September 7, 2009

• MONDAY READING

  Gads, it’s been nine months since I’ve posted and March last year since I’ve done a book. That was the month I got diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and my whole life skewed. Today I’m stabilized with permanent heart irregularity but no real symptoms other than way less energy and stamina. Two heart meds and a hefty aspirin a day keep my heart rate and blood pressure down to what the doctor thinks is reasonable. My great luck was having been so healthy when it happened. I’ve worked hard at that for years and it paid off. I probably own more self-help health books than your local bookstore shelf. So I’ve continued on with the retirement that began in 2006 and thank my lucky stars each day to have all this time to do as I please basically after years of suiting up and showing up. And one of the things I continue to do is read. My childhood was before TV and VCRs and DVDs so the habit was seriously formed early in contrast to my 18-year-old grandson who is about to start college and can’t even be paid to read a book that he doesn’t have to. It breaks my heart and I can only hope something in college will give him an epiphany. So one of the authors I just discovered is Temple Grandin, who wrote this book with Catherine Johnson, a PhD specializing in the brain and neuropsychiatry with two autistic children in her family. Temple Grandin is autistic herself with a PhD in animal science and is the author of several books explaining how animals think and feel to humans. She is especially famous for a “hug machine” used to alleviate anxiety by autistic people worldwide. She also focuses on reform of quality of life and humaneness of death for farm animals in the U.S. and Canada. You can see her lay down in the middle of a herd of cows in this Youtube, The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow. Here is a quote from the last page of this book: “..I’m writing this book because I wish animals could have more than just a low-stress life and a quick, painless death. I wish animals could have a good life, too, with something useful to do. I think we owe them that.” If you want a fascinating read about all kinds of animals and what we can learn about them and do for them, this is a must.

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  Deep Thought: “Whenever I hear the sparrow chirping, watch the woodpecker chirp, catch a chirping trout, or listen to the sad howl of the chirp rat, I think: Oh boy! I’m going insane again.”
  Today I am grateful for: Yokels who don’t carry guns.
  Guess the Movie: “What would you do if some miracle happened and we could walk out of here tomorrow morning and start all over again clean? No record and nobody after us, huh?”
  Obama Readies Reform Specifics In Health-Care Address, President Is Expected to Take Firmer Positions
  By Ceci Connolly, Washington Post Staff Writer -
  Monday, September 7, 2009
  Looking to rescue his signature domestic policy initiative with a prime-time address to Congress on Wednesday, President Obama for the first time is poised to “draw some lines in the sand” over the size and shape of legislation to remake the nation’s health-care system, top advisers said Sunday. (Rest of article here.)

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