modern medicine

Check out this funny cartoon.
I feel very frustrated by the cost of health care.
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/o/A/2/miracle-of-modern-medicine.jpg

Meeting JJ part 3

Meeting JJ part 3
Was it April fools day? Since I don’t remember the date. Since it was the beginning of April. Lets call it April fools day. The day I embarked on the foolish adventure called love. The sun was warm. The daffodils were in bloom. The dogwood trees just beginning to bud, held court over trees that are less enigmatic. Both wafted in the gentle breeze of spring. There was no dog nipping at my heal, but I was poised to step over the precipice just the same.

As I came out of the student center, I saw JJ sitting next to a fountain. The air was rich with the smell of new growth and seeds that wanted germinating. That poor sorry fountain was just a rectangle painted blue with water squirting up. But to me it was my first stride into the depths. He was playing a recorder. His trilling flute sounds mingled with the sound of the bubbling fountain. I flipped off my sandals, stepped into the fountain and danced. I danced across the water floating and spinning on the new spring warmth. I sat down next to the pied piper. We spoke with innocence about the weather, the flowers and the beauty of the day. Then he asked me, “Would you like to go on a picnic?”
“Where?”
“I found a new place out in the woods. It is already my favorite place in all the world.”
“What should we take?” After some thought, we decided we would get bread and cheese and fruit and wine. This is my favorite meal from then until now.
His communication skills about the subtleties of feminine comfort were limited at best. Most people believe they are being understood when they are not being understood. I believed I was being understood. I told JJ, “I am going to wear my sandals.” This meant, “I expect you to take me to a place where a girl can walk in sandals.” This meant, “If you are taking me somewhere that sandals are not appropriate, tell me now and I will wear boots.” He did not know that I was asking him if sandals were a good idea. He did not know that I would wear hiking boots if necessary. He was in a daze and unable to understand my cryptic world of woman speak.
I ran back to my dorm room to change into “picnic clothes”
“I am going on a picnic in the woods with a guy I have been trying to get to ask me on a date for weeks!” I was excited and breathless. My roommate was not impressed.
“Bonnie, what do you know about this boy? That’s no place for a date!”
“I’ll be fine!” I was very naive. I was a fool dancing swiftly over the edge.
I flew down the steps in my sandals and met JJ near his old blue Honda. We went to a delicatessen and bought some cheep white wine, cheese, rolls and fruit.
JJ took me to a back road that twisted along side Tools Creek as it makes its way toward the North Fork of the Holston River. The trees were brown and beginning to bud. They over hanged the winding country road forming a tunnel of meandering potential. He pulled over to the side of the road and we walked down to the creek carrying our picnic fare. JJ intended to ford the stream and climb up the side of a mountain. There were no trails or handrails. This was a good place for a rabbit to have a picnic. Did he not get the message about my shoes?
“I don’t think I can get across that creek.”
JJ agreed that I would need help. He carried me across the watery threshold of the hill beyond with the care one might give delicate china. Climbing the mountain was a total body experience. My feet slipped in and out of those sandals while I grabbed onto trees and rocks. We climbed up to a flat place where we could spread out our deli bounty.
We ate and talked and JJ spoke to me the poetry of the golden section and of the Fibonacci sequence. (He may have thrown in some Bob Dylan.) All I saw was gold and jewels coming out of his mouth.
“This is a man I could talk to forever.”
When you start to tumble off the edge of a cliff, there comes a point when you realize that there is nothing you can do to stop it. It is time to let go and plunge into the unknown. I don’t remember getting back to the dorm but I remember enjoying my fall into the web of his thoughts.

Phish quilt

This is a quilt that I made for Gabe. I liked the blue and green colors together. The poor quilt went through Katrina but came out just fine. I think Gabe felt badgered when I repeatedly asked him to get the quilt when he went back for his belongings. I love this kind of quilt because it looks complicated but is actually an easy quilt to make. I love the way a person can make a flowing pattern with straight lines. I think of this one as a Phish quilt. It looks kind of like fish and has an underwater flavor. Gabe was a one time follower of the band.
I think ol Freud would like this one too. It does look like a Rorschach test. Hmm "ant vat iz da virst thing you think of when you look at ze design?"

Jecholia wanted pictures

Here are some of my siblings.
Sage and Jecholia love each other but they are looking in different directions.
JJ and Jecholia had fun at Cedar Point

The reception was fun

The wedding was beautiful

The Wedding and other highlights, or, what I did on my vacation.

The wedding of Kim Hird and Ryan Spencer opened with the traditional procession of young men. They entered from the back of the sanctuary and walked along the side of the church. They slid in and out of sight behind the sanctuaries columns like waves swelling to the strings of Pachelbel. The men appeared and disappeared behind those columns affecting a surreal ambivalence to this ritual. The quartet played with traditional aplomb and the ladies arrived looking beautiful in dusky violet gowns. Kim was drop dead gorgeous, smiling down the isle with my proud brother Pete. Kimmy stepped up to the crest of the wave and said, “I do.” The wedding itself was short and sweet. This is the way I like them. I think it is the party afterwards that really seals the deal.
The reception was held at the country club. I grew up in this club and told Jecholia and Sage (again) about walking into the dining room with my mother and father. There was a grand piano and the pianist always stopped what she was doing and played Adalvise from "The Sound of Music" because that was my fathers’ song. Bernie the matradee would sit us down and then bring me a pettite bowl of black olives. I loved black olives. I never had to ask for them. Bernie made them appear. I would eat my olives and go play in the ladies room. The ladies room was plush with a mirror that filled the entire wall. There was a vanity that had combs and brushes and lotion and tissues. Soft padded cushions sat in front of the mirror and if I sat up on my knees, I could see myself in the mirror and primp. When I was finished playing, dinner was sitting at my place at the table. I was a princess surrounded by people who anticipated my needs. That was pretty cool. I know, it is not PC, but it was pretty cool.
Anyway, Bernie was at the reception and I introduced him to Jecholia and Sage. He is a part of family history. Bernie was also a big Browns fan and always knew all the details about the team. I think he organized bus trips to the games. We all loved Bernie.
Parties ensued all weekend and as the designated airport shuttle, I did a bit of driving. The airport is only 15 minutes away from the hotel. Speaking of the hotel, I would not recommend the Holliday Inn Westlake to anyone. The people in the room next to us placed a tray of dishes outside our adjoining doors and it stayed there for 2 days. Yuck. On Friday night, we were swimming in the pool with about ten other people. There were several people relaxing in the lounge chairs in the pool area. An employee came by turned off the hot tub jets and said the pool was closing. He immediately rushed around the pool and picked up all of our towels before we could get to them. Several of us brought towels from our rooms because they were bigger than the poolside towels. The man was just plain grumpy. Maybe he was a Yankee? Have I been in the south so long that I forgot how people in other parts of country behave? No, I think he was grumpy.
Lastly, we went to Cedar Point, “Your American Rockin’ Roller Coast! Roll on!” The newer roller coasters were fabulous. They were a smooth thrilling ride. The older ones jostled us around quite a bit and I vowed not to go on them any more. They have stopped being fun for this old gal. The park was a chaos of noise. The cacophony was so persistent and intrusive; it was almost hard to see. Shapes and blobs of color screamed and by the end of the day, I was exhausted, not form walking about 5 miles or being thrilled by rides. I was exhausted by sound that intruded on my cognitive privacy. I think this must be something like the ongoing irritation that my clients in the psych ward experienced. Their illness causes them to lack gating capacity. Gating is a normal brain function that helps us all tune out most of what goes on in our world and to focus on the things we decide are important.
Finally we stayed at a run down motel in Cleveland that could have been the set for the old movie “The Shining” It was a confusing maze of dingy carpets with the occasional set of wires hanging from the ceiling. It was sad, drab and spooky. I didn’t want to take my shoes off. The beds were surprisingly comfortable.
The ride home was uneventful and I am very glad to be here.

trip with friends

I went on a trip to Tennessee with some of my friends. Two of the lady's on the trip were full of youthful energy and they researched the area and found a beautiful waterfall with a paved walking path up to it. We had a delightful time walking to the falls and were happy to see a variety of people speaking many languages vacationing in little ol Tennessee. I love living in a place were everyone gets to play. Here are several of us sitting on a bench near the falls.

This adorable baby is my nephew Leon. We went on a pick nick at a local park and he decided that he wanted to wear the black hat. We ate great hamburgers made from cool organic meat and happy healthy cows. The sprouted lental salad was very good too.

big wedding and a bike trip

JJ went on a bike trip. this is his "before" picture. I don't think that hat is going to be as effective as a helmet. Sure hope he doesn't fall down.











I decided to include some general info in this blog so it can be a bit more interesting.
Everyone in my family is excited about going to a big wedding in Ohio. My niece is getting married on June 14th. We expect to have much fun and wear ourselves completely out with dinners and cookouts and THEN go to Ceder Point. If you don't know about Ceder point, you should look it up on the web. Ceder Point is your Roller Coast. It is an amusement park that boasts the highest longest fastest roller coasters in the country. We will be with my brother and his three grandchildren. Distance and money has prevented me from meeting my nieces and nephew and I am looking forward to the delights of little ones at the big park.
JJ and I went to Asheville yesterday to survey a sign sight. We ate at a restaurant called Salsa's. It served Caribbean, Mexican food. I get tired of Mexican but this was a whole new twist on food and I recommend the place to anyone going to Asheville . Delicious!