There is a young doe hanging around at Black Dog who is severely lame. The guys building the rock chimney don’t think it can survive the winter and said it already has the marks from coyote attacks. So they will shoot it if it comes back around to save the pain and trauma of a more violent or prolonged death.
Nature.
I will take it to the processing plant where it can be donated to a needy family.
I’ve had a bit more energy lately. Feeling pretty good for the most part. I’m not sure if it’s because I survived an insanely busy 6-week period full of work, personal, and charity obligations, or because I am focused on exercising a bit more, or because I am making time to read more each day, or because I’ve altered my diet a bit, or because I quit the toxic gig in Florida for a more rationale project in Akron. But whatever it is, it’s working for now. Being back at Black Dog helps too. Just getting here brings an immediate sense of relaxation.
In Akron, I stay at the Courtyard Marriott. A decidedly mid-tier hotel in a slightly lower tier city in the Midwest. For some reason, they had a Santa Claus there one night last week. I came in from the hospital and there he was. Only two kids in sight, both children of employees. This hotel is full of business travelers so I was curious about the decision to bring in Santa? Anyway, I had a shot with Santa later at the speakeasy adjacent to the hotel. He seemed more of a Billy Bob Thornton kind of Santa than an Edmund Gwenn version.
No one comes into a Children’s Hospital by accident. Nearly everyone I pass in the hallway who is not an employee, is likely here dealing with a stressful or traumatic situation. Visiting a child or relative who is undergoing some sort of treatment. Often the children who are being treated are out for a walk to get out of their room for a while. They are brave and laughing, even when they are connected to machines or tubes or their hair is gone. Some will get good news today, others perhaps not so good news. Treatments not taking as expected. Additional surgeries. More meds. Long bouts of painful or stressful therapy.
Many that I see at this time of year, will likely still be here over Christmas.
When a child who has had a long or particularly difficult stay and now is released from care, the nurses and staff often gather with poms poms and balloons and banners and cheer them out the door. It’s amazing to see. US healthcare system is a mess. A truly horrible, inefficient, unfair, patchwork of providers and services that exasperates everyone involved. But there can be no doubt of the efficacy of doctors and nurses. Of their impact on the lives of the sick and injured.
I met the VP of Business development. His office is across the hall from mine. What does he do? How do you drum up business for a children’s hospital? Go out and make some kids sick? Run over them to break a leg or two? Probably it’s not that, but I do wonder.
There are a lot of Amish in Ohio. I buy lumber from an Amish mill not far from my home there. The women sit behind computers and take the orders, in person and on the phones. The men work mostly outside loading trucks, moving inventory around etc. As things go with the Amish, it is a remarkably efficient operation. No drama.
I love to hear the Amish talk. There is a sing-song cadence and they speak very quietly and annunciate with absolute clarity. I make jokes with the girls when placing my order and organizing details for pick up. I’m pretty sure they’re not allowed to smile, and mostly they don’t. Even with my best material. But once in a while I see the smallest hint of a grin and I take that as a win. The men are pleasant and good looking except for those atrocious haircuts. What the fuck is that all about. But the beards are nice. They are tanned and strong and go about their business with purpose.
I’ve never met an angry Amish, although being human, I am sure they are out there.
This particular sect of Amish is not shy of leveraging technology. They have forklifts and trucks and computers and electricity. I don’t understand what factor distinguishes the more orthodox or strict interpretation of doctrine from the more relaxed views. Some drive and use power tools. Others do not. I regularly see the horse drawn buggies and Amish with no phones or who won’t use electricity in any form. Some can apparently use battery powered devices but not something that is directly plugged in.
The lord works in mysterious ways I guess. He speaks to people very differently it would seem. To me, only through nature. Or the beauty of the innocent.
My parents’ neighbor’s job is to drive Amish construction crews from their homes to the job site and back again after the work day. Last summer, they paid him to drive a Suburban full of them to California for a vacation. Men only. The women stayed home to tend the animals and such.
Religious buffoonery, but they are only slightly more quirky than the rest of the religions. They’re all fucking silly. But also dangerous in one form or another.
We showed back up at BDR on the weekend. There is still more work to do than I would like. But I’m notoriously impatient. It will get done. Working on an elevated platform brings new challenges. Also, it was brutally cold for a couple of weeks which hinders the outdoor work.
But time is passing and progress is being made.
We drove to Roanoke yesterday. An easy drive although interestingly, the straight line distance from my house is about 50 miles. Because of mountains and roadways it’s a 104 mile drive which takes around 90 minutes.
Merry Christmas everyone.
We’ll leave it there.
Humbly Submitted
Robert Myres – Portneuf Valley Rugby Football Club, Flanker (ret.)
The Martini Tales 