Happy Birthday! Rest In Peace

A friend had a birthday today, but it was not the usual celebration. While there were flowers, there were no balloons , candles, or cake. There was music and an impressive crowd, but the birthday girl did not smile once, and did not even get to make a wish. Though there was a little laughter, remembering old times, there were far more tears, and everyone wished that the event was not happening at all. The room was filled with family and friends who wished to be anywhere, but where they were tonight. Worst of all her mother and father did not get to celebrate their daughter's 21st birthday, because instead on that happy day they had to attend her funeral.

I HATE THIS DAMN DISEASE!!

The Walk

Hanson's new cd The Walk came out this week. That's right, Hanson. I took Hannah and a few of her girlfriends to see them at the Ryman Auditorium, and was blown away. I've really only heard one song, Great Divide, which I really like. Hannah's going to let me listen to the rest of the CD tomorrow. Here are some reviews. Indielondon, The Leak Source, Rolling Stone.

Too Sad to be funny

Though there are hundreds of bad jokes bouncing around my head, I just don't have the heart. If nothing else she seemed very strong and resilient.

Wrong on So Many Levels

Uncle Frank decided to let Clara Grace and Carly cut his hair. I knew teaching them to spell was dangerous, but I never imagined the horrors that would ensue.

White by Clara Grace

White
by
Clara Grace Willson

White is a blank surface,
a sea of imagination gives white it's own colors.
White is a story waiting to be made.
White stirs the imagination,
so you could go to a bridge leading to a magical kingdom,
or the underwater city of Atlantis.
White is a soft fluffy cloud,
or a cold clean snow.
White is a beauty white.

A Great day in the woods at The Woods

I went to a Chrysalis gathering today at Wesley Woods. I love being at the Woods. David Leach and crew do a super job. If you have a chance to send your hoodlums there, I highly recommend it.

A Very Quite Tempest

I went to see the Tennessee Stage Company's production of The Tempest. I enjoyed the staging, however, I could hardly hear the actors. I think I'll try a bit later in the summer and see if I can't get a seat closer to the front.

In the words of Michael Silence...

In the words of Michael Silence..
OUCH! Oklahoma.

Goodbye Lady Bird

Lady Bird Johnson has died. She was a Lady indeed.

The Middle Child Blues

It seems like no matter how hard you try sometimes things just happen anyway. Take my son Quent. I thought that being the only boy, and being seven years older than his baby sister, he would somehow escape the stereotypical middle child role. Wrong. Quent often is the silent child, escaping notice, stuck between a superstar, and an angel. But during his Nanny's birthday he was far from silent.

Here he is pictured with his cousin Parker. Quent is the first, and one of only four young men, that are part of my parent's thirteen grandchildren. At seventeen, he's into his ipod, job, Frisbee golf, long boarding (skateboards), and though he doesn't admit it to his dad, girls. The last thing a seventeen year old wants to do is hang out with his "boy cousins" ages 10, 6, and 8 months. But whenever they asked, he answered the call to play. I bet he spent at least 2 hours chasing errant Frisbee throws.

I hope Quent never feels overlooked. I'm very fortunate to have such a fine young man as my son.

Where's Harry?

I've been to three or four movies in the last month, and have yet to see a preview for the latest Harry Potter movie! What's up with that?

Cool Numbers

I've never been much on numerology, but I had a cool 07.07.07. I went to an AA meeting as part of a group of seven and saw a friend pick up her ...wait for it...seven year chip. Pretty cool!

See Rock City

Happy Birthday Nanny!

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. As a surprise for Nanny (as she is now known) all my brothers and sisters and their children came in as a suprise. As an added suprise her sister Laura flew in from Charlottesville, Virginia. We had her husband, sister, five children, 12 of 13 grandchildren and three dogs. A splended time was had by all. Check out the photos.

Happy Birthday Nanny!

Seven Random Facts

I was tagged by Tish for the Seven Random Facts meme.

The Rules:

• Players start with 7 random facts/habits about themselves.
• People who are tagged need to write their own blog posts with their 7 things as well as these rules.
• You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog.
• Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Here facts seven random are.

1. I sleep with a 20 inch box fan mere inches from my bed. I love the white noise.
2. I my favorite dog was Herbie. We got him when I was 8, and he live until I was 20. He was 1/2 Beagle and 1/2 Dachshund. have been recognized by online friends several times while out in public.
3. My favorite movie is Lawrence of Arabia, which my kids hate, and when they were little I would hold over their heads if they were misbehaving. "Keep this up and we'll get to watch Lawrence again."
4. My favorite University of Tennessee football player of all time is Eddie Brown.
   
5. My favorite writer is is a toss up between John Irving, and Tom Wolfe.
6. Reggie White ran over me in high school. I was working as a photographer, and the play went out of bounds, and Reggie went over me.
7. I got to work White House Advance for President Ronald Reagan's trip to Athens and Knoxville, Tennessee in September 24, 1985.

Now I tag Michael, Barry, Doug, Cathy, Sarah, Newscoma, Lane

Bush Devalues Pardons

Yesterday, President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's prison sentence and Democrats are hopping mad. Often accusing Mr. Bush of being an idiot, they now have firm economic data to support their claim. In letting Mr. Libby off the hook, Mr. Bush didn't collect a single dime. Democratic president Bill Clinton had pardoned as many people (9) as his three predecessors combined (Bush 4, Reagan 1, Carter 4), and made millions of dollars in the process. All his pardonees were democratic operatives, and one, Susan McDougal, will now take the truth of the Clinton's Whitewater involvement with her to the grave. After all that work to turn pardons into a cash cow, George Bush ruined the market in one measly commutation.

In a historical note, Ronald Reagan is credited with the most egregious pardon in US history, pardoning George Steinbrenner.

Chicken Little vs. Diabetes

Hypochondria has long run in my family, and though I don't want to seem immodest, we do it better than most I know. I had an uncle that claimed he suffered from PMS for almost 13 years. So when I went for my annual physical last Monday, I fully expected to have some medical mole hill I could turn into a mountain. Wednesday, I got a call from Dr. Bellingrath's nurse Tammy. "Me Willson, we have your blood tests back. Your cholesterol is a bit high, but nothing that requires medication. Your HDL and LDL levels are (whatever they were I wasn't listening.) and oh yeah, you've got dia...

Now here is where I would normally go into my best Chicken Little impersonation before I even heard the rest of the word. It didn't matter if she said diarrhea or diverticulitis I would have been off to the races with the whole sky is falling routine complete with woe is me, and funeral plans.

What Tammy told me was "you've got diabetes". She also said that Len wanted to see me as soon as was convenient. I was surprised at how calm I was at the time. I didn't even tell anyone for several hours. But by late Wednesday night, the kick in the pancreas had taken effect, and I had to leave work early and get in a meeting.

I saw Len again Friday, and he told me I have Type 2 Diabetes. I'm fortunate that we caught it before any symptoms had occurred. I will have to take metformin daily, but other than that should be able to go on as normal. I'm still working on losing weight (down 9lbs to date) and changing my diet. Sell your Mayfield's stock. And, I hope your sitting down, I've even started exercising. Something to which I was previously theologically opposed. The thunder you hear in West Knoxville will not be our much needed rain, just me working out.

Sicko

Katie recently went to see Sicko. Here is part of her thoughts on the movie:

It is my hope that this movie, which is as Cathy says MORE A FORM OF POLITICAL PROTEST than a documentary, will one day be seen as the watershed moment that finally galvanized Americans to action on this critical issue..

I have not seen the movie, and don't feel a need to. First of all, anyone who has spent anytime at all negotiating our health care system knows it to be a nightmare at best and death at it's worst. To say that America's health care system is broken and needs fixing is simply a statement of the obvious. Doug and Cathy have talked about this, and I will be posting soon about my own adventures down the yellow brick PPO road. We'll take whatever catalyst we can get to make the system better.

Secondly, having spent a day or twelve working around the old economic model, I find it preposterous that doing away with all profit motive will improve health care in this country. Especially when message comes from someone, Mr. Moore, making millions off the message itself. What the...? Somebody call Ripley's, cause this stuff can't be real.

Finally, what model does Mr. Moore offer as the solution to our medical woes? Cuba. Cuba? CUBA! You don't have free speech, but you do get free health care. However, if two or more of you gather in the doctor's office you could be arrested for subversion. How do we even know if Cuba's health care system is worth a damn. I don't watch a lot of TV, but to my knowledge folks are casting aside trips for consultations at the Mayo Clinic, or John Hopkins in order to find out what the folks in Havana think. Medical students aren't taking rafts from Miami hoping to get a better medical education from Fidel.

In America someone who rails against the inadequacies and inequities of the health care system is called a consumer advocate. In Cuba they are called prisoner #47625.

Lane's Journey

I recently came across Dr. Lane Cook's blog Journey to Wellness. Dr. Cook's blog documents his journey through prostate cancer. In addition to sharing a first name, I work with Dr. Cook (indirectly) at Cornerstone. It's weird sometimes to hear people refer to a conversation they had with "Lane" about a patient's schizoaffective disorder when I don't know what the hell that is. Then I remember that they are talking about the other Lane, hereafter referred to as Dr. Cook.

In addition to having a great first name, Dr. Cook is also a good writer as I have learned from reading his notes on my patients. I am always impressed that after all the schizowhatever clinical information he provides (after all why spend all that time and money on school if you can't show off a little) he normally includes a very personal as well as accurate impression of his time with the patient. It's obvious he views his time with them as time with a person, and not just a patient.

Thanks to HIPPA you can't read his notes, but you can read his blog.