Journal

Jun 6, 2020 ∞

Our Africa trip journal - one year ago today: Botswana

We arrived at Kasane Airport, a small airport outside Chobe National Park in Botswana, yesterday, and when we stepped outside the airport that is when our trip really began. A driver from the resort met us, a dark-skinned black woman wearing a navy medium weight coat and wool beanie hat despite 80-plus degree heat. We loaded aboard our vehicle, which was not the shuttle bus I’d expected, but rather a flatbed truck with high sides and padded bench seats.

Jun 5, 2020 ∞

Who is Alan Tarica and why does he say I’m an idiot?

I fell down an Internet rabbit hole this morning. I received an email from someone signing himself as “Alan Tarica.” It read: “How do you have nothing to say? Idiots like you need to be exposed for having no critical thinking or meta cognition and no integrity.” I had no idea what this was about. I thought it might be related to one of my political posts, but experience tells me that it could be about _anything.

May 17, 2020 ∞

A pandemic is no walk in the park, except yesterday that's exactly what it was

Yesterday, Lake Murray was open for the first or second day since the social distancing order became law in California (which was March 20, by the way, so that’s nearly two months now). I went there on my daily walk. Too many people! Social distancing was difficult, too easy to slip inside the six-foot distance. Only about half of the people were wearing masks. Maybe less than half. You could walk in and out freely but they had park workers set up on the entrance road to keep the parking lot from filling up.

May 12, 2020 ∞

Thoughts following my my first-ever at-home haircut

I had long, thick hair when I was a young man and I miss it. For years I’ve wondered if I would look good with long hair today, even though my hair is extremely thin now. Social distancing gave me an opportunity to find out; I went far longer than usual between haircuts. The answer is that I look terrible with long hair. I am back to number two clippers all over, for good.

May 11, 2020 ∞

Help Garry Armacost, a Vietnam vet, fight cancer and VA bureaucracy

Garry Armacost, was wounded fighting for his country in Vietnam. Now he’s in the fight of his life, against cancer and the bureaucracy of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Garry is a big, cheerful, quiet 75-year-old who lives in San Diego. He needs cancer surgery for his survival. The surgery is complicated, long, done robotically, and requires sophisticated post-operative care. Garry has had bad experience with post-operative care at the VA, which proved nearly fatal in 2012.

May 5, 2020 ∞

That is an awful lot of Rome

Yesterday I read some of “Storm before the Storm” a history of the fall of the Roman Republic, by Mike Duncan, and “Silver Pigs,” the first in the mystery series by Lindsey Davis about Marcus Didius Falco, a private detective in Imperial Rome. I’ve read that series before but I’ve forgotten most of it so it’s nearly new to me. I finished re-watching “I, Claudius” Sunday — that’s the fourth time I’ve seen that.

May 5, 2020 ∞

One year ago today I saw possibly the most ridiculous example of security theater I have ever witnessed

A young woman ahead of me at airport security was walking with a cane and had a “boot” on her foot – a removable enclosure to immobilize an injured foot. The security guy asked her if she could walk without the cane, and take off the boot, and put them through the security scanner. The security guy was nice about it; he said if taking off the boot and walking without the cane caused any discomfort at all, she should just leave them on.

Apr 29, 2020 ∞

I seem to be on a Rome kick lately

I watched Britannia, with Julie, and am rewatching I, Claudius. I just started reading “Silver Pigs,” the first book of the historical mystery series by Lindsey Davis about Marcus Didius Falco, a private investigator in 1st Century Rome. I read many of those books years ago but I have essentially forgotten them so I’m quite enjoying “Silver Pigs.” I did not get through the whole series then, and plan to do so now.

Apr 23, 2020 ∞

An old friend just shared a Dropbox folder of hundreds of photos he took when we were teenagers together.

This is me looking much cooler than I have ever been in my life.

That hair tho. I do miss having hair. 📷 📓

Apr 17, 2020 ∞

We had drama. Julie commented at bedtime that she hadn’t seen Vivvie, our slate-gray cat, for about 24 hours. So we spent some time looking around the house for her. I went down in the courtyard, though Vivvie never, ever shows any interest in leaving the house. She’s a timid cat and runs away at any sign of busyness. No sign of Vivvie. I kept my eyes peeled around the yard when I was putting Minnie to bed. No sign of Vivvie. I looked in the spare room and closets. Nothing.

Vivvie did not come to bed with Julie during the night either.

This morning, we looked around some more. Still no sign of Vivvie. Julie was distraught. I was concerned and also puzzled. Sammy is an escape cat. If Sammy was missing that amount of time I’d be sure she’d gotten out. But Vivvie stays put.

Then Julie had an idea: My recliner in the living room. I’d been sitting in it yesterday. What if Vivvie climbed up in there when it was open, then couldn’t get out when I shut it and got up?

And we went to the living room and opened it up and Vivvie SHOT OUT AT TOP SPEED.

We are often in the living room with the dog and Vivvie is wary about the dog so when she got stuck in there she didn’t complain the whole time we were in the room. Or I don’t know maybe she liked it. Cats are weird. 📓

Apr 14, 2020 ∞

Minnie is back to herself, energetic and cheerful. This morning when she came in she was very excited, and I sat on the daybed with her for a little while and petted and praised her. Much of the time she appears to be walking normally; you have to look closely to see she’d favoring the injured leg. I am optimistic she will not need the surgery and soon she’ll be back to where she was before, or very close, and I’ll be able to take her on our regular, long, 3-mile walks. Although I’m enjoying them alone; without her I can do the walk in 100 minutes or so on good days.

Minnie gobbles treats and cheese and rotisserie chicken with gusto, but turns away from her regular kibble and canned food. She doesn’t even eat peanut butter, which she previously jumped for joy over. She is barely eating since Wednesday. I talked with the vet about Minnie not eating her kibble and canned food, and also got comments on Reddit and Facebook. My conclusion is that Minnie is playing mindgames with me, as she did when she was a puppy, and holding out for better food. So from now on I’m a tough guy; we are back to the normal routine, modified for current circumstances: Glucosamine treats and a cheese ball containing her anti-inflammatory pill in the morning, and kibble in the morning and evening. If she doesn’t eat the kibble, she doesn’t eat. We’ll give that a couple of days and see how it goes. 📓

Apr 13, 2020 ∞

Minnie is recovering nicely, but she won't eat her regular kibble or canned food.

Minnie is hopping around on three legs and occasionally using the injured one, which suggests it is healing. She’s got her old personality back – active, curious and playful. She even tried chasing one of the cats yesterday. However, she won’t eat her regular kibble or canned food. We’ve been giving her treats, a little cheese and a lot of rotisserie chicken. She loves that rotisserie chicken. I put down a bowl of kibble for her to eat a few minutes ago.

Apr 13, 2020 ∞

I am having my feelings and thoughts without guilt

Monotony, frustration over having to wear a mask, being unable to take the dog to the park, or go anywhere around people. And I have so many opinions! But I am also mindful that there are people out their dying in the most miserable conditions, exposing themselves to contagion to stock supermarket shelves, and medical personnel working 20 hour days without adequate protection. So yeah my problems, while large to me, are small.