, which could happen any time.

But, she is doing better.  She woke me at 5:30 this morning, so I fed all the cats before I went back to sleep.  At about 7:30, everybody wanted treats again, and they got them.  About noon, I sat down to eat lunch. Sake joined me on the dining table, checked out what I had, did not want what she had, but after I finished lunch, she ate.  She did the same thing at dinner time tonight. (She does not usually get to sample what I have.  Haiku will eat right off my plate, even if it is inappropriate for a cat (too spicy), but Sake does not.) So, I am not sure this delaying action is all about. Today, I fed Sake 5 times. She ate some every time. And during the week, when I am at work, most of the chicken and chicken livers have been disappearing, along with some of the canned food she likes.  

I hope she is better. 

Yeah, Lubbock Cooper

The Lubbock Cooper High School football team http://www.everythinglubbock.com/story/d/story/lubbock-cooper-pirates-to-play-on-national-tv/38863/OMgFx6FRJ0a0m3Hfg_S3tw played Stephenville at Stephenville tonight, on national television, on ESPN2.

Lubbock Cooper prevailed.  I tuned into the game late, and only watched the last 8 minutes of the game.

I am not sure how much high school football will be followed on national television. But if it is, what good publicity for Lubbock Cooper ISD http://www.cooperisd.net/ a school district in rural Lubbock County, just south of Lubbock city proper.

And the announcers were pushing the Cooper quarterback, who they said was a recruit prospect for Texas Tech University http://www.ttu.edu/.  The head football coach for Texas Tech, Kliff Kingsbury http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kliff_Kingsbury was at the game tonight, although it sounded like he arrived late for the game.  My question is, is Stephenville such a good football team that he needed to travel to see the Cooper team play against them? Or was he responding to a community expectation of his being interested in this game?  Sorry, I am a sceptic. 

The Roosevelts

 I have been watching The Roosevelts http://video.pbs.org/program/roosevelts/ on PBS.  It is showing twice each night as it airs on KTTZ http://kttz.org/.

It is interesting to me that this is a mix of personal stories and political stories. There was a lot of personal tragedy in their lives. There is a lot of potential personal scandal in their lives.  By today's standards, some enterprising reporter would ferret it out, and paint it in the worst possible light, even if it was not scandalous. And because it would be painted scandalous, it would take on a life of its own, no matter what the truth was. 

The Roosevelts were remarkable people. Because they withstood hardship and tragedy. Because they understood service to their country. Eleanor and Franklin seemed to really understand democracy.  Eleanor really championed "the little people," the minorities, the underprivileged. 

I think Franklin was right when he said if he failed, he would be the last President of the United States.  I am so glad he succeeded, even if it took a world war to help him.

Heavy Rain

When I left work tonight, the skies were filled with black clouds to the north and west.  Sure enough, I drove into the storm.  Not much thunder and lightning, but slightly flooded streets.  I stayed away from areas that would channel the water.  I actually had decided to run a couple of errands on the way home from work.  That took me on a route that allowed me to avoid areas that channel water.

I do not know if they closed the pool at the Lifestyle Center, but I saw lightning and heard thunder, so I did not go. I can exercise at home, and I did.

The heavy rain did not last long.  But we have had rain off and on tonight.

The air is heavy and moist.  Not cold, though.

Things Happen for a Reason

I am reading The Men Who United the States http://simonwinchester.com/books/the-men-who-united-the-states/ by Simon Winchester, who by the way is not a native born citizen of the United States.  I am nearing the end, and read the section on NPR http://www.npr.org/, which by his reporting was initially thought of as a radio system to unite the country. 

It started me thinking about what unites this country.  Before September 11, 2001, I was unaware of people approaching uniformed (military) strangers in public places saying "Thank you for your service to our country."  Although it was something I thought people should be proud of, I never thought to thank any one, including a police officer or fireman or EMT.  Now, it is appropriate and very acceptable to thank the military and first responders for their service.

The first time or two I said as much to a stranger, I felt I was reading very stiltedly from a cue card. Not that I did not mean it, but it felt strange.  Now, when I say thank you, I frequently have a catch in my throat.

Our nation has always celebrated historical and memorable events, anniversaries and holidays.  But as I get older, and I know I have said this before, I pay more attention to those celebrations for their meaning, not their fun.

Tonight I watched The Star Spangled Spectacular http://video.pbs.org/video/2365312956/  celebrating the 200th anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner.  I am wondering if an extravaganza like this would have occurred before 9/11, and more to the point, would I have cared if it did.  I think back to the late 1970's, early 1980's when I was lectured on proper national anthem and flag etiquette by someone who grew up in the south, and who's family still refers to the War between the North and the South as the War of Northern Aggression.  I knew proper flag etiquette, and national anthem etiquette, but had grown away from it, from caring.  From believing even.  That was a  lesson I will never forget. 

But being patriotic then was not popular. It was okay, but not for the ceremonial, the honor and respect, but for the celebration and hoopla.  I am thankful we have brought the honor and respect back into the celebrations.

The attack on this country brought us together in a way no president, no social policy, no educational program could.  After 13 years we still remember. 

I know, with time, the emotional and reverential attitude will dissipate. It took a long time, but it did, after Pearl Harbor. And it did after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  But we can preserve and kindle it for as long was we can.

I Am So Mad At My Insurance Company

I am so mad at my insurance company, United Health Care http://www.uhc.com.  I wrote about needing to change prescriptions.  Talking to my doctor's office today, they switched me to Arthrotec, http://www.rxlist.com/arthrotec-drug.htm which can be had in generic, DICLOFENAC SODIUM AND MISOPROSTOL. I checked with the insurance, and they said it went through. 

So, I picked this up tonight.  It cost more for me than the Celebrex cost me.  The diclofenac is listed on the Wal-Mart $4 list, but not the combination medication.  The misoprostol helps to protect your stomach.

I don't get it.  The insurance will have me spend more money for a generic than I would spend with a brand name medication that was working.

I hope this works.  It will be worth it if it does.

The Air Smells Wet

Well, the air in Lubbock, Texas is generally very dry. It can rain really hard, and a few hours later, everything is dry, and if the wind blows, there is dust in the air!

Often, when rain is imminent, we can smell ozone. 

But, not tonight, The National Weather Service http://www.srh.noaa.gov/graphicast.php?site=lub&gc=2 says we may have some rain in the near future, and the temperatures will drop some. So big deal, this is typical for this time of year.

But the air smells wet. I hope that is a harbinger of rain. We always need rain. Even when we are flooded, we always need rain.

Watching the D'Backs

So, the regular reader knows that I am a Yankees and Red Sox fan.  I like baseball, but usually cannot bring myself to watch other teams.  But my Phoenix family as inculcated me into fan hood of the Arizona Diamondbacks http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=ari.  I do not go out of my way to find their games on TV, but when I find one, and am not otherwise engaged, I will watch a game. As I am tonight.

The Diamondbacks (D'backs as they are known affectionately) are not in any kind of post season contention this year. But, watching their game is still interesting.  I find baseball relaxing.  I think it is the pace of the game, and the history that is discussed during he course of the game.

Grass

Have I written about cat grass before?  I am not going to research all of my cat posts, there are too many for me to go through tonight.

My cats like grass.  That is one of the primary reasons that Haiku and Sake like to go outside: So they can eat grass.  Lately, I have not put them outside.

I buy commercially prepared cat grass that I can grow in containers in the house. The favorite of my cats is Smart Kat Sweet Greens  http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/SmartyKat-SweetGreens-Cat-Grass-Kit/32836871.  It takes two to five days to sprout, and depending on atmospheric conditions, may last 4 days to a week or so. 

Because this brand was not always available in the stores, I have tried other versions, but my cats like this best.

We are growing cat grass right now.

Sake is eating sparsely, but eating. Over the weekend, she was a little sketchy with her eating. Sunday, she was wanting something, but I could not figure it out, at first. Until she sat at the back door. She did not try to get out, but when I brought grass clippings in, she was immediately interested. As was Taki.  Sake has been interested every day since.

I cannot tell that Sake is eating well. I have seen her eating. But, she does not eating much food at a time. But her food preferences disappear.

It does not feel like she has lost weight.  Sunday, her tummy felt hard.  I do not know about cats, but when I did adoption work with infants, I learned that hard tummies meant gas or
constipation.  The cats seem to like grass to help with digestion.

There have been some hairballs and cat vomit in the house the last few days.  So, I think the cat grass is working.

Tonight, Sake gnawed on my knuckles. I am not sure what that means, except that maybe her teeth and gums were not too painful tonight? I hope.

And, she had had a chance and took the chance to eat some grass.

I Think I am Addicted!

It was not a particularly bad day, but just a little frustrating.  The biggest frustration is that I am in pain.  I was not in pain until last Wednesday. Until then, I was taking Celebrex and doing the exercise regimen that I learned in physical therapy, including going to the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx 2-3 times a week to do the pool exercise regimen that I started at physical therapy.

In August, my insurance company, United Health Care http://www.uhc.com notified me I was in the "step therapy" program, and I had to try medications other than Celebrex, as they would not cover the cost of Celebrex.  I went to my doctor, got a prescription for meloxicam, which I started last week. The first day I took it, I could tell I was not getting the pain relief I was getting with Celebrex.

I waited a few days, and matters only got worse.  I am very frustrated.  I had worked hard to do physical therapy and follow up on my own to not lose the strides I had made at pain management.  It was thrown into the trash by my insurance company.

I was also frustrated trying to communicate with my doctor's office.  Rather than call me back as I requested, so we could discuss this, they just ordered a new prescription. The insurance tells me they did not request a pre-authorization. If I do not follow instructions from my doctor, they get upset, but they do not follow instructions from me. So, I got upset.

This is the kind of stuff, when I am in pain, that can set me to tears. It is manageable. It is fixable, it is not life-threatening. But it takes more time and energy than I think it should.  If people did their jobs the way they are supposed to, this would not happen. 

I understand the insurance dance.  I do not always agree.  In fact, I think managed care creates more costs to consumers than it manages costs.

I am a firm believer in "if it is not broke, so don't fix it."  But it seems corporate America does not believe in that (Coca Cola http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke.) And, as we have learned, my insurance company is included in this.

Yesterday, a coworker reminded me that my muscle spasms may be due to low potassium.  I think she was right: I had been eating bananas, but had not done so for about 10 days, until yesterday.  Today, I woke up without the muscle spasms I had been having, but still had some of the other pain.

So, anyway, I went to the Lifestyle Center tonight after work.  It was like magic. I got in the water, and it felt like my stressors and pain melted away.  And they did.  I did my regular routine (actually I have several variations of a regular routine) which takes a little more than an hour. 

Although I still have some discomfort, it is greatly diminished tonight.

A colleague who has been going to water groups at the Lifestyle Center for some time told me she felt it was very relaxing and helpful as a de-stressor.  I got it tonight. I was really looking forward to my time in the pool, and it was just so soothing and calming.  I am hooked!

The Russians are Reading Me

I look at the statistics of my readers.  Or whatever they are. Since I get very few comments, I think my blog is being cyberscanned for keywords, but not read.

Well, lately the Russians have been my top readers. I mentioned this recently in light of the Russian hackers scandal.

Well, the last couple of days, a post I did regarding Tchaikovsky has garnered the most interest of my posts. This makes me think the Russians are reading me.

I hope they enjoy my posts. They are welcome to comment. There is nothing newsworthy or internationally significant in the blog, so they are wasting their time.  But maybe, that is good  If they are wasting their time on me, they might miss something important someplace else!

Reading

I like to read.  I can get lost in reading, tune out my surroundings and lose all track of time.  As I have gotten older, and do more and more on the computer at work, I find reading during the week after work more difficult. Although, not impossible.

But, I usually read for hours on the weekend. This past weekend, it was not so.  There were several factors involved, and I did what I wanted to do otherwise this past weekend. But, I missed the opportunity to just sit back and read.  I felt like I lost my weekend.

I was able to spend some time reading tonight.  It really did help me to relax.  This is good.

I LIke Seafood

I live in Lubbock, Texas and I like seafood. That does not seem to be a congruent or compatible combination. But, it is what it is.

When I first moved to West Texas some 37 years ago, I was traveling for business, and had to drive through Andrews, Texas some 100 miles or so to the south west of Lubbock. As I approached the town, I saw a billboard advertising a seafood restaurant in Andrews.  I had to stop.  Imagine my surprise when the menu was mostly variations of fried catfish, with one fried shrimp meal available.  I did not eat there.  Catfish is not seafood, and I am not a big fan of fried shrimp.  But, I do remember that experience.

I learned that people in Lubbock do not like seafood, and their biggest experience with seafood was Long John Silvers, http://www.ljsilvers.com/our-story, Red Lobster http://www.redlobster.com/, the Shrimp Galley http://shrimpgalley.com/wordpress/ or maybe River Smiths http://riversmiths.com/index.php.  The seafood was generally not fresh, and the menu was predominately fried food.

Later, Rockfish http://www.rockfish.com/lubbock.html and Joe's Crab Shack http://www.joescrabshack.com/ came to Lubbock.  Over the years, the selections at all the restaurants got better, with more fresh seafood, but usually, it is still previously frozen.

The supermarkets offer seafood, mostly previously frozen, but sometimes, especially at Sprouts, https://www.sprouts.com/ you can get some very fresh and tasty seafood.  Sometimes.

Recently, Joe's Crab Shack has been offering Southern Fried lobster. What idiot thought of that!  I cannot imagine a less imaginative way to spoil lobster!  Come on! That is disgusting, and a very good reason not to go to Joe's Crab Shack.

Often, when I eat out at other places, Mexican food or Italian food restaurants, I will get a seafood selection. Or buy something in a supermarket.  So, I eat seafood regularly.  Especially shrimp.  I eat a lot of shrimp.

An Open Door

With the gentle rain and the cool weather, I have opened the front door to get some fresh air into the house.  Sake immediately went to sit at the door.  I moved a chair so she could sit on it and look out the door, and she took advantage of that almost immediately. Well, her looking out the door did not last long. She curled up, but was not really asleep, but was just enjoying the fresh air, the sound of the rain and the view of the front yard.

A Nice Rain

As predicted by the National Weather Service http://www.srh.noaa.gov/graphicast.php?site=lub we are having rain today.  There were prospects of severe weather and flash flooding, and there has probably been some of that, thanks to Hurricane Norbert's outliers, in various parts of the Southwest.  But in Lubbock, we have had misty rains, gently rains, intermittent rains.  I have not heard thunder. I have not seen lightning.  It has been a grey day, with the clouds thickening and thinning throughout the day, but no severe weather.

For the most part, the rains are coming in from the south and west. Last night, I opened the north window protected by the front porch, the east facing window in the spare bedroom, and the south facing windows over my bed.  I figured if the rains became really bad from the south, I would be awoken by rain coming in on me.  Or, if there were severe storms, with the open windows, I would hear them.

Well, when I woke this morning, the house was dry. There was .5 inch of rain in the rain gauge.

This is a good rain.  Hopefully it will help the drought, fill some reservoirs, and help the farmers.  I know this is cotton harvest time, so rain may not be good for the cotton farmers. I am not sure about other farmers.

It also has cooled the air.  So, from highs of 104° just a few days ago we are in the mid 60°s today.  That, too is a nice change.  The air is very comfortable.

This is nice.

Electrical Storm Safety

Every year, at work, we are required to read about safety procedures during an electrical storm. My father and mother instilled these procedures into me and my siblings from an early age.  My maternal grandmother had been struck twice by lightning as she was not observing safety precautions (she survived both times.) When we were young, and an electrical storm moved in, we unplugged sensitive electrical appliances. And paid attention to safety precautions.

My colleagues and I were discussing the possibility of electrical storms moving into the area this weekend, and I commented that I wanted to get to the therapy pool before the storms moved in. The first question was "Is the pool outside?"  I explained that it was not, but it is closed during an electrical storm.

I went on to explain that we should not be in pools, tubs, working at the sink or stove during electrical storms.  We really should unplug sensitive electrical appliances, stay inside and out from under trees. All of this is in our annual training regarding electric storms.  I remarked that the National Weather Service http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Lubbock&state=TX&site=LUB&lat=33.5759&lon=-101.875#.VApdo03wvug 
recommends that if there is thunder or lightning within a 15 mile radius, we should take precautions, be indoors, not be on a golf course on in a swimming pool.

My coworkers reacted in two ways:  Some acted as if this was new information!  We are talking about adults, all of whom are old enough to have raised children. All of whom are college educated. And, all of whom have been exposed to the above mentioned safety training for many, many years.  The other response was "I remember my mother (father) telling me those things!"

What is wrong with these people?  I do not know, but it explains to me why the lightning fatality statistics are what they are:  http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/fatalities.htm.  For the most part, these are avoidable deaths.  It is so sad that they occur.  I will admit that sometimes, I put myself in harm's way, but mostly I am a lightning woosie, and try my best to avoid exposure to possible electrocution by lightning.

Is the Pool Open?

So, I have mentioned previously that I have joined the Lifestyle Center at Covenant Hospital http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx so that I can continue my physical therapy routine in the pool.  When I joined, I read the signs that the pool was closed during inclement weather.  I assumed this meant electric storms, but did not ask. It just made sense to me.

The middle of the week after I joined, there was an electric storm in the southeast part of Lubbock.  I had wanted to go to the pool that night, but decided not to.  My upbringing included stern warnings about activities during electric storms:  No swimming, no golf, get inside, stay away from doors and windows, unplug electric appliances like TVs, stay away from sinks, stoves, and other appliances that can conduct electricity, no baths or showers.

A few nights later, it was a cloudy day, so I asked at the Lifestyles front desk about the definition of inclement weather.  The woman at the front desk said rain is okay, but not thunder or lightning.  That night, one of the other pool participants commented that while we needed the rain, if there is thunder or lightning, they will close the pool.

We are anticipating severe weather tonight, as moisture streams in from the southwest from the Pacific hurricane Norbert (although the hurricane itself is heading northwest.) This moisture comes from outlier bands of the hurricane. I left work early, but after I had put in my 40 hours, and went to the Lifestyle Center.  No one was in the pool when I arrived.  I asked at the desk, and was told that the pool was open, as they had not heard thunder nor seen lightning (confirmed my experience.)

As it turned out, by the time I got into the pool, there were other people in there.  As my session wore on, some left and several others entered the pool.  We discussed the weather. One woman told me she called to ask about the status of the pool, and was answered sarcastically.  There was no need for that. I told her I asked when I arrived at the center, and was answered politely.  Well, the person who was at the desk when I arrived was not the person she spoke to. That is too sad: people dealing with the public have an obligation to be polite.  That may have been the hundredth call that person received about the pool status, but it was the first that person made.

So, as I was finishing my session, we saw raindrops.  Not really rain, just raindrops.  But, no thunder, no lightning, so the pool was not closed.

The Styrofoam Pool Noodle

I have continued to go to a pool to do physical therapy exercises.  Some involve using a pool noodle.  I am amazed at how buoyant a small piece of Styrofoam can make a body be.  I was wondering today about the origin of the pool noodle: http://watercrunch.com/2012/08/pool_noodle/  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pool_noodle.  Whatever the origin, it is a marvelous invention.

Happy Noodling!

Labor Day Celebration

The regular reader knows that I have become increasingly dedicated to being involved in commemorative ceremonies for national holidays:  Memorial Day, D-Day, Independence Day, Veteran's Day in particular.

I did not really think about being involved in a commemoration for Labor Day, but from what I could tell, there was not a Labor Day celebration, commemoration, or memorial in Lubbock.  Hmmm. Maybe there should have been. 

I am thankful for the holiday.  I like my work, but I appreciate an extra day off from time to time.

A Book a Week

In 2014, I am hoping to read a book a week.  I did not do that in 2013, although I read 48 books. But, in 2013, I was not working on reading a book a week.

I am doing okay, so far, and have actually already read 40 books.  What has slowed me down are some of the non-fiction books, such as The Monuments Men, The Men Who United the States,  and Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage.  On the other hand, The Greatest Generation, a non-fiction book was a fast read for a thick book.

What has helped is reading two or three books a weekend, which I have done many times, including this weekend.  I finished one book I had previously started, and completed two others, before returning to The Men Who United the States. 

What has also helped is that I am reading some books at work, that are work related, and are slow reading, but I read here and there as I have an opportunity at work.

As one of my friends said, reading non-fiction is not always exactly reading page turners.  This is true.  Also, sometimes, the non-fiction books are much thicker than the novels I am reading.

Tune on December 31, 2014, find out what the final tally is.