May 4, 2021
I argued with myself about posting this. Suicide is an uncomfortable thing to talk about, isn’t it? But no matter how painful, it’s a real problem, and ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away. Experts say that suicide/attempted suicide rarely has just one cause.
Perry’s niece is in ICU on a respirator at Riley Children’s Hospital. She attempted suicide by taking a bottle of her Mom’s psychotropic medication and cutting her wrists.
She just turned 13.
She left no indication as to why she wanted to end her life and said nothing to her sisters or any family member beforehand. This happened early Sunday morning, and she’s been in a coma since then. It’s so very tragic and sad.
My hope is that the sources that made her feel life wasn’t worth living are uncovered and appropriately treated.
I pray she makes a full recovery.
Apr 25, 2021
Alexa makes suggestions. Like… “track your recent orders“, and “play the President Biden video.” Oh… and a couple weeks ago she wanted me to play the song Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton. So I did. Now, about every 7 minutes on the hour a reminder pops up:
Say, “Alexa, play Tennessee Whiskey.”
That song now runs on loop through my head constantly. Every time I get it pushed out of my brain, the reminder reappears on the Alexa screen and I can’t help but start humming the darned song. I find myself singing it sometimes. You’re as smooth as Tennessee whiskey. You’re as swee–eee–eee–eat as strawberry wine…
I can’t make the reminder go away. I’ve tried playing other songs thinking she would remind me of something else, but NO! It’s always Tennessee Whiskey.
I think my mama might’ve had some Tennessee whiskey yesterday. She took a little spill and in doing so, threw a bottle of bleach. Both Mom and the bleach are just fine. The lid stayed on the bleach and Mom has no broken bones. If I could only get HER Alexa to broadcast “be more careful” reminders!
YouTube TV doesn’t give reminders like Alexa, but it does often tell me to “enjoy a little Zen“. I’m not sure if there’s not commercial programming for my area, but to take up the regular advertising time, YouTube TV will often show a short relaxing clip (like a dog in snow, or a waterfall) that’s supposed to put me in some meditative mood.
So, here’s a little zen for y’all… an antique hutch filled with dishes from Mom, glassware from my late Great Aunt Kak, and a Norman Rockwell plate I received as a gift from my late sister-in-law in 1981. It should make you warm as a glass of brandy and keep you from spending your nights in a barroom. 😉
TIL (Today I Learned): About one in every 1500 people have the ability to give themselves goosebumps — it’s called Voluntarily Piloerection. I’m one of the 1499 of 1500. What about you?
Apr 12, 2021
I get a LOT of friend requests on FB and accept very few. If I don’t know the person and we have fewer than 25 or so friends in common, I delete the request. Still, I have plenty of people I don’t know and more than a few dead people on my list of friends. Yesterday, I got a Facebook private message from a “friend” I don’t really know.
Here’s what it said:
Hi, my name is (removed for privacy) and it has been my intention for these last several months to tell you why – aside from your interesting face – I sent you a friend request. The reason is because I assumed based upon your name and location you could be related to Scott McKain. Maybe a niece or daughter. Now I have come to believe you are his sister which is even better.
Now I never knew Scott either – we were never friends or hung out or anything. I was only aware of him because he read the news and played the records on our local radio station WMPI in Scottsburg years ago.Â
I did however meet him briefly when he and I joined a couple hundred of our peers for a trip to Kansas State University back in the early mid 70’s. The night before our departure they gathered us all in a large banquet room at a hotel in Indianapolis, and after having fed us, one of the adults asked us each to stand up – one by one – and say our name and where we were from.
The room was really noisy with a co-ed group of teenagers getting to know each other so the first several speakers could hardly be heard. Then it was Scott’s turn and in his booming radio announcer’s voice he said “Hi, I am Scotty McKain from Jackson County” and then after a brief pause he added “God’s country.”
The room had gone silent as soon as he began to speak and when he finished and took his seat the teenagers began to applaud. So what’s my point?
Fast forward over 40 years and I now work for an Italian company which is headquartered in Milan but also has factories in Spain, France, Poland, Russia, India, as well as several in the United States and in Mexico and in South America as well. So I frequently encounter people who have never been to this country and know little about it. Sometimes they ask me “why do you live there, in Indiana? If I lived in America it would be in Hollywood where the movie stars are.” or “in Las Vegas so I could paarrrty” or “in the mountains so I could ski and snowboard” or “by the ocean so I could swim and surf every day.” Why do you live there in Indiana?” So when the question comes up I simply reply by stealing Scott’s observation from 40 years ago. “Because Indiana is God’s country.” Then I watch a look of amazement come into their eyes almost as if they have been given a revelation.
My point here is your brother took a throw away line and gave me a gift I have remembered and enjoyed for decades. That is true talent. That is true ability.
I am sure you are proud of your brother and I am sure he is proud of you. When you see him again – if you think of it – please thank him for me for the gift he gave us all many years ago.
Note: This gentleman is referring to a time shortly before this photo was taken…
Mar 28, 2021
It’s after midnight and I’m listening to thunder rumble outside. It was 76 today and tomorrow the high is projected to be around 50 something. It’s all good — I can continue to walk a bajillion miles on my treadmill to nowhere. But now, I can do it while wearing my new OURA ring.
The OURA ring was a gift, and prior to today I didn’t know much about it. I even had to Google search how to pronounce it. To summarize, I guess it’s supposed to support overall health with a major foothold in sleep.
You wear it all the time — even in water — and the battery lasts 5-7 days. I know by 10:00 PM it was nagging me to turn off any “blue light” (computer) and get ready for sleep. I put it on the charger to get a full pump while I’m doing what it doesn’t want me to.
It sets daily goals based upon your sleep and readiness and counts steps/calories expended. It’s supposed to know why you feel the way you feel by recording and analyzing a variety of health related things. If it says I’m old and sleepy, I’ll know it’s accurate.
I’ll keep you posted on the pros and cons over the next week or so. I’m wondering if it would be a good thing for Mom. But hey, she looks pretty healthy and happy without one so it might be a waste. 🙂
TIL (Today I Learned): Heroin was synthesized, named, commercialized and marketed by Bayer, the pharmaceutical company.
Mar 12, 2021
As US states open up and drop mask mandates — even before Biden announced he is directing US states to open vaccine eligibility to all adults no later than May 1 — Italy is taking a different approach. At least according to my friend that lives there…
I can’t even imagine how US citizens would react if they were told that instead of opening up more fully, we would instead go back to previous phases of lock-down. You think anyone would be out getting a last-minute haircut? Or you think they’d be protesting and spewing vitriol over social media? I’m guessing the latter.
I wouldn’t be one of the public complainers, but I would likely be a silent rule-breaker. I’m just now feeling comfortable enough to spend more time with two of my favorite people on the planet — and it would take more than a red-zone to make me give that up.
TIL (Today I Learned): IBM had to change the name of its dominant chess computer, ‘Deep Thought’, to ‘Deep Blue’ after people started calling it ‘Deep Throat’.
