When January 25th was my surgery day, I sort of paid attention to the date. I wanted to know if it was magical or special. One particular thing that came to light, was that it was the day set aside to commemorate the conversion of Saul to Paul (he became Saint Paul only after his death – one of the disadvantages of sainthood) .
Most people likely know the story outline. He is literally on the Road to Damascus, when WHAM!!! – he is knocked off his donkey , falls to the ground, is temporarily blinded and is converted. He wakes up a new man, no longer governed by anger and fear, but ruled by love and hope.
People can have all kinds of takes on this. It is fairy tale nonsense. It is myth that is designed to feed anti-Semitism. It is a word for word historically accurate depiction of something that happened and woe to all that do not believe. Saul had a stroke and spent the rest of his life recovering.
I think what happened was this: Saul was hit by a huge, sudden, dose of empathy. He did not even know what the word meant. He was full of self and hate, and the most compassionate thing that he ever did was watch over the robes of those stoning Stephen. He did not trouble about anything, or anyone, other than himself.
But on that Road to Damascus something happened. He felt everybody’s pain and grief and fear. It was so sudden, and so overwhelming, that it was indeed like a blinding flash of light that was so powerful that it knocked him unconscious. When he came to, he found that this new found pain and grief and fear was actually very empowering. By knowing what someone else was experiencing was to know what had to be done to help them, and to help them, was to love them. And to love them, was to allow you to love God and experience his love for you. That is liberating. It matters not if your religious symbol is a crescent moon, or a star, the outline of a fish, the sun, nothing at all, or even a bar of gold. It applies to everybody.
Haiti, Africa, the streets of the world’s cities, First Nations Reserves, the fisheries of Newfoundland, the poppy fields of Afghanistan ….. the list overwhelms and has no end.. But if we can be hit with a little of Saul / Paul’s bolt of lightning every day, the planet would be so much better.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
If nothing else, this little journey is really teaching me to live One Day at a Time. It is easy to say One Day at a Time and it makes a sort of interesting acronym: ODAAT (ODAAT has a nice bureaucratic ring to it)
I really thought that I would run in the Resolution Run. I really thought they could do an angioplasty on me. I really thought I would have had my surgery today, but none of these things happened. So, are these just random acts, like those balls in the 6/49, or is there something more to it? Do things happen for a reason?
My surgery got delayed. That saved my wife from having to drive in the freezing rain. It is going to get a bicycle to Africa, as I would likely not have contacted B4HOttawa yesterday if I was thinking about my bypass being today.
I stepped out of work mode and back into work mode. That was a bit strange: I had my head wrapped around an extended absence after 30 years on the job , and all of a sudden I am phoning my boss up and saying not “I’m baaaack …… but ” I haven’t even leeeeeft” . He was gracious in allowing me to do that. I e-mailed various folks today to let them know that I am still here … sort of. My brain and my soul are not really at the full disposal of my employer. Oh I know, some would say that's normal, but that would not be my take at all.
So where is the ODAAT in that? Maybe the stuff that I am doing is really important, maybe a loose end will be closed off. It really is up to me, isn’t it?
I am not even sure what I am trying to say. I don’t mind the wait, I don’t mind the cancellations. I guess what I mind is the feeling that life is a bit on hold. I can’t really enjoy the winter as I would like, but I am enjoying it much more than someone who is confined to a wheelchair. Or is it a question of vision? Maybe the person in the wheelchair can see what I cannot (or do not want to) see. So maybe all this boils down to vision. The is a term in astronomy called averted vision. If you are looking at the Orion Nebula (M42 for Messier Marathon Wonks) in your Pronto Scope , the best way to see detail is to look a bit to the side of what you want to see, you will see it better. Trust me , it works.
So, maybe my best vision is to look a bit to the side of what I think the issue is. Cancellation of Surgery, look to the side, a bike gets to Africa.
I think that the proroguing of Parliament is an outrage, I look to the side and join the Facebook Page, and voila, there are 25,000 people demonstrating . (full disclosure – I did not join because of my delicate condition)
Averted Vision - I learn something every day.
.
I really thought that I would run in the Resolution Run. I really thought they could do an angioplasty on me. I really thought I would have had my surgery today, but none of these things happened. So, are these just random acts, like those balls in the 6/49, or is there something more to it? Do things happen for a reason?
My surgery got delayed. That saved my wife from having to drive in the freezing rain. It is going to get a bicycle to Africa, as I would likely not have contacted B4HOttawa yesterday if I was thinking about my bypass being today.
I stepped out of work mode and back into work mode. That was a bit strange: I had my head wrapped around an extended absence after 30 years on the job , and all of a sudden I am phoning my boss up and saying not “I’m baaaack …… but ” I haven’t even leeeeeft” . He was gracious in allowing me to do that. I e-mailed various folks today to let them know that I am still here … sort of. My brain and my soul are not really at the full disposal of my employer. Oh I know, some would say that's normal, but that would not be my take at all.
So where is the ODAAT in that? Maybe the stuff that I am doing is really important, maybe a loose end will be closed off. It really is up to me, isn’t it?
I am not even sure what I am trying to say. I don’t mind the wait, I don’t mind the cancellations. I guess what I mind is the feeling that life is a bit on hold. I can’t really enjoy the winter as I would like, but I am enjoying it much more than someone who is confined to a wheelchair. Or is it a question of vision? Maybe the person in the wheelchair can see what I cannot (or do not want to) see. So maybe all this boils down to vision. The is a term in astronomy called averted vision. If you are looking at the Orion Nebula (M42 for Messier Marathon Wonks) in your Pronto Scope , the best way to see detail is to look a bit to the side of what you want to see, you will see it better. Trust me , it works.
So, maybe my best vision is to look a bit to the side of what I think the issue is. Cancellation of Surgery, look to the side, a bike gets to Africa.
I think that the proroguing of Parliament is an outrage, I look to the side and join the Facebook Page, and voila, there are 25,000 people demonstrating . (full disclosure – I did not join because of my delicate condition)
Averted Vision - I learn something every day.
.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Did you hear the one about the three guys put in charge by the boss while he was on sabbatical? It is a tale told by Jesus Christ himself. (you can look it up in Luke 19 or Matthew 25 for the more biblical versions) Seems this landowner guy is going on a trip and is going to be gone for a while. He gives each of his top guys a gold coin.
( or 10 minas or some sort of cash package – it doesn’t matter). The gig away sucks so he comes back and asks for an accounting.
First Guy – Your Munificence, I have increased the value ten fold!
Boss – Fabulous, you are in charge of the West Coast and Gulf Coast Operations!
Second Guy – Your Benevolence, I have increased the value five fold!
Second Guy – Your Benevolence, I have increased the value five fold!
Boss – Great , you are now in charge of all on-line operations including our blog, Facebook, and Twitter
Third Guy – I was very careful and frugal and in fact buried the original funding under the old oak tree and here it is , every last cent and ….
Boss – You Big Dummy!! If I wanted zero return I would have bought Canada Savings Bonds!! You are going downstairs to the Eight Track Dungeon and you are not coming out until you have cataloged all the K Tel stuff!!!
Okay, I do think that I have updated the story a tad but here is my take. God gets really pissed off at people who get gifts and do nothing with them. My surgery is deferred but I have committed to doing one small thing.
The logo above is for Bicycles for Humanity. They assemble bikes and ship bikes to Africa (current project is Malawi). A bike in Ottawa is sent to Africa – it gets there and it becomes a soccer mom van, a first responder vehicle, a school bus, a delivery van, a courier truck, a Springsteen Cadillac. Pretty Simple Stuff.
My first planned payback- I commit three bucks for each day, from the day of my operation to the first day I am back on my bike, to the Ottawa Chapter of Bicycles for Humanity
Third Guy – I was very careful and frugal and in fact buried the original funding under the old oak tree and here it is , every last cent and ….
Boss – You Big Dummy!! If I wanted zero return I would have bought Canada Savings Bonds!! You are going downstairs to the Eight Track Dungeon and you are not coming out until you have cataloged all the K Tel stuff!!!
Okay, I do think that I have updated the story a tad but here is my take. God gets really pissed off at people who get gifts and do nothing with them. My surgery is deferred but I have committed to doing one small thing.
The logo above is for Bicycles for Humanity. They assemble bikes and ship bikes to Africa (current project is Malawi). A bike in Ottawa is sent to Africa – it gets there and it becomes a soccer mom van, a first responder vehicle, a school bus, a delivery van, a courier truck, a Springsteen Cadillac. Pretty Simple Stuff.
My first planned payback- I commit three bucks for each day, from the day of my operation to the first day I am back on my bike, to the Ottawa Chapter of Bicycles for Humanity
Friday, January 22, 2010
“I am sorry that you got cancelled” - Voice Mail Message from my family doctor’s nurse, left in response to my coronary bypass being put back to February 8th, from January 25th. I am not entirely sure if from an etymological perspective stating that “I got canceled” is correct, and from a theological perspective it sounds terrifying, but I am making a simple thing too complex: the fact of the matter is that the hospital is still suffering residual H1NI bed closings with some bug even newer thrown in to confirm that evolution at least in the world of viruses and bacteria is still operating (sorry Sarah Palin)
But I still have a good pre-op.
0810 – show up at University of Ottawa Heart Institute and register
0820 – Go for X-Ray. Learn difference between left and right
0835 – Go for cardiogram
0845 – Go to give 3 vials blood samples
0915 – Meet Cardiac Surgeon. Go over the benefits (longer life, better life) and risks (agonizing, painful, unquenchable anguish leading to death). Decide to go with former and sign consent. Find out that my left arm will donate arteries ( or is it veins ?). Anyway, left arm will donate something and find out that I have an extra one. (blood flow thing – not left arm) God must have been thinking when we were in beta. Find out that Cardiac Surgeon is on call weekend before my operation. Relieved to hear that he will not operate on me if he is up all night on transplant.
1000 – Coffee Break at Hospital Tim Horton’s. We do not want to give up parking spot so we hang at the hospital. Have nice conversation with man from Halifax in the Smoking Cessation Business.
1130 – Lunch at Hospital – Low fat, low salt carrot soup and low fat low salt tuna sandwich (on white bread – what is that all about?)
Noon – check voice mail at home, message to call triage nurse at Ottawa Heart Institute
12:15 – go see triage nurse, told that my procedure is delayed; I think they felt worse than me
1300 – Pre Admission. Meet Nurse Helen where I am ……
Weighed and Measured
Told how to do the pre-op showers (four days in a row with two soap pads, one for belly button south and one for belly button north)
Pre–op mouthwash – four times the day before
Swabs – Nurse Helen does my nostrils – I do my own bum
Lessons on how it will be on waking (tubes, tubes, tubes, and wires, already described in earlier blog)
Meet the Anesthesiologist - “We will put a cannula over needle device in which the flexible plastic cannula is mounted on the trocar and once these are located in the vein we hit you on the head with a big mallet and you are out for the count.” Those were almost his exact words – certainly he said the mallet part. He was funny and professional and put me at great ease. He told me that he had his training in the USA , at a Top Gun hospital and that he thinks there is no better place than the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. I believe him.
Back to Nurse Helen to get a lesson in getting in and out of chairs and bed. I thought that an “incorrect” move would receive a reminder notice of pain. That is not always the case and yet you can damage yourself, without knowing it. That was likely the scariest notice of the day but Nurse Helen assured me that the lesson would be repeated many times. My wife and I had the full attention of Nurse Helen for the afternoon. She was professional, smart, compassionate, thorough, funny, and we knew we were in the right place.
1515 – We are free to go, we have no more questions
1520 – We are stopped by Nurse Helen in the lobby (she bolted down the back stairs). She figured out that they needed more blood samples from me. I told you I was in the right place.
But I still have a good pre-op.
0810 – show up at University of Ottawa Heart Institute and register
0820 – Go for X-Ray. Learn difference between left and right
0835 – Go for cardiogram
0845 – Go to give 3 vials blood samples
0915 – Meet Cardiac Surgeon. Go over the benefits (longer life, better life) and risks (agonizing, painful, unquenchable anguish leading to death). Decide to go with former and sign consent. Find out that my left arm will donate arteries ( or is it veins ?). Anyway, left arm will donate something and find out that I have an extra one. (blood flow thing – not left arm) God must have been thinking when we were in beta. Find out that Cardiac Surgeon is on call weekend before my operation. Relieved to hear that he will not operate on me if he is up all night on transplant.
1000 – Coffee Break at Hospital Tim Horton’s. We do not want to give up parking spot so we hang at the hospital. Have nice conversation with man from Halifax in the Smoking Cessation Business.
1130 – Lunch at Hospital – Low fat, low salt carrot soup and low fat low salt tuna sandwich (on white bread – what is that all about?)
Noon – check voice mail at home, message to call triage nurse at Ottawa Heart Institute
12:15 – go see triage nurse, told that my procedure is delayed; I think they felt worse than me
1300 – Pre Admission. Meet Nurse Helen where I am ……
Weighed and Measured
Told how to do the pre-op showers (four days in a row with two soap pads, one for belly button south and one for belly button north)
Pre–op mouthwash – four times the day before
Swabs – Nurse Helen does my nostrils – I do my own bum
Lessons on how it will be on waking (tubes, tubes, tubes, and wires, already described in earlier blog)
Meet the Anesthesiologist - “We will put a cannula over needle device in which the flexible plastic cannula is mounted on the trocar and once these are located in the vein we hit you on the head with a big mallet and you are out for the count.” Those were almost his exact words – certainly he said the mallet part. He was funny and professional and put me at great ease. He told me that he had his training in the USA , at a Top Gun hospital and that he thinks there is no better place than the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. I believe him.
Back to Nurse Helen to get a lesson in getting in and out of chairs and bed. I thought that an “incorrect” move would receive a reminder notice of pain. That is not always the case and yet you can damage yourself, without knowing it. That was likely the scariest notice of the day but Nurse Helen assured me that the lesson would be repeated many times. My wife and I had the full attention of Nurse Helen for the afternoon. She was professional, smart, compassionate, thorough, funny, and we knew we were in the right place.
1515 – We are free to go, we have no more questions
1520 – We are stopped by Nurse Helen in the lobby (she bolted down the back stairs). She figured out that they needed more blood samples from me. I told you I was in the right place.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Stuff happens every day but the world got a little poorer with the death of Kate McGarrigle. She was only 63. She performed with here in Canada with her sister Anna under the somewhat sensible name of the McGarrigle Sisters. She was for a while married to Loudon Wainright III of Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road fame. Their genes combined well as Rufus and Martha Wainright are their kids.
But Kate and her sister did something very Canadian: The Log Driver’s Waltz. If this does not make you smile and make you proud, nothing will.
But Kate and her sister did something very Canadian: The Log Driver’s Waltz. If this does not make you smile and make you proud, nothing will.
Monday, January 18, 2010
From a classy friend : Mendin' Music
From Dumb Me : the wiki link
I do wonder how long the wiki links will last?
Note to self: Search Youtube for funny kitty cat videos and post
Vaughan William: Symphony No. 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_(Vaughan_Williams)
Bach: Double violin concerto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Violin_Concerto_(Bach)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_(Beethoven)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_(Beethoven)
Mozart: Symphony No. 41
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._41_(Mozart)
Puccini: Tosca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosca
Bernstein: West Side Story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Story
Gorecki: Symphony No.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._3_(G%C3%B3recki)
Copland: Appalachian Spring
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Spring
Barber: Violin Concerto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_(Barber)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._1_(Brahms)
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._2_(Shostakovich)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._5_(Beethoven)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._5_(Beethoven)
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto_No._1_(Shostakovich)
R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Rosenkavalier
R. Strauss: Four Last Songs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Last_Songs
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Prokofiev)
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._3_(Prokofiev)
From Dumb Me : the wiki link
I do wonder how long the wiki links will last?
Note to self: Search Youtube for funny kitty cat videos and post
Vaughan William: Symphony No. 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_(Vaughan_Williams)
Bach: Double violin concerto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Violin_Concerto_(Bach)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_(Beethoven)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_(Beethoven)
Mozart: Symphony No. 41
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._41_(Mozart)
Puccini: Tosca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosca
Bernstein: West Side Story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Story
Gorecki: Symphony No.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._3_(G%C3%B3recki)
Copland: Appalachian Spring
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Spring
Barber: Violin Concerto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_(Barber)
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._1_(Brahms)
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._2_(Shostakovich)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._5_(Beethoven)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._5_(Beethoven)
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto_No._1_(Shostakovich)
R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Rosenkavalier
R. Strauss: Four Last Songs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Last_Songs
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Prokofiev)
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._3_(Prokofiev)
A very big day is coming up. If Canada’s National Newspaper is to be believed, the 27th of January will be a huge day. We are all going to go the Streets of San Francisco and we won’t need flowers in our hair, Karl Malden, or Michael Douglas. Apple is set to launch the iKindle (I doubt they will call it that) and I am joining the majority of the world that does not give a flying f word about that.
Who knows what will be on my mind that day – today I have other thoughts.
I missed lunch today and we had salmon for dinner. I was hungry and the salmon was a bit on the fatty side. But since I was hungry I reverted to a bad old habit and I beagled (new word based on wolfed) the thing down. So I felt, after the meal, a bit bloated. Was it just a bit of light indigestion or my heart? The things that I now consider.
I took the beagle out for a walk. He is stubborn, self absorbed, has a narrow agenda, and likes to pull to the right. He is just like the woman who claims to be our Member of Parliament except he has charm and dislikes firearms. Walking him is becoming a bit of a chore. I love walking but I have to be careful and not run and get silly and neither he nor I like that. The things that I now consider.
I am reading now a lot, maybe a bit too much, which sounds like crazy talk except that reading involves a lot of sitting on the butt. I just finished a very long book by Elizabeth Kostova : The Historian. I read the book of my own free will, it was long and rambling, going through time, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Vampires and circular discrete convolutions of the written word (and of course there is no such thing). It was a potato chip book, a bit like da Vinci Code. Not to destroy the story for anyone reading this book but things would have been better if Dracula had crossed paths with Melvil Dewey back in the 1880s . The things that I now consider.
I now have a spiritual advisor, Father Jack, a Catholic priest who has spent time in India in Ashrams. What enlightenment has he given me? He has taught me to breathe, for one thing. Simple yoga exercises to open up my lungs and airways for the trauma they are about to suffer. Simple Mediation: he spent weeks and weeks, ten hours a day, concentrating on breathing – he says it brought tears to his eyes. For me it is a bit simpler: When I get back from surgery I can meditate on breathing – air in, and air out, air in, and air out. Think about nothing else. There is no pain. There is no outside world. There is no music. You are just doing the gift of life itself – air in and air out. I am learning that prayer is more about listening than talking (a real stretch for me) and I have become a fan of Fr Richard Rohr. I called Fr Jack a spiritual advisor – Fr Jack is more of a spiritual questioner. The things that I now consider.
At Christmas time I blogged that I had elected to give some money to the Salvation Army instead buying an iGizmo (could have been the iKindle !!) . Good thing I did that and also signed up for the monthly contributions, as they sure need the cash in Haiti. I just, moments ago, found out that a very good friend of mine is flying to Santo Domingo tomorrow and then on to Port au Prince. His job has him there for a week at least. He says that he will be fine. He will be careful. He will not be in the most dangerous areas. It is not a war zone. I see aftershocks. I see Warlord Blade leading 3000 escaped criminals. I see the one bug the inoculations did not guard against. The things that I now consider.
The main thing that I really think about is my good fortune and how things have lined up for me. There is the mechanical part, the getting fixed part of course, and that is core. But even better is the love of family and friends. I just got off the phone with a lady who told me to keep my chin up, get help if I need it , and think positive thoughts. She had a ‘bad go a few years ago', but she got over it. Apologetically she added that the "few years ago" was when she was younger. She has had to concede that age does play a role. She is now 94 and her last bad go was when she was just 88….. I get so many lessons each day I can barely keep track. The things that I now consider.
Who knows what will be on my mind that day – today I have other thoughts.
I missed lunch today and we had salmon for dinner. I was hungry and the salmon was a bit on the fatty side. But since I was hungry I reverted to a bad old habit and I beagled (new word based on wolfed) the thing down. So I felt, after the meal, a bit bloated. Was it just a bit of light indigestion or my heart? The things that I now consider.
I took the beagle out for a walk. He is stubborn, self absorbed, has a narrow agenda, and likes to pull to the right. He is just like the woman who claims to be our Member of Parliament except he has charm and dislikes firearms. Walking him is becoming a bit of a chore. I love walking but I have to be careful and not run and get silly and neither he nor I like that. The things that I now consider.
I am reading now a lot, maybe a bit too much, which sounds like crazy talk except that reading involves a lot of sitting on the butt. I just finished a very long book by Elizabeth Kostova : The Historian. I read the book of my own free will, it was long and rambling, going through time, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Vampires and circular discrete convolutions of the written word (and of course there is no such thing). It was a potato chip book, a bit like da Vinci Code. Not to destroy the story for anyone reading this book but things would have been better if Dracula had crossed paths with Melvil Dewey back in the 1880s . The things that I now consider.
I now have a spiritual advisor, Father Jack, a Catholic priest who has spent time in India in Ashrams. What enlightenment has he given me? He has taught me to breathe, for one thing. Simple yoga exercises to open up my lungs and airways for the trauma they are about to suffer. Simple Mediation: he spent weeks and weeks, ten hours a day, concentrating on breathing – he says it brought tears to his eyes. For me it is a bit simpler: When I get back from surgery I can meditate on breathing – air in, and air out, air in, and air out. Think about nothing else. There is no pain. There is no outside world. There is no music. You are just doing the gift of life itself – air in and air out. I am learning that prayer is more about listening than talking (a real stretch for me) and I have become a fan of Fr Richard Rohr. I called Fr Jack a spiritual advisor – Fr Jack is more of a spiritual questioner. The things that I now consider.
At Christmas time I blogged that I had elected to give some money to the Salvation Army instead buying an iGizmo (could have been the iKindle !!) . Good thing I did that and also signed up for the monthly contributions, as they sure need the cash in Haiti. I just, moments ago, found out that a very good friend of mine is flying to Santo Domingo tomorrow and then on to Port au Prince. His job has him there for a week at least. He says that he will be fine. He will be careful. He will not be in the most dangerous areas. It is not a war zone. I see aftershocks. I see Warlord Blade leading 3000 escaped criminals. I see the one bug the inoculations did not guard against. The things that I now consider.
The main thing that I really think about is my good fortune and how things have lined up for me. There is the mechanical part, the getting fixed part of course, and that is core. But even better is the love of family and friends. I just got off the phone with a lady who told me to keep my chin up, get help if I need it , and think positive thoughts. She had a ‘bad go a few years ago', but she got over it. Apologetically she added that the "few years ago" was when she was younger. She has had to concede that age does play a role. She is now 94 and her last bad go was when she was just 88….. I get so many lessons each day I can barely keep track. The things that I now consider.
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