5.11.2020 – little protection

little protection
social comorbidity
during the covid

Looking for those words that stand out, I came across comorbidity today.

What a great word.

I was paging through the current American Historical Review and “From the Editor’s Desk: Pulling Up the Bridge.“

The Editor wrote, “Unfortunately, modern medical knowledge offers little protection against the potential outbreaks of social comorbidity during pandemic disease. State efforts to thwart the spread of an epidemic are only as effective as the government that implements them. Theocracies, for example, as the recent experiences of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Mike Pence’s Indiana suggest, are not very adept at doing so.“

And there it was.

Comorbidity.

The simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient.
“the comorbidity of anxiety and depression in Parkinson’s disease” says the dictionary.

Social Comorbidity are the social ills like anxiety and depression that occur along with the actual illness.

According to our Editor, “Unfortunately, modern medical knowledge offers little protection against the potential outbreaks of social comorbidity during pandemic disease.“

Modern Medical Knowledge offers little protection against Social Comorbidity.

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

All I can say to that?

NO KIDDING!

5.10.2020 – our mom, grace, pressure

our mom, grace, pressure
never failed to surprise
song in key of life

Being Mother’s Day, there will be lots of tributes to Moms.

Lots of fond memories remembered.

Talking about our Mom, just to point out that she raised me would be tribute alone.

Those who grew up around me will understand.

But she also raised 10 other kids at the same time.

My Mom used to point out that she did not remember the Vietnam War.

She knew it was going on and such but otherwise she was too busy.

Lots of people have fond memories about my Mom.

She was universally loved, respected and dare I say, admired.

She was full of grace.

She rolled with the pressure.

She was also full of surprises.

One day, I came home from school.

This was in 1976.

My brother Pete was sitting at the counter in the kitchen.

Laying on the table was a copy of Stevie Wonder’s latest album, “Songs in the Key of Life.”

Unwrapped.

“Who bought this?” I asked.

I picked the album up thinking greedy thoughts.

Any new records in our family became community property.

Pete turned around and looked at me.

“Mom did.”

I think I just stared at Pete.

Pete just stared back.

Then we went downstairs to where the stereo was and played it.

After seeing Stevie Wonder being interviewed on TV about his latest album, Mom got in her car and drove to Musicland in North Kent Mall and bought a copy.

She told us later, she thought Stevie was interesting and worth listening to.

We listened to it a lot.

Not sure how many times Mom listened to it.

But that didn’t matter so much as it was so freaking cool that our Mom would go out, on her own, and buy Stevie Wonder records.

In my heart, I imagined her at a Ladies Missionary Society meeting at our church, Berean Baptist in Grand Rapids.

This was a church were a Missionary from Africa reported, “The beat of the voodoo drums is much like the rhythms in today’s rock and roll.”

I imagined Mom sitting a circle ladies, discussing the days events.

And I can hear my Mom say, “Have you heard Stevie Wonder’s latest? I just bought “Songs in the Key Life.”

I wouldn’t be surprised.

As our Mom was full of surprises.

She was our song in the key of life.

5.9.2020 – confusing, waiting

confusing, waiting
for potential future that
might never return

Potential future?

Potential future that may never return?

Is that tautologic?

Or pleonasmistic?

A Yogi Berraism, in other words?

Coach Berra was famous for saying things that he claimed he never said.

Most of his sayings, mis-remembered or not, were kinda goofy.

Coach Berra said he would have his pizza cut into 4 slices because he couldn’t eat 8.

Stuff like that.

I remember once talking with my brother Tim and I quoted Coach Berra’s, “It gets late early out there.”

He was talking about deep left field in Yankee Stadium.

I don’t remember what the point was that I was making to my brother.

But Tim looked at me and said, “I know just what you mean.”

Potential Future?

Potential future that may never return?

I just read that this morning in the article, “US job losses have reached Great Depression levels. Did it have to be that way?”

According to wikipedia. “In literary criticism and rhetoric, a tautology is a statement which repeats an idea, using near-synonymous morphemes, words or phrases, “saying the same thing twice”.

Tautology and pleonasm are not consistently differentiated in literature.

Like pleonasm, tautology is often considered a fault of style when unintentional. Intentional repetition may emphasize a thought or help the listener or reader understand a point.”

Well, there it is.

Potential future.

Saying the same thing twice.

Or is it.

I would argue that potential future is not that same as future potential.

But that is not what was written in the article.

“Potential future that might never return.”

If you said that to me, would I bit confused?

A little bit.

On the other hand.

I know just you mean.

5.8.2020 – VE DAY Today

VE DAY Today
Victory in Europe Day
1945

Winston Churchill in a shout out to the crowds in London said, “God bless you all. This is your victory!

It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land.

In all our long history we have never seen a greater day than this.

Everyone, man or woman, has done their best.

Everyone has tried.

Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in any way weakened the unbending resolve of the British nation.

God bless you all.”

General Eisenhower released a statement from Supreme Headquarters – Allied Expeditionary Force that said in its entirety, “The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945.”

On May 17, 1945, my Dad wrote from 12th Corps Headquarters, “As far as I know, we are going to remain in Germany for occupation but of course everything is mixed up and we don’t know just what will happen.“

In none of his surviving letters does my Dad even mention that the war had ended.

In his last note before the end of the war, dated May 1st, he wrote, “The Air Corps certainly did a lot of damage here in Germany in the past year. As we travel through we can can see all the destruction. I don’t see how they can keep fighting much longer.”

It is interesting to note that his letter of May 17th was not delivered until July, 1945.

I am nearing 60 years old.

My Dad would have been 100 years old.

Strikes me that when he was 20, the United States Civil War came to an end 75 years earlier.

5.7.2020 – just be by myself

just be by myself
feel evening breeze, gaze at moon
I lost my senses

Stay at home.

Quaruntine.

Is it any wonder we are losing our senses.

As someone said, the problem with common sense is that is it so uncommon.

The words of that old cowboy poet, Cole Porter, keep coming back to my mind.

Okay, so Cole Porter stole the words or came by the words in such a way that a court had to decide they were his.

Not the Roy Rodgers way now is it.

But the words are there anyhow they came to be.

I just don’t like fences.

Oh give me land, lots of land, and the starry skies above
Don’t fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don’t fence me in

Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don’t fence me in

Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle on
Underneath the western skies
On my cayuse, let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise

I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences
To many words, gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
And I can’t look at hobbles and I can’t stand fences
Don’t fence me in

Oh give me land, lots of land, and the starry skies above
Don’t fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don’t fence me in

(for what its worth, Mr. Porter said it was his least favorite song. Go figure?)