Normally I don't write about death, but soon enough, death comes to all of us.
Sudden, unavoidable death is harsh. The harshest death of all, however, is the slowest one, but the also the one that relieves you the most; it is the illness that goes on rollercoaster turns until one day, your selected deity says, "enough."
When my father died in 2005 from lung cancer, I was more relieved than saddened because he had fought for 14 months, and I would have rather gone through a root canal and six months of jury duty than watch him die the last few days he lasted. But when he did die, it was as if a huge monumental weight lifted from my shoulders. I was happy that my mother, the poor soul who accompanied him to 2am emergency room runs and sat beside him during his final hours, was released from oncological bondage. The wake and funeral, on the other hand, confirmed that state where my father changed from a living, breathing human to cremated remains in an urn. (One Christmas my brothers put a hat on his urn. My mother wasn't too thrilled, but had my father been alive, he would have thought that to be funny.)
My grandmother, Elizabeth "Betty" Tieso, had been showing signs of early senility as far back as 2000. She would occasionally forget things, talk in "ragtime" when in the hospital, or not recognize us. At least at that time, she would laugh and joke that she was having a senior moment.
In 2004, however, things began to change, and rapidly. One Sunday afternoon, my grandmother had collapsed in the bathroom. A few days later, we discovered she had a mini-stroke. Then, she was lucid enough, but beginning to show signs of deterioration in speech and stability. The doctors thought she had the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease, but it wasn't until later that we discovered she was suffering from senile dementia.
It's hard for me to describe what dementia is compared to Alzheimer's, but from what I understand, Alzheimer's allows you to function with some degree. Dementia, on the other hand, chips away at all your brain function until you're bedridden and 100% dependent on others to take care of you.
As time passed, Betty's health declined slowly. She wasn't able to talk in coherent sentences anymore, and she trembled constantly. On occasion, she could recognize us, but often the names got scrambled around (I often got called Gus, Rich, Dave and even Bernie). She could still eat, but needed assistance. Around a month ago, my grandfather, Ben (Barney), who refused to put her into a nursing home, got in contact with hospice.
A few days ago, God activated Betty's two-minute warning. By then, her status began to decline much more rapidly, to the point where she wouldn't eat or drink anymore. He was preparing for Betty for her departure from the mortals and into the Heavens. Each day, I asked my mother, "No change?" and she would tell me, "No...everything's still shutting down."
I prayed to God to have Him take Betty at a time where I would not be home. I feared that early morning phone call where my grandfather would tell us that Betty was gone. This morning, I wore a Boston Red Sox polo shirt to work and set about my day.
My brother from Beverly called me at 10:30. God never thought of my request to take her in daylight was the least bit selfish - in fact, He thought that the "enough" clause was universal for all of us - for the people who took care of her, to the people who watched her decline, day by day.
Betty breathed her last on August 13, 2008, at 10:15am. She was 86 years old.
8/13/2008
7/26/2008
Political correctness - the religion of the elite
Jon Keller gives a crack set of comments about the Lowell Spinners Political Correctness Night, where the bat boys were batpersons and the shortstops were vertically challenged players.
Keller also has a poll that highlights the killjoy nature of PC...I'm printing his poll out with my comments in red.
- Insistence on gender neutrality in all things (e.g. "selectperson" or "second-baseperson")
Where the men can now become nurses and women can now be mayors, there is no bias. When it gets ridiculous as in the above, it smacks of insecurity and avoiding reality.
- The insistence that there is no right or wrong
I graduated with a mathematics degree in 1994. Proving theorems and solving complex mathematical problems was the way I got out of writing fifteen page papers. The proof of 1+1=2 is rumored to be 800 pages long, and in abstract algebra, 1+1=2 is the result of an element in an additive ring with the operation of + acting as a collector of successive items, with 1 representing a unitary object and 2 representing the successive object.
In my current line of work, there are certain rules and regulations I must follow, and I must keep a high accuracy percentage, or else I get FIRED. That means I cannot explain my way out of my errors; I actually have to have proof that I was right before they dismiss the charge, so I'm guilty before I'm proven innocent.
'There is no right or wrong' is a cop-out when the person posing the question can't answer it either.
- Phobic antipathy toward Western civilization, its cultural works and beliefs
In other words, be really, really suspicious and jealous of stuff that was not done by the Third World, corrupt despots and bloodthirsty dictators, and things that involve science, law and other innovations...things that keep people in the Middle Ages or lesser.
- One must never do anything to damage anyone else's self-esteem (i.e. grading, tracking, testing)
Horsehockey (not to you, Jon!). Testing, grading and tracking is absolutely essential - it gauges knowledge, points out errors, and helps people to understand what is right and what is wrong. Even if you're not held to a job that expects high quality, you're still being graded, tracked and tested by your managers and supervisors to see if the hire they made (you) will be able to tackle higher assignments down the road. If you break under pressure, you may miss out on raises, and soon enough, you may be shown the door for lack of initiative.
- Feel-good environmental fads of dubious value (such as carbon footprint offsets)
Any activity that protects the elite at the expense of the non-elite is a product of guilt, guarded jealousy, and envy. The elite, in order to protect all their goodies, throw out all sorts of curve ball theories to keep the non-elite from enjoying their spoils. Environmentalism is a great example - the elite preach the gospel according to Gaia, but once the mercury-filled lights are dimmed, the elite go home in their carbon-wasting jets, drive their gas-guzzling cars, and enter their gated mansions, smugly counting their lucre behind closed doors and snickering. Any "-ism" that has been tried as a political fiat always fails and sometimes takes a human toll - sometimes at the point of a gun.
- Excessive emphasis on the "root causes" of violent criminal behavior
Analysis paralysis hasn't solved the great murders of the 20th and 21st century...but defense attorneys seem not to mind when they can bill at $300 per hour.
- Going nuclear over someone else's harmless slip of the tongue
Don Imus found out the hard way - referring to a women's basketball team as he did in passing was similar to taking down a hornet's nest with a machine gun.
On the other hand, if you're zealous in correcting people for their slips of the tongue, it would be better to keep your tongue in your mouth instead of being a pushy busybody.
- Valuing PC over the First Amendment
Free speech is not equal to saying whatever you want while the other speaker is forced to listen. Free speech is also not equal to having people accept your wacky theories or your obscenity-laden tirades.
Free speech really is saying things that people won't agree with, any may require you clarify your statement. Free speech also guarantees us saying things without fear of arrest or reprisal.
PC mutates free speech into something that is synthetic, a sort of code-word interlingua between two people who are afraid to say in public what they are free to say behind closed doors. PC euphemizes unpleasant things, incorrectly elevates dull ones, and attempts to block off all stereotypes and characterizations that people find unsettling. PC manages to take the joy out of wonderful, marvelous things and reduces them to impersonal, cold machinations, in which the joke is on the unknowing.
Behind closed doors, the freedom to be ugly and to lash out on those beneath you while in public you painstakingly choreographed the correct, inoffensive version prove you to be a phony, rather than being one of the "enlightened."
Keller also has a poll that highlights the killjoy nature of PC...I'm printing his poll out with my comments in red.
- Insistence on gender neutrality in all things (e.g. "selectperson" or "second-baseperson")
Where the men can now become nurses and women can now be mayors, there is no bias. When it gets ridiculous as in the above, it smacks of insecurity and avoiding reality.
- The insistence that there is no right or wrong
I graduated with a mathematics degree in 1994. Proving theorems and solving complex mathematical problems was the way I got out of writing fifteen page papers. The proof of 1+1=2 is rumored to be 800 pages long, and in abstract algebra, 1+1=2 is the result of an element in an additive ring with the operation of + acting as a collector of successive items, with 1 representing a unitary object and 2 representing the successive object.
In my current line of work, there are certain rules and regulations I must follow, and I must keep a high accuracy percentage, or else I get FIRED. That means I cannot explain my way out of my errors; I actually have to have proof that I was right before they dismiss the charge, so I'm guilty before I'm proven innocent.
'There is no right or wrong' is a cop-out when the person posing the question can't answer it either.
- Phobic antipathy toward Western civilization, its cultural works and beliefs
In other words, be really, really suspicious and jealous of stuff that was not done by the Third World, corrupt despots and bloodthirsty dictators, and things that involve science, law and other innovations...things that keep people in the Middle Ages or lesser.
- One must never do anything to damage anyone else's self-esteem (i.e. grading, tracking, testing)
Horsehockey (not to you, Jon!). Testing, grading and tracking is absolutely essential - it gauges knowledge, points out errors, and helps people to understand what is right and what is wrong. Even if you're not held to a job that expects high quality, you're still being graded, tracked and tested by your managers and supervisors to see if the hire they made (you) will be able to tackle higher assignments down the road. If you break under pressure, you may miss out on raises, and soon enough, you may be shown the door for lack of initiative.
- Feel-good environmental fads of dubious value (such as carbon footprint offsets)
Any activity that protects the elite at the expense of the non-elite is a product of guilt, guarded jealousy, and envy. The elite, in order to protect all their goodies, throw out all sorts of curve ball theories to keep the non-elite from enjoying their spoils. Environmentalism is a great example - the elite preach the gospel according to Gaia, but once the mercury-filled lights are dimmed, the elite go home in their carbon-wasting jets, drive their gas-guzzling cars, and enter their gated mansions, smugly counting their lucre behind closed doors and snickering. Any "-ism" that has been tried as a political fiat always fails and sometimes takes a human toll - sometimes at the point of a gun.
- Excessive emphasis on the "root causes" of violent criminal behavior
Analysis paralysis hasn't solved the great murders of the 20th and 21st century...but defense attorneys seem not to mind when they can bill at $300 per hour.
- Going nuclear over someone else's harmless slip of the tongue
Don Imus found out the hard way - referring to a women's basketball team as he did in passing was similar to taking down a hornet's nest with a machine gun.
On the other hand, if you're zealous in correcting people for their slips of the tongue, it would be better to keep your tongue in your mouth instead of being a pushy busybody.
- Valuing PC over the First Amendment
Free speech is not equal to saying whatever you want while the other speaker is forced to listen. Free speech is also not equal to having people accept your wacky theories or your obscenity-laden tirades.
Free speech really is saying things that people won't agree with, any may require you clarify your statement. Free speech also guarantees us saying things without fear of arrest or reprisal.
PC mutates free speech into something that is synthetic, a sort of code-word interlingua between two people who are afraid to say in public what they are free to say behind closed doors. PC euphemizes unpleasant things, incorrectly elevates dull ones, and attempts to block off all stereotypes and characterizations that people find unsettling. PC manages to take the joy out of wonderful, marvelous things and reduces them to impersonal, cold machinations, in which the joke is on the unknowing.
Behind closed doors, the freedom to be ugly and to lash out on those beneath you while in public you painstakingly choreographed the correct, inoffensive version prove you to be a phony, rather than being one of the "enlightened."
7/19/2008
21st century clichés and how to get rid of them
I'm always interested in good writing and good speech. In school, reading literature was my worst subject; grammar and vocabulary were my strongest. Here are seven clichés that should be struck from the tongues and the type.
1. About
About usually means "approximately," as in "It'll take about 30 minutes or so to install your Windows program." About is also used for measurements and circumference, as in "Trace a line about the two points."
About takes on a pretentious, gossipy, snobby, smug, shallow sheen when it's used to emphasize something, as in "It's all about the Benjamins."
2. As a...
"As a..." tells the reader you have absolute authority on the subject, and no one can refute you. "As a mother, I recommend..." sound like you just got your PhD in anthroplogy and you want to test it out on a few friends. If it sounds too high-falutin', don't use it. "I recommend..." will do the job nicely.
3. (We live) in a world...
Don LaFontaine, the famous voice-over actor, gets paid millions of dollars to utter this phrase. His sons and daughters have attended the colleges of their choice without having to take out student loans.
The above phrase is a phrase I like to call "wrist twisting," which means that the person who's saying it is often winding up like a top, and then casting their dainty wrist to fulfill their point. "We live in a world where..." is just verbal empty calories, and normally used by people who have very little to say. Except Don LaFontaine, of course.
4. Need
Compare the following two sentences.
"The fondue is delicious, but it needs a little more wine. "
"The fondue is delicious, but you need to concentrate on the roast beef."
In the first sentence, the object or a noun phrase follows and is matter-of-fact. In the second sentence, the infinitive "to" follows the noun, and sounds condescending (as in, "you're wasting too much time on the fondue - the roast beef is beginning to burn" or "your weak suit is your roast beef").
Needs to + infinitive also indicates frustration and one's desires and demands not being fulfilled snappily enough. To reduce the nastiness and smugness of Needs to + infinitive, use "must" for supreme urgency (you don't want the roast beef to burn to a crisp), "have/has to" for moderate urgency or direct orders (you can't get out getting that roast beef) or "should" if it's less urgent or a suggestion (the past recipes were OK, but we want one that will put your tastebuds into heaven - or at least avoid ordering pizza).
5. From...to...
In the middle of a sentence, describing a trip, this phrase is not a cliche. ("We went from London to Paris to Madrid on our senior trip." "The seniors went from homeroom to the gym to the park on their scavenger hunt.")
When from...to... begins a sentence, it's used to grab the attention of the reader - nothing more, nothing less. It dresses up a boring article, akin to those cute things in high school where a naughty word would be used, then the phrase, "now that I've got your attention..." follows. This variation of from...to... also sounds a bit snobbish, as if these places were so sacred and exclusive, no mere mortal could even step their pinky toe in there.
6. Overloaded wrist-twisters
A wrist-twister is a phrase that can be best described as "the windup before the pitch." Usually that pitch is loaded with clichés, propaganda, agitation and frustration, and a "whole buncha nothin' in there." (Listen to Valley Girl from Frank Zappa for that reference.)
7. If
This two lettered conjunction is fine, when used properly. 'If's' intention is to put forth a desire, a hypothesis, or advice ("If I had a million dollars..." "If this is true..." "If I were you...")
In talk radio or TV shows, however, 'if' is finding its way to promote things, most of the time sketchy or skeevy in nature. "If you read the book..." may make Barnes and Noble's bottom line healthier, but after buying said book, you have to take at least two showers or spend your entire weekend finding second through eighteenth opinions, then don't use 'if' for self promotion. In fact, stay away from talk radio. 99% of the time they sell garbage and snake oil anyway.
8. How
Not Tonto's old greeting to the Lone Ranger (aka Kemosabe) but an exercise in clarification. "How does that work?" "How do you know?" and "How are you" are perfectly reasonable uses for 'How.' When the husband who does wrong by the wife gets "How could you?" before a few days of the silent treatment, it's a good example of 'how.'
A bad example and putting 'how' into the tawdry red-light district of clichés is the phrase "How can..." Actually, "how can...when..." begins guilt-trips and other psychological head games.
Politicians, especially incumbents, nanny-staters, and full-bore control freaks, will use "how can..." for naked self-promotion. "How can Senator X put forth a bill for animal rights when there's a lot of children going hungry every night?" "How can Senator Y block a bill for animal rights when there's a lot of animals used for testing?" (For the record, both bills got killed and Senators X and Y got voted out.)
1. About
About usually means "approximately," as in "It'll take about 30 minutes or so to install your Windows program." About is also used for measurements and circumference, as in "Trace a line about the two points."
About takes on a pretentious, gossipy, snobby, smug, shallow sheen when it's used to emphasize something, as in "It's all about the Benjamins."
2. As a...
"As a..." tells the reader you have absolute authority on the subject, and no one can refute you. "As a mother, I recommend..." sound like you just got your PhD in anthroplogy and you want to test it out on a few friends. If it sounds too high-falutin', don't use it. "I recommend..." will do the job nicely.
3. (We live) in a world...
Don LaFontaine, the famous voice-over actor, gets paid millions of dollars to utter this phrase. His sons and daughters have attended the colleges of their choice without having to take out student loans.
The above phrase is a phrase I like to call "wrist twisting," which means that the person who's saying it is often winding up like a top, and then casting their dainty wrist to fulfill their point. "We live in a world where..." is just verbal empty calories, and normally used by people who have very little to say. Except Don LaFontaine, of course.
4. Need
Compare the following two sentences.
"The fondue is delicious, but it needs a little more wine. "
"The fondue is delicious, but you need to concentrate on the roast beef."
In the first sentence, the object or a noun phrase follows and is matter-of-fact. In the second sentence, the infinitive "to" follows the noun, and sounds condescending (as in, "you're wasting too much time on the fondue - the roast beef is beginning to burn" or "your weak suit is your roast beef").
Needs to + infinitive also indicates frustration and one's desires and demands not being fulfilled snappily enough. To reduce the nastiness and smugness of Needs to + infinitive, use "must" for supreme urgency (you don't want the roast beef to burn to a crisp), "have/has to" for moderate urgency or direct orders (you can't get out getting that roast beef) or "should" if it's less urgent or a suggestion (the past recipes were OK, but we want one that will put your tastebuds into heaven - or at least avoid ordering pizza).
5. From...to...
In the middle of a sentence, describing a trip, this phrase is not a cliche. ("We went from London to Paris to Madrid on our senior trip." "The seniors went from homeroom to the gym to the park on their scavenger hunt.")
When from...to... begins a sentence, it's used to grab the attention of the reader - nothing more, nothing less. It dresses up a boring article, akin to those cute things in high school where a naughty word would be used, then the phrase, "now that I've got your attention..." follows. This variation of from...to... also sounds a bit snobbish, as if these places were so sacred and exclusive, no mere mortal could even step their pinky toe in there.
6. Overloaded wrist-twisters
A wrist-twister is a phrase that can be best described as "the windup before the pitch." Usually that pitch is loaded with clichés, propaganda, agitation and frustration, and a "whole buncha nothin' in there." (Listen to Valley Girl from Frank Zappa for that reference.)
7. If
This two lettered conjunction is fine, when used properly. 'If's' intention is to put forth a desire, a hypothesis, or advice ("If I had a million dollars..." "If this is true..." "If I were you...")
In talk radio or TV shows, however, 'if' is finding its way to promote things, most of the time sketchy or skeevy in nature. "If you read the book..." may make Barnes and Noble's bottom line healthier, but after buying said book, you have to take at least two showers or spend your entire weekend finding second through eighteenth opinions, then don't use 'if' for self promotion. In fact, stay away from talk radio. 99% of the time they sell garbage and snake oil anyway.
8. How
Not Tonto's old greeting to the Lone Ranger (aka Kemosabe) but an exercise in clarification. "How does that work?" "How do you know?" and "How are you" are perfectly reasonable uses for 'How.' When the husband who does wrong by the wife gets "How could you?" before a few days of the silent treatment, it's a good example of 'how.'
A bad example and putting 'how' into the tawdry red-light district of clichés is the phrase "How can..." Actually, "how can...when..." begins guilt-trips and other psychological head games.
Politicians, especially incumbents, nanny-staters, and full-bore control freaks, will use "how can..." for naked self-promotion. "How can Senator X put forth a bill for animal rights when there's a lot of children going hungry every night?" "How can Senator Y block a bill for animal rights when there's a lot of animals used for testing?" (For the record, both bills got killed and Senators X and Y got voted out.)
6/21/2008
Acting like the very children you wish to teach
The correct, diplomatic way of asking two kids to stop discussing hunting:
"Guys, I think that's an interesting story, but a little bit too graphic for other kids. You can still discuss it, but please talk quietly, or perhaps talk about it later."
The incorrect, childish, selfish, immature way of asking two kids to stop discussing hunting:
"LALALALA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW IF YOU KILLED BAMBI OR NOT! I HIKED, I STRIPPED NAKED AND WORSHIPPED GAIA, I'M BETTER THAN YOU, LALALALA!"
And yes, it was in theNew Upper West Side Socialist Nation of Vermont, where hunting is still acceptable, except you can't run over deer or bears with your Prius.
Update: Newsbusters also follows the story with one really good quote from Okie:
"Guys, I think that's an interesting story, but a little bit too graphic for other kids. You can still discuss it, but please talk quietly, or perhaps talk about it later."
The incorrect, childish, selfish, immature way of asking two kids to stop discussing hunting:
"LALALALA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW IF YOU KILLED BAMBI OR NOT! I HIKED, I STRIPPED NAKED AND WORSHIPPED GAIA, I'M BETTER THAN YOU, LALALALA!"
And yes, it was in the
Update: Newsbusters also follows the story with one really good quote from Okie:
And who's the 10 year old here?
The teacher covering up her ears and saying "la la la la la la".
The woman is an idiot. I hope she gets fired for stupidity. (emphasis mine)
5/31/2008
From Cleary Square to Kennedy Plaza, all in a day
I was on vacation this week and in contrast to the Route 240 trip was my trip to Providence via the Commuter Rail on Wednesday.
Every year since around 1998 or so, I make a point to go to Providence or Newport because I like Rhode Island. Ocean Staters aren't the milquetoasts and passive-aggressive fools that Bay Staters are - they have the balls to tell people they'll be glad to serve them once they complete their phone conversations - something Bay Staters fear will win them a trip to our finest emergency rooms.
If you do go, my suggestion is NOT to go through South Station OR to take the Peter Pan/Bonanza bus. The MBTA/MBCR WILL charge you $15.50 for a round trip - $7.75 each way. The Bonanza bus, even though it costs $15.95 round trip and is much quicker, has some pretty beasty traffic from Providence to Boston.
Rather, take the Orange Line to Forest Hills, and then the Route 32 bus to Cleary Square. The $9 interzone fare I paid on a round trip ticket from Hyde Park to Providence is more than worth it. I boarded the 12:28 train and got to Providence around 1:05; returning on the 5:10 train, I got back to Hyde Park around 6:04.
Rhode Islanders have their own idiosyncracies, including their own brand of lemonade ice, coffee syrup, "New York System" hot dogs, corruption (politicians and the like) and the feeling you're in the "sixth" borough of New York. But therein lies the difference; Bay Staters feel so entitled to their bounties in education and technology, you almost feel that arrogance and smug "ha ha, look what I can do and you can't!" once you step into the tourist sections of Boston. Ocean Staters will tell you what things are, what you can do with it if you don't like it, and take little guff from strangers.
Rhode Island's singleton Ivy League school, Brown University, isn't swarming with hipster doofuses, nutty conspiracy theorists, bums, and other poseurs. I walked up and down Thayer Street - Providence's equivalent of Harvard Square - without being accosted, jostled, harangued, or being passed by as if I weren't there. You felt as if you were part of the neighborhood, not as someone you though was going too freakin' slow and if you had the power, you'd lift the damn sidewalk.
If you want to ride a public transit system better than the MBTA, RIPTA is a good example on how Rhode Island legislators see the passengers who don't or can't drive - they treat them like passengers and not like revenue sources. On the two trolley rides and bus ride I took, the buses were not crowded, and the passengers got along well. Inside Kennedy Plaza, however, there were plenty of people waiting, but it was far more orderly and organized. Maybe Dan Graubauskas could take a trip down to Providence and take notes!
The kids themselves that mill around Kennedy Plaza from the various middle and high schools in Providence are the same as you would find in Boston. One huge difference: The Providence Police Department makes their presence duly known - patrol cars, horseback, bikes, foot patrols, etc. Back in 2003, I was down the Kennedy Plaza and a group of kids began fighting. As fast as you can say "Police Squad" at least 80 cops flew down there and broke up the fight. I was amazed at the quick response and the ability to get the situation under control from the Providence cops.
Finally, one thing I like about Rhode Island that it's close enough to Massachusetts without being Massachusetts. I looked forward to all the times I went to Club Baby Head over near Richmond Street with Rob and Bucky Avery, Jim Brackett, and other people from UMass Dartmouth. I was a college student back then, and getting from Dartmouth to Providence was near impossible without a car. Now, it's only a 36 mile/40 minute trip from Hyde Park. Progress!
Every year since around 1998 or so, I make a point to go to Providence or Newport because I like Rhode Island. Ocean Staters aren't the milquetoasts and passive-aggressive fools that Bay Staters are - they have the balls to tell people they'll be glad to serve them once they complete their phone conversations - something Bay Staters fear will win them a trip to our finest emergency rooms.
If you do go, my suggestion is NOT to go through South Station OR to take the Peter Pan/Bonanza bus. The MBTA/MBCR WILL charge you $15.50 for a round trip - $7.75 each way. The Bonanza bus, even though it costs $15.95 round trip and is much quicker, has some pretty beasty traffic from Providence to Boston.
Rather, take the Orange Line to Forest Hills, and then the Route 32 bus to Cleary Square. The $9 interzone fare I paid on a round trip ticket from Hyde Park to Providence is more than worth it. I boarded the 12:28 train and got to Providence around 1:05; returning on the 5:10 train, I got back to Hyde Park around 6:04.
Rhode Islanders have their own idiosyncracies, including their own brand of lemonade ice, coffee syrup, "New York System" hot dogs, corruption (politicians and the like) and the feeling you're in the "sixth" borough of New York. But therein lies the difference; Bay Staters feel so entitled to their bounties in education and technology, you almost feel that arrogance and smug "ha ha, look what I can do and you can't!" once you step into the tourist sections of Boston. Ocean Staters will tell you what things are, what you can do with it if you don't like it, and take little guff from strangers.
Rhode Island's singleton Ivy League school, Brown University, isn't swarming with hipster doofuses, nutty conspiracy theorists, bums, and other poseurs. I walked up and down Thayer Street - Providence's equivalent of Harvard Square - without being accosted, jostled, harangued, or being passed by as if I weren't there. You felt as if you were part of the neighborhood, not as someone you though was going too freakin' slow and if you had the power, you'd lift the damn sidewalk.
If you want to ride a public transit system better than the MBTA, RIPTA is a good example on how Rhode Island legislators see the passengers who don't or can't drive - they treat them like passengers and not like revenue sources. On the two trolley rides and bus ride I took, the buses were not crowded, and the passengers got along well. Inside Kennedy Plaza, however, there were plenty of people waiting, but it was far more orderly and organized. Maybe Dan Graubauskas could take a trip down to Providence and take notes!
The kids themselves that mill around Kennedy Plaza from the various middle and high schools in Providence are the same as you would find in Boston. One huge difference: The Providence Police Department makes their presence duly known - patrol cars, horseback, bikes, foot patrols, etc. Back in 2003, I was down the Kennedy Plaza and a group of kids began fighting. As fast as you can say "Police Squad" at least 80 cops flew down there and broke up the fight. I was amazed at the quick response and the ability to get the situation under control from the Providence cops.
Finally, one thing I like about Rhode Island that it's close enough to Massachusetts without being Massachusetts. I looked forward to all the times I went to Club Baby Head over near Richmond Street with Rob and Bucky Avery, Jim Brackett, and other people from UMass Dartmouth. I was a college student back then, and getting from Dartmouth to Providence was near impossible without a car. Now, it's only a 36 mile/40 minute trip from Hyde Park. Progress!
5/20/2008
The deadly assassin named cancer
Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant glioma in his front parietal lobe.
My father, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2004, was further diagnosed with gliomas similar to Sen. Kennedy's in May of 2005. We thought he had food poisoning, because he vomited a lot, but under further diagnosis, the doctors at the (fantastic) Dana Farber Cancer Institute discovered the gliomas. My father, after undergoing six regimens of chemotherapy, told us it was a very tiny cell and it was nothing to worry about - the radiation he would be getting would take care of it.
I can tell you first hand that malignant gliomas, even though they may look small and harmless, are nothing to trifle with. Radiation, plus the gliomas, effectively scrambled my father's brains, and caused other complications such as hematomas, headaches, and loss of physical coordination. By September 2005, he was wheelchair bound, but still somewhat lucid, and actually looked like he was getting better. However, once the cancer spread to his spine, we knew it would be a matter of time. We planned his funeral in October, thinking he'd survive until at least after Christmas. He died two days before Thanksgiving, after celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary, at the age of 63.
The time span between my father's diagnosis and death was five months.
Seizures are also a potential calling card for gliomas. My father's were not the grand mal seizures, but what they call "partial focal" seizures, which I can best describe as daydreaming with difficulty rousing. Sen. Kennedy could have also had the traditional grand-mal, which are also known as "tonic-clonic."
JFK and RFK found their lives snuffed out through a killer's bullet. Cancer is no less an killer, but it does so at its own leisure, biding its time to wreak havoc through the body. Time will tell whether Sen. Kennedy will beat this medical assassin. Miracles may happen, but don't count on them.
My father, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2004, was further diagnosed with gliomas similar to Sen. Kennedy's in May of 2005. We thought he had food poisoning, because he vomited a lot, but under further diagnosis, the doctors at the (fantastic) Dana Farber Cancer Institute discovered the gliomas. My father, after undergoing six regimens of chemotherapy, told us it was a very tiny cell and it was nothing to worry about - the radiation he would be getting would take care of it.
I can tell you first hand that malignant gliomas, even though they may look small and harmless, are nothing to trifle with. Radiation, plus the gliomas, effectively scrambled my father's brains, and caused other complications such as hematomas, headaches, and loss of physical coordination. By September 2005, he was wheelchair bound, but still somewhat lucid, and actually looked like he was getting better. However, once the cancer spread to his spine, we knew it would be a matter of time. We planned his funeral in October, thinking he'd survive until at least after Christmas. He died two days before Thanksgiving, after celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary, at the age of 63.
The time span between my father's diagnosis and death was five months.
Seizures are also a potential calling card for gliomas. My father's were not the grand mal seizures, but what they call "partial focal" seizures, which I can best describe as daydreaming with difficulty rousing. Sen. Kennedy could have also had the traditional grand-mal, which are also known as "tonic-clonic."
JFK and RFK found their lives snuffed out through a killer's bullet. Cancer is no less an killer, but it does so at its own leisure, biding its time to wreak havoc through the body. Time will tell whether Sen. Kennedy will beat this medical assassin. Miracles may happen, but don't count on them.
5/09/2008
The land of extremely overreactive DON'TS
Entry #1: Don't give delicious 16 cent donut hole treats to babies, or else you'll be fired for "theft." Right, for a 16 cent Timbit (or Munchkins) you get to explain to your unemployment office why your generosity and your fledgling career was struck down by an overzealous manager, who likely has an exact count of every single Timbit in the inventory, including the size and the time the frosting was put on. Good news: she was rehired, but likely Tim Horton's gave the manager a dress-down, which likely went like this: "She gave the baby a freakin' Timbit! We can cover that measly 16 cents in the time it takes for you to go to the john!"
Entry #2: Don't read "Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan" by Todd Tucker, in which Notre Dame students beat the living snot out of the KKK, when in the presence of "affirmative action" officers with a hair-trigger sensitivity. This leads me to wonder: would it have been OK to read adult magazines in public instead of a book that emphasizes teamwork against naked racial hatred? Were I a professor, not only would I assign the book, I'd make sure these college kids read it during summer vacation.
Note to the "Affirmative Action" meddling dingbat: is it any wonder why people roll their eyes and put "diversity" in quotation marks? Many other "affirmative action" officers would recommend several other books along that line, and they wouldn't carry their title with such aggressive seriousness. And why did it take the ACLU, FIRE and several news agencies to make the university drop this? Answer: no one wants their college to be labeled a cauldron for academic Stalinism.
Entry #2: Don't read "Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan" by Todd Tucker, in which Notre Dame students beat the living snot out of the KKK, when in the presence of "affirmative action" officers with a hair-trigger sensitivity. This leads me to wonder: would it have been OK to read adult magazines in public instead of a book that emphasizes teamwork against naked racial hatred? Were I a professor, not only would I assign the book, I'd make sure these college kids read it during summer vacation.
Note to the "Affirmative Action" meddling dingbat: is it any wonder why people roll their eyes and put "diversity" in quotation marks? Many other "affirmative action" officers would recommend several other books along that line, and they wouldn't carry their title with such aggressive seriousness. And why did it take the ACLU, FIRE and several news agencies to make the university drop this? Answer: no one wants their college to be labeled a cauldron for academic Stalinism.
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