Sorry, Mike...

Even if you win the Super Bowl with a Hail, Mary Pass...
No dog for you.
I do feel sorry for your kids. But maybe you should have thought about that.
I've had some friends tell me that a Michael Vick dog would be the most watched and therefore, the best cared-for dog in the world.
Maybe.
But I still wouldn't want to take the chance.

Michael Vick Wants a Dog

Sure, Mickey...
When he Devil buys ice skates.

I know you're being rehabilitated. That's nice.
I know you're working with the Humane Society. That's nice.
I know you're doing well with the Eagles. That's nice.

But you used dogs, animals who only want to please, and made them fight each other to the death and if they didn't fight "good" enough, they were tortured and killed.

I'm sorry. I believe in redemption; however, I think that getting your job back at a huge salary is redemption enough.

Please never, ever, ever have another dog as a companion, or a cat, or any animal.
How could they trust you again with their lives.
I don't.

That Dream...

...I had it again last night. I was in charge of a unit in a nursing home or hospital and having a difficult time.
I didn't know what staff I had.
I didn't know the patients.
I had hardly any equipment.
One thing that I remember trying to do was to have housekeeping switch the dirty privacy curtains for clean ones. And not getting any cooperation.
I try everyday for the charge nurses in our company NOT to have those problems.
Maybe that's why the problems slip into my unconsciousness at night.

It's very hard to "leave work at work" when you have a highly developed sense of responsibility.
That's why I read (anything NOT medical) and write (almost anything NOT medical - since my WIP begins in a nursing home).

A Tragedy

The following story is from www.naturalplane.blogspot.com and I recommend anyone interested in the news of the different to subscribe to it.




I've seen the Holy Thorn Tree many times - each time I've been to Glastonbury. I've made the trip up Wearyall Hill to stand in wonder at the tree would could trace its roots, literally, to the time of Jesus of Nazareth and the Holy Land. There is a special place in Hades for the people who did this. But I also have a prediction. The tree will regrow...

The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury cut down my vandals:

swns - Callous vandals have destroyed one of the most celebrated Christian pilgrimage sites in Britain and chopped down a tree that can trace its roots back 2,000 years to the death of Jesus. The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury, Somerset, is claimed to have sprouted from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who prepared the burial tomb for Jesus after lifting him off the cross. Thousands visit the site near Glastonbury Tor to pay homage and leave tokens of worship – but many were left in tears on Thursday after finding the tree cut to a stump.

The sacred tree is unique in that it blossoms twice a year – at Christmas and Easter – and sprigs taken from the thorn are sent to The Queen each year for the festive table. Vandals had hacked off the branches of the iconic tree, leaving just part of the trunk remaining – and dumped the remains of its proud thorns on the ground. Police believe religious fanatics may have deliberately targeted the holy site - visited by thousands of pilgrims each year – overnight.

Locals wept openly at the foot of the historic tree, on the town’s Wearyall Hill opposite its world-famous Tor, as they struggled to contain their emotion. Katherine Gorbing, curator of Glastonbury Abbey, said: ”The mindless vandals who have hacked down this tree have struck at the heart of Christianity. It holds a very special significance all over the world and thousands follow in the footsteps of Joseph Arimathea, coming especially to see it.

”It is the most significant of all the trees planted here and can be linked back to the origins of Christianity. When I arrived at the Abbey this morning you could look over to the hill and see it was not there. It’s a great shock to everyone in Glastonbury – the landscape of the town has changed overnight.”

The Two Elizabeths

As I watched CNN this morning I realized that there were two stories about very strong women, both named Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Edwards lost her battle with cancer this week and today she will be laid to rest. She is a role model for all women. Her resilience (the name of her book) and her grace are guidelines for us all.

The other Elizabeth is much younger, Elizabeth Smart. I watched as this courageous young woman stood in front of cameras and spoke about the sentencing of the man who'd kidnapped her as a child. Her courage and poise are also guidelines for us all.

To Elizabeth Edwards: Rest in Peace and be with your son.
To Elizabeth Smart: I hope life gives you the best - you have earned it.

I hope to keep the images of the Two Elizabeths with me for some time.
I know I will try to be like both of them as I live my life.

Forty Years Ago Today...

...I was in hard labor - had been for almost a day.
I was not a happy camper.
I wanted the baby out and he/she wasn't moving.
I was also pre-eclamptic and very ill. I remember the Director of Nursing coming to see me in the labor room because the rumor out in the hospital where I went to nursing school and worked was that I may not "make it". She never left her office. Even in labor, I was impressed.
My obstetrician finally came in (his partner had left me in labor) and said I needed a C-section.
"Oh, crap," I thought. "That will mean more money for the hospitalization* and more time off from work."
But there was no choice for me or for the baby.
By 9 PM that night I had Heather Bronwyn and it was the best day of my life.


* Forty years ago I couldn't get maternity benefits on my hospitalization until I'd been married for x number of months. I got pregnant a month after getting married and my maternity benefits didn't come into effect in time for my labor and delivery. I had to have everything paid before going into labor. The C-section added more to the cost. I even worked at the hospital where I delivered - but I had it paid off within the year.

Thirty Years Ago Today...

When I first saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in early 1964 I was not a very happy teenager. I was overweight and had lost one of my heroes to an assassin on November 22. I was not expecting all that much from the "Fab Four" but I was fascinated...and hooked. I loved the hair, the music, their attitude. I loved them. That evening watching a boy band from Liverpool went a long way to heal that teenager's broken heart.

Like millions of girls I had a crush on Paul but as I got older I found that I was more like John. John Lennon was the rebel I wish I could be. Nursing school in the late 1960s didn't allow for much individuality, but at least I had The Beatles. At least there was John.

And from nursing school, I started my life as an RN, married and had my daughter. My daughter was almost 10, her birthday would be on December 10, when John was murdered. I was 33. I was devastated. I'd lost another hero. Heather, a true 10 year old, was worried about her birthday party. Only a few people understood my loss. Only a few people still do.

As my daughter grew, she understood. She learned Photoshop and one Mother's Day she gave me this picture of me and my hero - of course, it never happened. But it had...in my heart.