BETRAYAL OF ONLINE PRIVACY
My online privacy has been betrayed by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. The ultimate betrayal will occur if President Trump signs their bill as he is expected to do. No longer will Internet service providers be required to get my permission before collecting and sharing/selling my data. Will voters remember this betrayal in 2018 and 2020 elections?
BETRAYAL OF EARTH'S HEALTH
Earth's health is betrayed by President Trump as he rolls back climate regulations and protections causing the U.S. to be more dependent on polluting fuels affecting our water, air and climate making my children, grandchildren and me more ill. Will voters remember this betrayal in 2018 and 2020 elections?
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Recently I came across this draft I wrote six or eight years ago but never posted here. I decided to share this then fond reminiscence of my husband, my mundane day's activities and thoughts about work, patients I was serving then, my future and whether I wanted to retire. I did finally retire three or five years later, but continue currently to maintain requirements for my state license and national certification.
Lazy Day Reminiscence - Pondering My Future
This wasn't the first time I experienced a lazy day. I had these days rarely in my young single adult life. Then, when I married, for many years I had no lazy days, particularly once we had children. Years after the children left home my husband and I quite accidentally had a lazy day that was so successful we began to increasingly share more the older we became.
Initially, we felt a bit guilty deciding to indulge ourselves, so hesitantly sought mutual reassurance from each other that lazing around all day in our sleeping attire was acceptable behavior. Hopefully, no one would come unexpectedly to our door. There was an unspoken sense that such an out of the ordinary activity might best be kept secret lest others wonder about our judgment.
I suppose whatever guilt we felt was strictly self-imposed, arising partly because of an inherited strong work ethic we had both pursued throughout life. Arising early each day we had dedicated hours to our employment -- work outside and in the home, sometimes until quite late into the night or early morning. Meals might on occasion be rushed or even skipped when we were single, or before out children were born. Recreational, relaxation and vacation time carefully scheduled still might be subject to cancellation due to unexpected sudden work needs.
Also, there was the knowledge a multitude of activities or chores were likely awaiting undertaking with resultant concern we would be leaving them undone for another day. Sleeping late is one thing, but to lounge about all day and evening attired in pajamas and robe without having dressed was quite another matter. But that's what we occasionally did in our later years after he retired and I was working only part time.
There's just me now -- awaking one morning, I glanced at the clock's time while foggily reviewing in my mind my must-do's for the day. I recalled from the previous day the sadness I felt that a therapy patient younger than me had to be discharged to comfort care only. She had experienced a fluky minor medical problem when on a vacation trip with her husband in a faraway English-speaking nation. An infection developed unexpectedly becoming significantly more serious after they returned home. Now she was living through her final days.
Contrasting with a more positive outcome, an older patient I discharged that same day had been successfully safely transitioned to regular food. A day later she has been up in a wheelchair for the first time since admission to be wheeled outdoors into the warm sunshine by her husband. Her expectation is to return home to independent living soon.
My remaining patient wasn't scheduled to be seen for expressive language, understanding and cognitive issues until the next day. This meant I didn't really have to leave the house except to retrieve my morning newspapers, unless I received a phone call notifying me of any new physician referrals.
I leisurely reach across the bedside night stand to turn on L.A.'s all news radio station, KNX before making a brief trip to my contemplation/powder room. Returning to the bedroom I thought I was up for the day but was lured, then succumbed to my beckoning bed's seduction. Several hours later I re-awakened to reporters voicing the continuing current local, national, international news, weather and traffic reports. Eventually arising I finally wander down the hallway, pausing to raise the house thermostat's temperature a few degrees.
Peeking out the front door as I slip a jacket on over my P.J.'s to make myself half-way presentable, I gamble I can sneak half-way down my driveway and back to gather my newspapers before any periodic passing cars come traveling down my street. I like this daily outing regardless of my attire and whatever the weather conditions -- sunny, rainy, foggy, hot or cold. Having safely scurried back inside I realize it's lunchtime. I choose to have breakfast which can be quickly and easily prepared in the microwave oven -- oats, a teaspoon of cinnamon, nonfat milk.
Opening the microwave door I'm greeted by a dark interior. What's this? The microwave power is off, so away I go to the circuit box where I determine I have to reset the breaker. Why this breaker turned off I have no idea -- power surge or what? Returning to the kitchen I'm relieved to find the oven's light on. A few cooking minutes later I sprinkle a thin layer of bran buds on the now hot cereal, add a diced ripe banana half, a layer of blueberries and a few luscious red raspberries. I'll leave the refrigerated strawberries and blackberries for my evening dinner.
By now I have consciously decided, considering the time of day and my lack of any appointments, that this will be a lazy day -- and so it became as the hours flitted by.
Dinnertime's menu decision consists of a choice between a previously cooked braised chicken breast with a colorful vegetable mix , or an individually prepared healthy organic dinner quickly radiated. I chose the later consisting of a nice sized salmon fillet with spanish rice (I prefer wild rice) and fresh green beans which I garnish with a handful of cherry tomatoes. The aforementioned fresh fruits complete the meal.
Opening the refrigerator door to gather my food items, I'm again startled by another dark interior that was well-lit earlier. Oh dear! No power. I wonder how long the unit has been off? The refrigerator was alive at breakfast. Back to the circuit box, this time a flashlight in hand to slice through nighttime's darkness. Locating what I think is likely the specific offending circuit breaker, I repeatedly attempt to reset it but this troublesome one does not seem to cooperate.
Discouraged, I finally return to the kitchen ruing that I hadn't discovered this problem earlier in the day since I didn't want to incur emergency rates calling an electrician at night. I thought about food life in the freezer section as I opened the refrigerator door half hoping for a miracle. Amazing! The interior light was on -- the ancient breaker had caught in place despite outward protruding appearance.
The rest of my lazy day/evening would pass without complication.
Early in the evening a phone call comes with physician orders to see a new patient the next day. The person is known to me from treatment I provided several years ago. I know the individual has declined somewhat since then, but I wonder what has transpired now that necessitates my being consulted? Nursing and her private duty aide with whom I've long interacted will up date me on the cantankerous lady's status tomorrow.
Days or weeks sometimes pass and I have no appointments since I cut back my part time work schedule even more, mostly serving only one facility now. Still, I'm on call weekdays which prevents spontaneous personal trips out of town. Perhaps a driving trip temptation is best avoided given the increasing cost of gasoline which is well over $4 a gallon now and predicted to rise to over $5 here in Southern California USA. Yesterday I overheard a colleague say in a southeastern gulf coast city drivers were currently being charged $7 for as gallon of gas.
Sometimes I think that perhaps I should fully retire, but then I think that during those times I'm at home, I might miss working some few weekday hours. There's much I should, could or, would do here at home so I know I 'd have no excuse for being bored, but how much would I actually do?
Still.....maybe that appointment commitment minimizes the risk I'll be tempted to increase the number of my lazy days. But, continuing to work, yearly state license and national certification require attending the necessary all day continuing education seminars periodically to which I often must commute some distance. Yet, I think, I do thoroughly derive pleasure being part of my mostly aged 50 to 100+ years elder patients life transitioning process. I like interacting with them, their family and friends who may live nearby or far away. We all learn so much from each other.
The experience makes me very aware of how unexpectedly anyone including me might experience some of these debilitating medical issues I see with others. I'm not without a few medical issues of my own. Should my health situation alter I wonder just how well I would cope and adjust to challenges similar to theirs? I'd like to believe I'd be motivated to maintain a positive attitude and treat those around me genially, but I can certainly understand how difficult that might be. No doubt one day I will clearly determine either by choice or otherwise that full retirement is my primary desire, but until then I'll likely augment my days with an occasional lazy one.
