Benton finally got out of the ICU. He was evaluated by a therapist, who gave very different instructions than the ICU doc did. Don't force him to be awake or engaged. Let him set his own pace. If he wants to nap, let him do that. If he wants to talk, have a conversation with him. He's in charge right now. His brain is positively scrambled at ( Read more... )

The troubles with Allie cat have been described on FB. Fuck her. Mike wants to take her back to the shelter because she is an increasingly dangerous animal. True, but we signed up for her. She's our responsibility. If we take her back, they kill her. She's ours, like it or not. Man, I really don't like this cat ( Read more... )

- Daddy? Who's Chuck Norris?
- He's the guy that the boogeyman is scared of at night.

 About a week and a half ago, my cat started peeing on the carpet.  She's 3 1/2 years old and spayed.  We adopted her at seven weeks old and have never had this problem before.  We discovered that she had a problem because she started peeing on the carpet.  We took her to the vet and X-Rays revealed a bladder stone.  We gave her liquid antibiotics ( Read more... )

 Day Two went surprisingly well.  Mostly because Pops spent most of it with Crooked Frank.  I was sorry he missed Jeopardy! again, as we usually like to play together.  I checked and neither of us would have gotten Final, but I wouldn't have wagered anything.  "Baseball and the Presidency?"  Yeah, wagering nothing.  Pops was closer than I was, but ( Read more... )

Due to a psychotic person shoving a threatening note into my purse yesterday, my LJ list has been trimmed slightly. This should not be taken personally by any person either previously or currently on said list. I'm simply trying to protect myself. However, if you were never on the list and fraudulently used someone else's account and password to ( Read more... )

During Bill Clinton's first run for president, I was too young to vote.  (I voted for him the next time.)  But I mark that campaign season as the first time I started to get interested in national politics.  And I remember exactly why.  My family was in SC for some reason and we were staying in a condo near my grandparents' house.  One parent or ( Read more... )

 Interesting day.  First day of actual jury duty.  Sorta.  All last week I'd been instructed not to attend.  I spent most of my day in the jury "lounge."  "Lounge" apparently means sardine can.  I'd been warned of the inactivity and had a paperback in my purse.  I spent the morning talking to other potential jurors instead of reading.  The man to ( Read more... )

Category: Literary Brawls

Wager: Ooh, this sounds like fun.  A bunch.

Clue: At  Key West in 1936, Wallace Stevens broke his hand punching this man, who responded by knocking Stevens down.

Thinking:  When did Final get so obvious?  1936.  Key West.  Fistfight.  Hemingway.

Correct response: Hemingway.  Yawn.

I'm kinda on a Louise McNeill jag.  She's just that wonderful.  I found another lovely poem in Elderberry Flood that I hadn't remembered.  To me, it's a little jab that describes the spirit of West Virginians.  In the book, the poem is printed with an asterisk.  One has to flip to the back pages to read the explanation.  I'll start with the ( Read more... )