on world sleep day
—
“for disappearing acts,
it’s hard to beat what happens to the eight hours
supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work.”
-doug larson, american newspaper columnist
—
photo credit: the daily mail, elizabeth spence (archie the rescue dog and nora)
‘the beast’ finally sees his shadow, horns and all
—
“for man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive.”
-d.h. lawrence
“teach the children, it’s painting in fresco.”
— ralph waldo emerson
—
How do you paint in fresco?
Frescos are paintings that are created by adding paint to wet plaster. When an artist paints a mural on a wall, they start by applying a layer of plaster to the wall and then add the paint. The paint sinks into the plaster as it dries and it becomes part of the wall.
i went to a new doctor
a specialist with the first available appointment in our medical system
with good reviews
i’ve rarely had anything but positive experiences
this one was quite the opposite
while he knew his subject
he had absolutely no understanding of human interaction
let alone skills in working with a patient
he was cocky, a know it all
i had to ask him all the relevant questions and tell him my history
as he never asked or offered suggestions
he was dismissive, scoffed at things i said
seemed doubtful that i would even follow through with recommended therapies
at one point
i came close to asking
“are you A.I.?”
even though he was present in the room with me
finally
i had his order for a physical therapist
the outcome i had hoped for
along with my new massage therapist trainer
no need or plan to see him ever again.
he told me to return after 8 weeks
to see how the treatment was going
as he expected
that i wouldn’t get a p.t. appointment
for at least 2 weeks
what an inspirational guy
why did he ever chose to be a doctor?
as i left
i felt bad for all of the people still in the waiting room
hoping they would see him soon.
—
“the good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”
-sir william osler, canadian physician and one of the founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital
ah, those wonderful memories
of that wall mounted phone
usually yellow in most houses
began with a 3-foot cord
eventually a 30-foot cord
so important
for one’s privacy
if the phone rang
and the call was for one of us
we’d travel with that cord
way beyond any expected limits
into a corner or another room
with closed door
where we could
listen, gossip, tell jokes, share news, talk about nothing, cry about breakups, listen to music together, compare who got invited to what, predict who was going to ask who out, muse about crushes, complain about our parents and sibs, find out what the homework was because we weren’t listening in class, discuss what you were going to wear tomorrow, make plans…
and then
after what seemed to be about 5-7 minutes
one of your sibs
would start whining, complaining, knocking on the door, telling on you
for being on the phone ‘for hours’
they were waiting for an important call
or had to make an important call
and they were just going to die
if they didn’t get to use the phone right away
the battle for the phone began
if someone had to walk
through the room that cord was stretched across
a taut tightrope about to snap
they had to lift it and walk under
like playing phone limbo
the curly cord
would get all twisted up
because you had been twirling it around your finger
while you were on your call
you had to wait as the whole thing unspooled
sometimes standing on a chair to do so
when you finally got off of the call
your sibling began the whole process all over again
with her friend
until
another sibling jumped into the ring
to go through the whole ritual again
with her friend
until
your parents
or the friend’s parents
put the hammer down
and said
they were waiting for or had to make an important call
it was time for dinner
not to stretch out the phone cord
one sib even figured out how to disconnect the cord
right where it connected to the phone
it was an ongoing struggle
for privacy, phone access, and control
it was the best, like being in a phone derby
and sometimes i won.
‘the shared phone was a space of spontaneous connection for the entire household.’
— Julia Cho; The Atlantic—How the Loss of the Landline Is Changing Family Life
mars has shared its heart-shaped craters, mesas, and depressions
photo credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
not me, a south african ground squirrel, but we both tend to bimble at times.
kind of like a saunter or an amble, but cooler.
—
bimble:
english (verb)
to walk without purpose
to stroll leisurely
“i have an important appointment in thirty minutes. this is not the time to bimble about.”
—
image credit: pinterest
after many years
yesterday
was my very last experience
sitting at a table
sharing stories with families
listening to their stories
connecting over something unique and wonderful
their child
at parent teacher conferences
in priceless conversations.
—
“conversations are the most direct way to connect with people.”
-padgett powell, american novelist
not mine, but a step up
from the ashtrays we used to make in art class at school
as a christmas gift for our parents.
anyone else?
—
“because, kids.”
-author unknown
—
image credit: reddit
when a baby goes rogue looking for cracker crumbs in our classroom
at a class shower for my teaching partner’s soon to arrive first baby
roaming baby’s mom said not to worry,
she is just building up her immunity.
clearly not her first child.
—
“babies are such a nice way to start people.”
― d
I didn't have my glasses on.... 