Pete Seeger. American, dead at 94

One of the greatest American folk singers and songwriters, Pete Seeger, passed away last night after a short hospital stay.  We remember his greatness here:

This was a 99% of which I DIDN'T want to be a part

This story started about a year ago, when I started having pains right down my center when I walked from my car to my office.  I mentioned it to my regular doctor and she seemed to think that it was an inflammation of my trachea, and it was only happening during the colder months.

Then it began to happen whenever I walked in and then I started having pains in my underarm.  So, about 3 weeks ago, I went for my diabetes checkup (did well, by the way, an improvement from 6.7 down to 6.4) I saw a different doctor who helps out now at their practice.   I mentioned it to him and he immediately scheduled a stress test for me.

A week later, I went to Methodist University Hospital, got the stress test done, and since they didn't haul me off right then to the Cath lab, I figured I had done well.  Well, a week ago this past Friday, my regular doctor called me to say I had flunked the stress test and that I needed a heart cath to find out what was wrong.

Susan and I met with the cardiologist, Dr. Pranab Das, this past Friday, and they did an EKG, scheduling the cath at Methodist University Hospital for Tuesday.  I have to say, Dr. Das is amazing, calmly explaining everything and making sure you remain as calm as he is.  We were both impressed with him; if you use Methodist for healthcare and you need a cardiologist, this is the guy you need to see.

He explained that the cath would show any problems, and if there were no arteries with blockage of 70% or better, all that would be done would be to give me medicine.  Above that, a stent could be put in or, worst-case scenario, bypass surgery, which would be done then.

We showed up at 11 AM on Tuesday, they got me in to a Same-Day Surgery room, and Susan's Aunt Barbara arrived to sit with Susan during my procedure.  At 2 PM, I went to the Cath room. As Dr. Das had told me, they would use an artery in my wrist and not through the femoral artery in the groin, so I was given Lorezepam as a sedative, which sedated me but did not knock me out.  Yes, I was awake for all of this!

About halfway through, Dr. Das stopped to tell me that my main artery was 99% blocked (he would tell Susan, but not me, that if we hadn't caught this, I would have had a major heart attack within a month).  He would need to put in a stent and I said, "so I'm staying overnight then?" and he confirmed that.  

I have to tell you, it kind of hurt, but it saved my life, and it was the strangest feeling in the world to feel a balloon expanding inside my heart.  He put in the stent, got finished and I went to recovery for three hours, then back to my room where Susan was waiting for me.  I was never so happy to see anyone in my life as I was to see Susan.  I was too dumb to be scared, so she was scared for me, I think.  

She told everyone how it went, and I made a few calls myself.  I am off work until Monday, but I am still going to a wedding Saturday for two friends who are perfect for each other, and I need to see that.

I will get back to writing next week, as I am trying to keep the outrage down.  Besides, every time Mitt opens his mouth, The President goes up 5 more points in the polls.

I am very fortunate to have you as readers and friends, fortunate to have Dr. Das as my cardiologist, and most fortunate to have Susan, without whom I would not have thought to have this checked out. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would not be here without her.

See you in a few days!

This is not about politics, it's about me...

No, I'm not going anywhere, just a little tale of making a pilgrimage.  If you're not interested, go and watch the pretty badgers dance.

After having written about Weiner a few days ago, I realized that I had not been there in several years.  In fact, I've been there only once since we buried Dad seven years ago.  So, with a day off, I headed out for Weiner after breakfast.  Thanks to I-55 & what will be I-555 (US 63), I got there right after 12 noon, and drove around the town, winding up, of course, at my parents and grandparents' graves.

(Remember, you can always skip out; if you don't like badgers, here are some nice llamas.)

After visiting the graveyard, I drove around the town and it confirmed that little has changed in the 40 years since I moved away.  It remains the only town from which I moved that I cried about when I left; I never imagined that I would ever leave there.  Oops.

The downtown is little to nothing on the west side of the Cotton Belt tracks, as it has been since the late 70s; people either shop for groceries at Fowler's, or drive 20 miles to Jonesboro, as we did when I was a child.   After a while, I left and went to Jonesboro.

After a stop or two to get a magazine (football, people, FOOTBALL), I left to come home.  I stopped in Trumann to look at the house that had belonged to my family from 1973 until I sold it in 2005; the people who live there now had taken down the fences and chopped down the trees my grandfather had planted shortly after moving in.  Somehow, I didn't bother me; I drove on after a short pause.

I think of all I had in Arkansas that is now gone; yet it just brings home the fact that Memphis is and will be my home, it's where I have put down roots.

In the long run, that is a much-needed comfort.

Today, I threw away the chili

No, this is not the beginning of a really bad country song, this leads to what our beloved Newscoma calls an annoying autobiographical pause.

Today, it's been a month since Lauren died, and I am cleaning out the refrigerator because there were things that I couldn't get rid of that were starting to smell.

And then I got to the chili. It was the last thing she ever made for us, about three days before she went to the hospital. Today, there was mold on it, and I knew I had to do it, and I did. it seems really silly, but it was always wonderful chili, as those of you who have had it know very well. I couldn't eat it, but I couldn't let go of it, but today I did.

I am okay, surprisingly well, all things considered, and that is because of all 0f you. You who have been there for all of us ever since this happened, who sat with us in ICU and called or texted when you couldn't, who came to the wake and the funeral and who have checked on us constantly. You, who are the best friends any human could ever expect to have.

Because of all of you, I am here, and will be for the foreseeable future. Somewhere, Lauren is laughing and saying, "SEE! I TOLD you!" And she did, nearly every day.

The cats are a big part of this as well, giving me attention as well as demanding it, and it is always appreciated, they ground me very well, thank you.

So, I am going to get through this, with my faith and my family and friends, which includes you if you are a reader.

Enough of this, I want to tell you to watch this space on Monday morning, I have something wonderful to tell you about. It is a new project about which I am very excited and have been working on with two wise old hands. Be here at 8 AM Monday for the news!

No, LWC is not going away, this is in addition to the blog and I hope that you will love it. More good news, I hope, will come later this week, with the word of the return of a great blog which has lain dormant for a year or so, and we hope returns with a flourish, because we have missed it greatly.

All right, go enjoy your weekend and GO SAINTS!!!!!!!

As the Cracker becomes happily nervous or nervously happy.

Tonight, movements and negotiations take place to fulfill something I have wanted for a long time, yet I am nervous. Something I knew was always going to happen, but I'm nervous. I will soon be finding out if there IS too much of a good thing, and if two people who love each other very much yet are way too much alike can coexist and cohabitate without homicide.

Oh, and my TV's gone out.

Stay tuned.

Why are you thankful today?

Well, here's why I give thanks today, not necessarily in order of importance:

1.  Barack Obama will become President January 20, and we can finally begin to turn this country in the right direction.

2.  That I work for the most well-managed company on Earth, so that I am not yet worried about maintaining employment.

3.  That I have the most amazing, wonderful and varied group of friends a person can have, from Chicago to Little Rock to Hooterville and concentrated in the Cradle of Popular Culture, Memphis.

4.  That among those friends are people who are going to rebuild the State Democratic Party, whether it likes it or not.

5.  That I know things WILL get better for this country, although not nearly as quickly as we all want.

6. For YOU, the readers who come back whether I have something to say or not.

7. For the family that I have that is far away, and for the family I have made with the people that are here.

8.  And above all else, Lauren.  What else needs be said?

Go hang out, eat, and ENJOY!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is my 900th post!!!! But that's NOT why I am writing.

As Sean Braisted has noted, the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women has attacked Senator Edward Kennedy for his endorsement of Barack Obama as a betrayal of women.

Yes, you read that correctly. Ted Kennedy, the iconic progressive in the United States Senate for nearly half a century, has betrayed women. Right.

As a progressive, I am disappointed that he chose Senator Obama rather than John Edwards, because I believe Edwards' positions are more reflective of his own, but after a lifetime of service, I'm sure as hell not going to attack him as a betrayer.

Since he joined the Senate in 1962, Ted Kennedy has been a stalwart and a statesman for progressive causes, especially with regard to women's issues like reproductive rights, protection of battered women, the Equal Rights Amendment, equal pay, among hundreds of issues. I can think of no one who has given more of his life in a legislative capacity, and this is how he is repaid?

What is even more aggravating is that, among Democrats, race and gender are supposed to be far less important when choosing a candidate. I know women of all colors supporting Edwards or Obama and not Clinton, men of all colors supporting Clinton and not Obama or Edwards, and African-Americans who are supporting Clinton or Edwards and not Obama. That's why this strikes me as being a remnant of the past, and, frankly, it's just sad.

I ask this question because, frankly, I don't know: When the FIRST female candidate for President (also from New York State), Shirley Chisholm, ran for President in 1972, how did the NY chapter of NOW (which I presume was around then) react to her defeat? Did they attack Senator Kennedy for not supporting her? I really would like to know.

As I have said and will say, one's skin color or gender does not guarantee or disqualify one from public office; that's why the NY NOW reaction to Kennedy's endorsement of Obama is so deeply disappointing on all levels.

Flame away.

UPDATE: Kim Gandy, the NATIONAL President of NOW, issues her OWN press release:

The National Organization for Women has enormous respect and admiration for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D- Mass.). For decades Sen. Kennedy has been a friend of NOW, and a leader and fighter for women's civil and reproductive rights, and his record shows that.

Though the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee has proudly endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president, we respect Sen. Kennedy's endorsement. We continue to encourage women everywhere to express their opinions and exercise their right to vote.

All righty then!

Really nice post from fearlessvk

Fearlessvk shows how, sadly, it takes a transplant to show how wonderful a place Memphis is and can be...

It's simple: anyone who is considering the possibility of moving to Memphis, but doesn't know a whole lot about the city, is going to discover some incredibly nasty diatribes against the place as soon as they start looking. It will almost certainly completely change them from agnostic about Memphis to hellbent against setting foot in Memphis. And it's not a bunch of snobs from the coasts giving Memphis a terrible reputation. It's people who live in Memphis and can't stop shitting all over their own city. Obviously, I'm often very critical of Memphis,
but I sincerely hope there is a difference between critique and animosity.

Critique is fine, critique is welcome - when it comes from an attachment to the city and a desire for improvement. But sheer unmitigated animosity is killing the city.

Go read the rest here.