Misunderstandings between friends hurt

I'm a little down right now and can't seem to spring out of it. Friday night a friend and I had a misunderstanding caused by the way we wrote some email. We seem to have made it worse by both trying to prove how right we each were. And now we've been trying to not think about it by staying busy with work, perhaps too busy. I know I hurt him and he hurt me as well. Sometimes it might be nice to just be able to jump in some kind of time machine and return to an earlier time. It's possible to use Restore to take a computer back to a better time. Why not people?

Exciting news!

A very short but exciting blog tonight. My youngest daughter just had her second daughter late last night. The baby was born at home into her father's arms, all 8 lbs 9 oz of her. This little one joins her 5-year-old sister. Everyone is doing just fine!

Just say, "How are you today?"

 I had an interesting experience this morning while shopping at Sprouts, our local produce and healthy-food store. The checker, a young man, greeted me and asked, "How are you today?" I told him I was fine and then asked how he was doing. He stopped what he was doing for just a few quick seconds, smiled broadly, and replied that he was doing great. He thanked me for asking and said that he'd gotten so used to people not saying anything that my question was a welcome surprise. We talked a little more while he rang up my few purchases, and he thanked me for our conversation.

I thought about my own son who worked as a grocery-cart pusher, a checker, and a produce clerk for quite a few years, and wondered how many people are actually aware of how hard supermarket employees work. I wondered how many people realize how difficult it can be to stand in one spot for an entire shift and handle all kinds of food and other supplies and be pleasant all the time. I wondered how many people think to return the polite questions with real care and concern for the checkers at those grocery check stands. 

I wonder. Do you?

The Real Reasons We Explore Space

At coffee this morning, someone asked why we were spending so much money on a mission to Jupiter that will take five years to get there and another five to return. She wondered why we couldn't spend all that money here on earth for our needs and requirements here. As you might imagine, that question launched a very spirited conversation with excellent points made on all sides of the topic. Most of my answers revolved around the joy of discovery rather than economic possibilities. Although I agree that the economic possibilities are extremely important, I deeply feel that we humans are capable and desirous of knowing and experiencing so much more than that. So, this excellent article in  the July 01, 2007 Air & Space Magazine by Michael Griffin satisfied my need for more reasons for space exploration.

I loved the author's comparison of space exploration today with building cathedrals hundreds of years ago, of the wonder, awe, and curiosity about things unknown. Because building massive cathedrals took such a long time, most of those builders did not live to see their projects completed. In the same way, most of us now living will not be around to see the results of our space exploration. However, it gives me a wonderful feeling just knowing we might be accomplishing important work for the long haul of life here on earth for future generations.

"It is my contention that the products of our space program are today’s cathedrals. The space program satisfies the desire to compete, but in a safe and productive manner, rather than in a harmful one. It speaks abundantly to our sense of human curiosity, of wonder and awe at the unknown. Who can watch people assembling the greatest engineering project in the history of mankind—the International Space Station—and not wonder at the ability of people to conceive and to execute the project? And it also addresses our need for leaving something for future generations." (Michael Griffin)

Wisconsin professor wins 2011 bad writing contest

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

First of all, can someone tell me if this rule applies to posting it in a blog?  I would much rather cut and paste the entire article instead of just copying the URL. However, that’s what I’ll do for now since I don’t want to make the powers-that-be somewhere mad. 

The winners have been announced for the 2011 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, named after British author Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel "Paul Clifford" begins with the oft-quoted opening line "It was a dark and stormy night."

Here’s Sue Fondrie’s Grand Prize winner: 

“Cheryl's mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten memories."

Next is John Doble’s winner in the historical fiction category:

"Napoleon's ship tossed and turned as the emperor, listening while his generals squabbled as they always did, splashed the tepid waters in his bathtub."

Finally, this is my favorite, Mike Pedersen’s Purple Prose winner:

"As his small boat scudded before a brisk breeze under a sapphire sky dappled with cerulean clouds with indigo bases, through cobalt seas that deepened to navy nearer the boat and faded to azure at the horizon, Ian was at a loss as to why he felt blue."

I think I’d feel blue, too. 

Just in case the copyright police find this blog, I’d better include the actual URL so you can read the entire article:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2011-07-26-worst-writing-contest_n.htm

Hmm. Somehow I don’t think I should use these as examples to help improve my own writing. But, in case you'd like some laughs, here is more than anyone would probably like about the contest and its winners over the years:  http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

Healthcare? What healthcare?

A wonderful August 2nd to all of you as well as lots of ice and freezing temperatures to those of you in the scorching parts of the country. I wish I could ship tons of the stuff to you. It's been hot and muggy here in San Diego but nothing like Oklahoma or New York. Please try to stay cool. It's got to end sometime.

Today I got a kind of wake-up call about how high medical costs have risen lately. I haven't had any kind of medical insurance since getting divorced in 2006 and am anxiously looking forward to Medicare (ala Secure Horizons) in December. I've been very healthy, only going to clinic doctors as needed and buying meds in Mexico. So, I just hadn't noticed the costs, other than the out-of-reach cost of medical insurance. However, my left eye has been bothering me a lot for a week so I finally made an appointment this afternoon. Turns out I have a virus in my eye (had never heard of that) caused by the same virus that makes cold sores. The treatment is one drop of stuff nine times a day for a week and an ointment to make it feel better. All well and good---until the bill.

The doctor visit was $160, and my debit card groaned but spit it out into the machine. However, the tiny bottle of drops (generic) was $143! Ouch!!! That had to go on a credit card since I haven't even paid this month's bills yet. I sure do hope those drops do the trick. I was kind of expecting to pay $4 or so at Wal-Mart, too. And what world am I living in, I wonder?

I'm knocking on all the wood I can find right now, hoping that nothing else will happen until I can rely on the government a little in December. This experience gave me a down-to-earth idea of why so many people are struggling with healthcare issues and why I'm so adamant that the U.S. is so far behind other countries in assisting their people. It isn't funny.