To see the world through someone else's eyes

I just heard on Public Radio's All things considered, a story about scientists growing human retinas in a petri dish. Like so much in science, the original purpose was to study how humans come to see colors when many animals don't, but now they are thinking if would be possible to use the retinas to cure color blindness or even replace a retina with macular degeneration.

It got me to thinking about seeing the world through someone else's eyes.

That's something we humans don't do much and especially in the polarized political landscape of today.

As a older, straight, while, American male, I need the eyes of the young, the GLBTQ, people of color, people of other nationalities and women to help me see clearly through their eyes.

And as a socialist leaning Democrat, I also need to see through the eyes of conservative Republicans.

That's the hardest one for me.

And yet, to 'stand under' the other is the only way to understand them.

I'm going to try to keep my deeply held political views at bay and try to see through the eyes of Marco Rubio or Linsey Graham.

(I draw the line, however, at the eyes of Ted Cruz and our President. I won't go there....)

lazy day

I slept until 9:57 a.m. and only got up then so I couldn't be accused of sleeping until 10.

Had breakfast at 10:30 or so--turkey sausage, blueberry waffle and a double yoked egg. Double yokes are amazing!

Read until 1 p.m. then had an apple.

Two really nice guys delivered our new range. It cost less than the repair on the old range would have been.

Read some more.

Went to the store for sock-eye salmon--the only salmon Bern will eat.

Oh, right. Got gas too. Came home from a meeting last night with my gas light on.

Read some more--a book by Robert Galbraith (pen name for Harry Potter author J.K. Rollins. Third of a 4 book series so far. I read the first two this week and have the fourth for tomorrow.

Long books--good for lazy days.

Grilled onions and green squash and the salmon and made a salad.

Read while stuff was grilling.

Drank some wine along the way.

Watched the news for a while--CNN and MSNBC of course. Worried about folks in Florida and Georgia as the storm roared on.

Played hearts on-line.

Then wrote this.

All in all, a pretty lazy day.

I like 'em....

Try it sometime. Bet you'll like 'em too.

untitled post

I had this great idea about what to write about on my blog last night.

It was a wonderful idea, one of the best I've ever had. Seriously, this was an idea that would have gotten me 3000 views and become a topic on social media.

It was such a miraculous idea that since it was past 11 p.m. I knew I would remember today and write it now.

I almost wrote it last night and even opened my blog page but really needed to go to bed and since this once in a lifetime IDEA--that's how I thought of it, all caps, IDEA--would surely stay with me overnight, I turned off my computer and went to bed.

Then today, when I opened my blog, gratified that I had 258 visits yesterday, I saw a 'draft' showing at the top of the posts. It said "untitled post".

Then and only then did I remember I had had the IDEA of a lifetime about a post last night and went to bed knowing such an IDEA would survive my sleep.

So, I stared at the screen for several minutes and realized the IDEA I had was gone from my brain and that I had missed writing 'the best post ever' because it was late and I thought I couldn't possibly forget such an IDEA!!!

But I did.

And now I will never write it and you will never read it and our lives will not be changed unalterably and forever by the brilliance and wonder of that IDEA because I went to bed instead.

Alas and alack!

So, this is, now and forever, the 'untitled post'.

I apologize for giving in to exhaustion instead of brilliance. My fault, my own fault, my most grievous fault.

So, life goes on unenlightened by my IDEA which has fled my brain.

So it goes. Alas and alack.

All could have been altered for the better. But will not be....

The two worse things he's ever said

Hard to imagine, giving how many horrible things the President who will not be named has said, that he said the two worst things ever within a day.

First of all, in a rally in Mississippi, he made fun of Dr. Christine Blassey Ford and got laughter and applause.

The other was when he was about to get on the helicopter and told reporters, and I quote: "It's a very scary time for young men in America."

It is unforgivable to mock a victim of sexual abuse whose predator, I believe, will be named to the highest count in the land tomorrow. Whatever you think about whether the accusations are true or not, to make fun of a woman who altered her life to testify about what she remembers is just short of Satanic.

And to the second statement by President WWNBN-ed is beyond belief.

Thank God, I say, that these are scary times for 'young men' in America. Every time, before now, have been scary times for 'young women'. Turn about is more than fair play--it is right and good and just and noble.

Young men, I hope, are scared. Scared enough to respect the women around them in a new and better way. I pray that is true.

Fear is a good thing to motivate behavior.

One of the worst things he's said and I hope young men hear it and heed it. I truly do.

Scared young men will make life better for young women. Hopefully....

Ten sleeps

That's the way we told Josh and Mimi, when they were young, when something was going to happen.

"Five sleeps," we say, "and then we're going to grandma's house"...or to the beach...on until the birthday party.

Bridget (Annie's new name since she really didn't react to 'Annie' except by lowering her head like something bad was coming) has been with us ten sleeps.

She is remarkably sweet and quiet and good. She is beginning to seek us out when we're not with her. At first she was on a couch or the bed until we came and got her. She's obviously used to 'being alone'. Now she comes looking and gets some loving and then goes back upstairs. When either of us is up in the TV room, she's there.

Outside is hard for her. I don't think she's been outside much and she's cowered by most things outside--cars, mowers, people, other dogs. But she goes and gets a little better on walks each day. We haven't thought of taking her to walk the Canal down at the bottom of the hill yet. Not ready for that.

She needs a follow-up shot for lime disease in a week or so, which will only be the second time we've put her in a car. The first was to bring her home.

Every once in a while she seems excited and happy--usually around meal times and when we walk in to where she is.

But there is much to do yet--for us and for her.

Ten sleeps hasn't been enough. But we're patient and love her so.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to attest that she trusts and loves us.

Just not after only ten sleeps.

Far from over, if ever....

The President said today that these were 'bad days for young boys'.

All the days before these days have been 'bad days for young girls'...

Turn about is not only fair play--it's how it has to be.

The President also said there could be 'bad reports' about everybody.

That's simply not true and grossly misleading.

Most men I know never did anything that could be called 'sexual assault'.

I do agree that most men I know drank irresponsibly at some time or another. I myself did not drink until after high school when I went to New Orleans to be with my cousin Mejol and she took me to famous clubs and got me drunk enough to realize how dangerous drinking too much could be. Bless her, what a gift.

I still love white wine and drink on holidays until I'm just smiling and nodding.

But I've never hurt anyone while drinking.

In fact, I get even gentler than I already am after some wine.

But all this is far from over, no matter whether or not Judge Kavenough is on the Supreme Court or not.

November is coming. Let's see how worse the 'bad days for boys' can get.

And 2020 is looming.

This whole scenario is far, far from over.

Lean back and take a deep breath. Better times are coming and coming and coming....

Third times' a charm

I've shared this post twice before to almost no readers. Trying again....

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The only time I was ever in Germany

It was on the way to Israel in December of 1999. We landed in Frankfort in the wee hours of the morning. I had forgotten all about it (but at my age 'forgetting' is normal....) But I was reading from the notebook I took on that trip and found this poem.

Watching dawn come at Frankfort Airport

Staring out on a school of
     planes
(neatly arranged like huge
  patients in a ward
  attached with feeding tubes
  of walkways to the
  terminal)
dawn creeps in.

It comes as a lightening
    of the sky
      from black
      to indigo
      to navy blue
      to steely gray.

Somewhere on the flight
somewhere over the north Atlantic
somewhere at 37,000 feet
I lost six hours.
Dawn comes late in Frankfort
   in December
but my watch is still at
   10 'til 2 in the tiny
   hours of Eastern Standard Time.

Who owes me these six hours?
How do I get them back?
All around me members of
my group are sprawled
  on black, comfortable
   seats,
dreaming that in sleeping they
  can steal back the time.
But those six hours are
   simply gone, I tell you!
Poof! Disappeared! Lost....

Now a monorail passes outside the window,
   people lit up inside, heading for airplanes.

I can see planes dropping to earth
and leaping away on faraway
runways.

People are trapped inside
each of them, headed toward
Budapest, Singapore,
New York, Moscow,
New Dehlia. Losing
or finding hours as they
go.

I hope someone nice finds
 the six hours I lost
 and uses them well.

Posted by Under The Castor Oil Tree at 5:13 PM