Shaferspeare by Songbird

Hope springs eternal. My family and I are all newshounds. We flip out if we get missed by the newspaper. If one of us misses some story in the paper, another of us is sure to catch it. This week the Courier-Journal had an article in the Sunday, December 11edition that gives me real hope that someday maybe chemotherapy won't be routinely used as a cancer treatment: "New Guidelines Urge Less Chemotherapy" I almost did a double take when I read the headline. Last weekend there was a medical... Sign in to see full entry.

I got some great news tonight when I turned the computer on, news I'd pretty much given up on hearing. My Mom's cousin, Zelma, has cancer. I wrote about her in an earlier blog entry. She'd had emergency surgery and the doctors discovered a large cancerous tumor in her colon that was ready to rupture. Further tests showed that the doctors did not "get it all". Zelma was to start chemotherapy on Dec. 5, then she learned that she'd have to pay $14,000 to finish covering the cost of the chemo... Sign in to see full entry.

I live in the Mid-West USA. This region isn't really Southern or Northern. If I call a Northern part of the country and talk to someone, I am asked where I live. When I inform the person, I typically hear, "Oh, you sound so Southern!" If I call a Southern part of the country, I get asked the same question and I'm told, "You sound so Northern!" Nobody wants to claim us. Obviously, I'm biased, but I think it's an interesting place to live. Like any section of the country, we have our customs and... Sign in to see full entry.

On December 8, 1980, I was 19 years old and very impressionable. I hadn't really grasped the world yet or how it functioned, and looking back, I'm not even sure I cared then how it functioned. One event changed my outlook irrevocably: The assassination of John Lennon. I remember, shortly before Lennon's murder, hearing his new single, Starting Over. I paid enough attention to know it was Lennon's song and was put out by a Beatle, and I remember thinking it was neat that one of the Beatles was... Sign in to see full entry.

Today was my Dad's birthday. He would have turned 82. Mom and I lost him when he was 75, to a medical misdiagnosis. Medical mistakes happen far more frequently than we're led to believe. I got a real education from my Dad's death and the lawsuit that resulted from his untimely death, but that's another blog post. Dad's death was the most traumatic, defining, before-and-after event of my life. I genuinely think it was the moment I became an adult, though I was 37 when it happened. Always before,... Sign in to see full entry.

Heat at last, heat at last, thank God Almighty, heat at last! My apologies to anyone offended by my word play on Martin Luther King's famous words. I genuinely mean no disrespect... It's just that I'm so grateful for heat! I don't know what happened, but this Portable Furnace seems to be working right now and I haven't the foggiest notion why, except maybe God fixed it. Last night, my husband gently tapped on the Furnace's thermostat. That seemed to make the unit go ahead and kick on, but it... Sign in to see full entry.

Ah, heat! Well, sort of... Mom and I took the road trip yesterday to see the Portable Furnace. The dealer's business was so far back in the hills I know the sunshine has to be pumped in to the place; after all, we first turned onto a road named "Pump Station Road" to get there. That's proof, isn't it?! This dealer's business is sort of a combination old general store, hardware store, and community center, peppered with all kinds of anti-government signs. The place just screams redneck and sits... Sign in to see full entry.

Usually when I write a post, I try to make it meaningful and say something that makes somebody think, but tonight all I can think of is how cold I am. Yes, my house has a heating system--technically. I live in an old farmhouse, built circa 1894. It has lots of charm but no insulation! I have a wood furnace that sits in a concrete room which is attached to the house. It's one of those things in life that works better in theory than in practice. The furnace has two heat ducts: one duct heats the... Sign in to see full entry.

Ah, but it's good to be back! Thanksgiving and a pile of stacked up work (that kept screaming for attention like a bratty kid) threw me sideways on Blog It. I can really get my teeth into hating holidays--except Halloween. Thanksgiving's not too bad, though; it does, and should, feel good to stop and remember our blessings and what we're thankful for, then stuff our faces in reckless abandon with luscious food. I think the best part about our annual feast may be the anticipation of it. My Mom... Sign in to see full entry.

I have Ariala to thank for this post idea. I was reading her post on bloggers being negative and critical, nitpicking... Though a bit unrelated, it reminded me of what I heard my beloved late Dad say once. My Dad was one in a billion; he was one of those rare people who everybody loved. I don't know one soul who ever said a bad word about him. Dad had no pretenses; however he appeared to people was exactly how he was, no fronts or games. An integral part of Dad's personality was all his sayings,... Sign in to see full entry.