And update on our appointment with the heart doctor and then Ron’s melt down. I am so tired and even more tired of trying to stay reasonable.

OK so we had the appointment with his new heart doctor. I liked him he smiled a lot and was a genuinely happy man even though it was clear he had a bent spine and so was hunched over. When Ron told him I was his spouse the doctor totally seemed OK. I was wearing my white pride hat as usual. He remembered Ron from the ICUs and asked if I was medical as well. I replied no Ron was the doctor in our family which got a smile and chuckle from him as Ron tried to protest that which made the doctor smile more. He said he would talk to both of us on my level, even if it was basic for Ron because he wanted me included. When I had a question he would answer it and totally include me in all the discussion. Ron has one blockage they think is 80% and and at least two that are 70% and one that is just starting.

The plan is to do a heart catheterization. They will go in through the wrist and prep the groin in case. They feed a sleeve into the wrist then thread a wire all the way to the arteries around the heart. They then open the blockage, put a stent surrounded by a balloon where the blockage was. If a part of the blockage breaks they can introduce medication right then to stop it from doing any damage.

Wow Ron and I had a huge argument. I dislike it and he totally blames it on me. But when the surgical center called to schedule him for the heart catheterization, and instead of taking the first appointment he asked for one three weeks later. I interrupted and said no you want it sooner if possible.

He kept the appointment for nearly a month and a week out. When he got off the phone I asked him to explain that. Wellhe replied I have Diane flying in on 3-28, and we are scheduled to fly out april 2nd. I was angry and argued with him that this same thing killed his sister’s husband and if he asked her she would agree he needs the early appointment. Which was when he fucked around and after we had a huge fight where I told him that his sister could get her friends and her husband’s friends to do what she had wanted Ron to do. She wants help with the moving company and then driving from Texas to here. When he calmed down from our argument he called her and she agreed with me. So then he was so angry that we had another exchange. I was trying to stay calm but he was so upset he was almost out of control, throwing things. I asked him to think of us. If he suffered a heart attack on the road or moving around furniture at her house he could easily die. I couldn’t keep or repair this house. I would not be able to keep Tupac and no one else around us will let him live with them or pay the 75 dollars for his thyroid medication every 6 to 7 weeks. He is incontinent and he leaves poops dropping out of his butt because he was hit by a golf cart and it damaged his spine and nerves. So he would have to be set on the rainbow bridge. I told him I would end up having to rent a room at Randy’s as he has offered it. Ron was furious and said I was thinking only of myself and I replied he was thinking only of his sister.

But by then it was too late to get in touch with the scheduling department. The heart place is huge and they have their own surgical center there. They only do six procedures on an operating day. So he hopes they will call him today. I worry that he will not be able to get a quicker date so I don’t know what will happen. Hugs

Snips And Bits

(Just under an hour, so more than a snip or a bit, but it’s not only necessary, it’s fascinating. Or else I’m just that big a geek.)

How Angela Davis Predicted The Modern Face Of Fascism in 1971

Fifty years prior to rumors of fascism circling President Trump, activist and philosopher Angela Davis made a spooky prediction about dictatorship in the U.S.

By Phenix S Halley

President Donald Trump’s administration continues to stand on shaky ground amid bombshell resignations and rumors of a dictatorship brewing. But in the midst of these unprecedented times, one Black political activist’s warning could offer a shocking reality for Americans… even if the message came 55 years earlier.

Trump’s return to the White House was met with fierce criticism from leaders like former Vice President Kamala Harris and his own former chief of staff, John Kelly, who explicitly declared that Trump fits “into the general definition of fascist.” But while terms like “fascist” and “dictator” have found a comfortable place in American politics today, activists like Angela Davis were among the loudest opponents of fascism nearly six decades ago.

By the 1970s, the Cold War against the Soviet Union revamped fears of a possible fascist regime in the States– notably from many Black Panthers. While awaiting trial for murder, Davis spoke with filmmaker Peter Davis about the likelihood that America would be ruled by a dictator.

“We are closer to fascism than we’ve ever been before,” Davis said from a California prison in 1971. But while the political activist stopped short of declaring fascism had officially made its mark in the U.S. then, her scary prediction has arguably taken a new light in 2026. (SNIP-click the title to read the rest; it’s not at all long)

Interesting How Things Work Out…

Despite state bans and restrictions, the number of abortions in the U.S. holds steady

March 24, 202612:01 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition

Selena Simmons-Duffin

Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, anti-abortion rights advocates have continuously pursued laws and court cases to make access to abortion more difficult.

A report published Tuesday finds those efforts haven’t worked in one basic way: The number of abortions in the country hasn’t budged.

“There were an estimated 1,126,000 abortions provided by clinicians in the U.S. in 2025 — that’s pretty much unchanged from 2024,” says Isaac Maddow-Zimet, data scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization that supports abortion access.

A key way that abortions are now happening despite all of the state restrictions is through telemedicine. In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration under President Biden allowed mifepristone — one of the medications used for abortion — to be prescribed without an in-person appointment.

At the same time, states that support abortion access have passed shield laws, which protect health care providers from legal risks when they prescribe to patients in states with bans.

What that meant last year is that more people in states with restrictions had abortions through telemedicine, and fewer people traveled across state lines for abortion, according to the Guttmacher report.

“It makes sense that we’d see a decline in travel because people accessing abortion care through telehealth in general then no longer need to travel for care,” Maddow-Zimet says.

Medication by mail

When Viv found out she was pregnant last January, she was three days past Georgia’s ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

Viv is 27 years old and lives in Atlanta. NPR agreed not to use her last name because she fears repercussions for talking about her experience. She went online and looked through posts on Reddit, trying to figure out what to do.

“I found out that I could get an abortion pill shipped to my house,” she says. “I didn’t want to travel. I didn’t want to take time off of work. I am pretty knowledgeable about women’s health, and I know that the abortion pill is a safe and effective way to have an abortion.”

She ended up reaching out to a group called The MAP in Massachusetts, and she says the process was very easy.

“You basically go on their website, you answer questions, and then you pay whatever fee you can afford, which I thought was really, really cool,” she says.

About a week later, she received the two medications in the mail: mifepristone and misoprostol. She says the instructions that came with the medication were very thorough.

“People contact you after to make sure everything’s good,” she says. “They even have people contact you like a month after to make sure that you’re not pregnant anymore.”

Viv says she’s grateful she was able to have an abortion without having to leave Atlanta. She also notes that Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.

“If a woman doesn’t want to be pregnant, she should be able to have that right, and I think that should be the end of the story,” she says.

Frustration for ban supporters

Abortion-rights opponents view all of this as a huge problem. There are several legal challenges and a recent congressional bill that all aim to force the FDA to stop allowing mifepristone to be mailed to patients. (Misoprostol is a medication that has been on the market longer and is also used to prevent ulcers; it is harder to restrict.)

One of the court challenges was brought by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who told a U.S. Senate committee in January that the FDA rules must be changed.

“Until then, Louisiana’s efforts to protect mothers and their unborn children and to hold out-of-state abortion pill traffickers accountable for the harm they inflict will be all but futile,” she said.

According to Guttmacher’s latest report, there were about 2,500 abortions in Louisiana in 2023, and last year there were more than 9,000. Overall, 91,000 patients in states with bans received telehealth abortions in 2025.

A federal judge is expected to rule in Louisiana v. FDA soon.

Yesterday and today.

Yesterday was so stressful and a wash. We had to go get our blood drawn. Medicare tossed out three tests one on my prostate, my A1C, and a lipid. All the tests together were over $400, and I refused to pay for them. Then we went out for breakfast. Ron was fading but we hoped food would boost him. It did. Next we went to our local Publix and got a few things for supper. I would make a marinara sauce and Ron would take some chicken breasts, coat them in breading and cook them with Pepper Jack and swiss cheeses. Then after shopping we went to the carwash next door for a $36 carwash. Then we came home about 1 and I was just able to lock in the free full The Majority Report. Then he wanted to nap but once in bed we couldn’t find his phone so he could listen to music. I searched everywhere and then tried to ping it. The ping wouldn’t work which was odd. It would start to then shut off. Which meant someone had shut the phone off each time. I had Ron use my phone to call the diner and yes it was there. So at 1:30 pm I drove him back to the restaurant to get his phone. He was lucky this time. I did not see him put it down, he claims it must have fallen out of his pocket, I lets say I am skeptical. Remember I still had laundry to do, dishes to wash, and Ron wanted me to make a sauce. Because of everything I never started making the sauce until 4:30 which is late because it has no time to simmer. I was limping badly and couldn’t trust my right leg to stand. This morning I got us up at 5:15 am and got him in the shower. He has the important heart doctor appointment. I then took mine. While in the shower I realized as a new patient he would have a bunch of forms and history to fill out. But he couldn’t get to them because you have to be in their system already in the patient portal to even get to the new patient forms. So I rushed to print all the forms and 6 page questionnaire for him. He had just enough time to finish them and now in three minutes we have to go. Sorry for the rushed explanation and for not getting to any comments. I fell into bed right after eating in a lot of pain. My labs are horrible claiming stress and immune failure and possible kidney failure. My body cannot handle stress and I am under a lot of it. Hugs

Some serious health news about my husband Ron

Hello all. Ron has been having some issues with memory, thinking, and staying awake. Last year his doctor sent him to a neuro doctor to see if he had dementia or alzhimors. The tests showed no real issues. Ron has been gone for about three months and when he got home a few weeks ago I noticed a huge change in him. He was struggling with remembering anything, he had no energy, and he was falling asleep in the middle of conversations.

So last week he saw his primary care doctor who is a really good doctor who cares. He sent Ron for a heart and artery CT scan. On Monday he saw the doctor for the scan and on tuesday he had the CT scan. Thursday evening Ron’s doctor called my phone. He knew me as I was once his patient and from my working in the ICU. He was trying to contact Ron and apologized for calling me but Ron was not answering his phone and he really needed to talk to him.

Ron has 4 major blockages in and around his heart. One is the left descending artery and is called the widow maker. The others are the arteries that feed the heart. He is at serious risk of a heart attack and death of at least parts of the heart muscle. As it is a serious blockage / narrowing / hardening of the arteries he is not to exert himself or get upset in any way. It took several days to get the medication he needs to help keep the arteries open. Ron read a bunch of stuff on it but failed to send it to me and is talking to his sister so I can’t ask him. When I know more I will share it with you. As I will need to go with him and drive him to appointments posting will be sporadic at best. Hugs

For The Weekend On A Friday Night

Ballad of the Wandering Charms: Weekend Edition

A Softening of the Day

Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA

O come now, friend, and rest your bones,
the week’s been fierce and long;
but Ease comes stepping down the lane
to hum you its soft song.

A Lantern glows along the path,
a stubborn, golden spark;
the kind our grandfolks swore was left
to guide us through the dark.

Stillness drapes its woolen shawl
around your weary frame;
it whispers like an old seanchaí
who’s long forgotten blame.

The Hearth is warm for wanderers,
its welcome deep and wide;
it keeps a chair for every soul
the world has weathered tired.

Then Solace pours a quiet cup
the colour of the dawn;
it doesn’t ask what burdens ache—
it simply sits till they’re gone.

Your Breath returns like gentle rain
across an Irish hill;
it fills the fields inside your chest
and bids your heart be still.

And Grace—ah sure, it comes uncalled,
the way good blessings do;
it settles on your shoulders light
as morning’s silver dew.

An Ember glows beneath it all,
a spark that won’t give in;
the same that warmed our ancestors
through storm and winter’s din.

So walk with Gentle in your step,
let kindness be your guide;
for those who move with softened hands
find strength they need not hide.

And Here you stand, upon the earth,
your troubles set to rest;
the world leans in a little close
and wishes you its best.

Should you wish, please feel free to subscribe (no Paywalls): (Link up top as the title)

Thank you.

For Randy who is not feeling well right now.

People are trying the Dutch practice of ‘dusking’ to reduce anxiety and spark creativity

People are trying the Dutch practice of ‘dusking’ to reduce anxiety and spark creativity

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The simple ritual of going outside to welcome nightfall can be extremely relaxing. Of course, this has been done since the dawn of time. However, the practice of “dusking” has recently regained popularity and has become a trend for people looking to boost their mental well-being. The Dutch have been doing this for ages. In…

By Cecily Knobler

(I can attest to this; I go outside with Ollie while he does his night-night wee & poo, and while I wasn’t aware it’s an actual thing, it is a calming little ritual, to look at the sky and see what I see. There is more than one way to do it. Soon, it’ll be time to repel mosquitoes, of course, but right now, I just wear a little jacket because it’s nice and cool bordering cold outside.)

A person watches the sky as night falls. – Photo credit:Canva

The Dutch have been doing this for ages. In the Netherlands, dusking is referred to as “schemeren,” which translates to “be dusky, to be in twilight.” It’s the idea of letting the lights turn off while the starry night envelops the day. Watching the color of the sky subtly fade can do wonders for a busy mind.

In a piece for The Guardian, writer Rachel Dixon describes her time at the Dark Skies “dusking event” in the United Kingdom in February 2026. “The darkening sky is faintly illuminated by a sharp sliver of crescent moon and the first stars. Bats are swooping in search of supper, an owl is softly hooting, and the dark outline of a ruined castle looms beyond the walls.”

She explains how this ritual has resurged, writing, “The custom had all but died out until it was revived by Dutch poet and author Marjolijn van Heemstra a few years ago. Now she is encouraging other countries to adopt dusking, running events in Ireland, Germany, and here in Yorkshire.”

Dixon shares that van Heemstra also spoke at the event she attended. “Dusking is about looking at one point and seeing it fade. Don’t look around too much; focus. Trees are very good – they rise up for a moment and then fade away,” van Heemstra eloquently said.

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Not only is the concept beautiful, but it can also do wonders for anxiety and spark the imagination.

People are trying the Dutch practice of ‘dusking’ to reduce anxiety and spark creativity

Speckled Tanager

Also Known As

Speckled Calliste
Yellow-browed Tanager
Tangara Pintoja (Spanish)
Tangara Moteada (Spanish)
Saíra-pintada (Portuguese)

About

The Speckled Tanager is a preternaturally beautiful bird, even among the other stunning Central and South American tanagers of the family Thraupidae. The black speckles that give this species its name come from black feathers with brightly colored edges, giving the impression of scales over the bird’s body. The edges blend together to create a palette of iridescent yellow-green and green-blue over the body of the bird.

Striking as these patterns and hues may be, they actually provide good camouflage for this bird up in the green, backlit forest canopies where it spends most of its time. The tanager’s speckles, like the spots on a jaguar or the camo pattern on a hunter’s jacket, are a form of disruptive patterning, a camouflage strategy that breaks up or obscures an animal’s outline, allowing it to blend with its background. Up among the bright green leaves, these birds can easily go unseen. Up close, however, their plumage is hard to ignore.

Threats

Birds around the world are declining, and many of them face urgent threats. The Speckled Tanager lives primarily in old-growth forest, and healthy populations depend on the persistence of forests throughout their range in Central and South America. Though not considered a species of conservation concern, this bird is declining, and deforestation is one likely cause. (snip-MORE)

https://abcbirds.org/birds/speckled-tanager/

Everyday Heroes

Hi Everyone. Today is a slow day for me, and I need it. Yesterday I had a, probably, very minor surgery, but it was a huge issue for me because, well, I have issues. I don’t like to be touched, and I get anxiety when I don’t know what to expect. It comes from having to dodge the unexpected, ya know? So, for me to go into such a situation is stressful, and ironically, the lead up to the event is by far the greatest part of the stress. But, yesterday, the clerical, nursing, doctors, and whoever else that I was too oblivious to observe their quiet professional efficiency, made sure I knew what was to happen, were personable and funny and absolutely great.

I don’t know how I would classify myself as a patient, but I do have a fair understanding of myself. When I get anxious, I talk more, joke a lot – and I’m really not funny to anyone – all in an effort to control the situation. It’s silly, I know, but it’s me. So, these poor people had to deal with this idiot. They were communicative, engaging, funny, and helpful. Shoot, the lady in recovery helped me put my pants and shoes on. I don’t know how much she gets paid, but it can’t be enough!

The thing about people who work in service is that they rarely hear about their job unless something goes wrong. Then, oh boy, do they hear about it. Perfection is unattainable, but something I once heard from my father has stayed with me: It’s the mark of a true craftsman who can take a mistake and still come out perfect. I obviously don’t know if any mistakes happened, but I do know this: it was my job to show up and place myself in their hands so they could solve my problems for me. They did a great job of that.

Now to answer your probable questions: My story basically begins with a sinus infection that I later realized, via the very bad taste in my mouth, was accompanied by a dental abscess. I went from not feeling so great to being in serious trouble and Scottie sent me off to the walk-in-clinic. And, why is it that I only get sick on weekends???? But, that followed with a trip to the dentist where I spent almost three hours getting a cleaning followed by a molar extraction. Remember: I don’t like to be touched. I was having the shakes in the car ride home afterward so bad I had to pull over before I wrecked. Unfortunately, that particular molar tends to send its roots into the maxillary sinus cavity, and the sinus membrane grows/seals around the roots. But, between the abscess, the bad root and the sinus infection, that membrane was weakened and did not heal. So, I had a hole in my head, one that did not heal. So, the doctor fixed a deviated septum, while he was in there anyway he says, cleaned out my maxillary sinus, did something to the membrane to help it heal, roughed up the root hole and stitched the hole to my mouth closed. Took about 90 minutes. Total cost so far is approaching $25,000. My insurance company is not happy with me. My costs exceed $5,000, not including three missed days of work and a week plus of light duty, but I can’t exactly have a hole in my head.

My lessons from this:
* Take care of your teeth!
* If you have a problem, don’t figure it will solve itself in time. Call someone! Get it resolved, or at least understood. Yes, it’s expensive, but Wow! – does it get expensive if you don’t take care of it when it’s relatively cheap.
* Be appreciative of the people who are there to help you. They are not a servant, they are doing a task you can not do for yourself but need, and they are due respect. On Monday, I am going to take in a box of Lindor Truffles to the surgery center at the hospital. It’s a small cost, especially in relation to the rest of it, but it goes to the people who helped me when I was a mess. And, let’s face it, anyone who helps me put on my pants and shoes deserves at least chocolate!

Hugs.
-Randy

ps: to anyone who helps people with a smile and good humor: Thank you!