It was no fun
I recently had the misfortune of spending a day and a half in the hospital. I won’t bore you with the malady that accosted me and subsequently necessitated my imminent hospitalization. As one who both loathes and fears hospitals, I certainly wasn’t a model patient because all I wanted to do was get back home.
Nevertheless, I was stuck there from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. the next day. After lying flat on my back in the ER for about 3 hours, a doctor stopped in to talk with me for a few minutes and then said he was going to admit me. I’m not exaggerating when I say I did not get to my room until 10 minutes past midnight. Then I couldn’t go to sleep because every time I drifted off, another staff member would come in and take my blood pressure or more blood or whatever. Finally, it was dawn, and at 7 a.m. a young woman came in and signed her name on a whiteboard on the wall and then also signed in for the young woman who would be my nurse for that day.
They ministered to my needs efficiently and effectively, but they had no time for idle conversation nor did they find my feeble attempts at humor even remotely funny. And then it hit me. These women we’re exhausted. Finally, when it got to be about 4 p.m., I told one of them thank you and to have a nice evening at home. To which she replied, “I don’t get off for three more hours.” Yes, they were working 12-hour shifts, and what I had misconstrued as perhaps a lack of friendliness was simply a matter of their being so very, very tired. The point of all of this is that I got to see firsthand what the news reports are telling us every day about how the healthcare workers are overworked and understaffed, and I will be forever grateful to them for the care they gave me.
And yet some of the nurses from this very hospital were out in front of the building protesting mask mandates. Go figure!
Why watch the news?
I have just about given up watching the news because it’s so predictable. For example, here are some items that will continue to be newsy for weeks. Biden’s controversial evacuation of Afghanistan is a debatable topic that can go on and on, and it probably will prove to be plenty of negative fodder for the Republicans when the next election rolls around. Yes, the lives lost during the mission were a tragedy, but that damn war FINALLY is over, and that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Let’s see what else is making headlines.
Of course, as long as there is COVID around, arguments about the merits of wearing masks will go on and on and on and on. Just consider Florida for a moment. The mask debate rages there to the point that there isn’t a whole lot of sun shining brightly in the Sunshine State these days. And now the school districts are rebelling against what the governor wants. Sounds like a great place for a vacation!
Speaking of masks and the lack thereof, Ohio State opened its football season in a conference matchup with Minnesota on Thursday. The game was played at Minnesota, and it looked as if the stadium were packed with a plethora of unmasked fans. Will they all need to self-quarantine for 14 days? If they don’t, how many will become infected? Have you ever considered that COVID just is going to be here forever? Bleak thought!
Now here’s a jolly good note. In London, Politico obtained a leaked document expressing concern over how the city will be able to deal with the crowds when Queen Elizabeth dies. Now mind you, the 95-year-old queen isn’t even ill! But Politico managed to secure some leaked documents detailing how the Royal Family and the British government are planning for the Queen’s demise, even though Politico pointed out that nobody expects the event to occur anytime in the near future. Politico says, Officials fear that crowds, including tourists, coming to London could result in the city being overwhelmed, and have drawn up a security operation in response.” Leave it to the Brits!
Here’s a headline for you: Joy Behar Says This One Thing Has Kept Her From Getting Fired From ‘The View.’ Do you care? I don’t!
It Did What?
I read one report about Hurricane Ida saying its winds were so strong that it reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. And here I thought only Superman could, “…change the course of mighty rivers… .”
Ponder this:
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
~ Steven Wright
