White Woman at a Fall Feast
Years ago, a poor urban Native American community took me in, and helped me stay alive long enough to finally recover from end stage alcoholism. I was the only white woman living in that half way...
View ArticleMen of a Darker God
(Having once stood on the front lines of the war against women, only to see the same battle fronts form again, I now stand in support of younger women and men, who have taken up powerful positions on...
View ArticleYou Cannot Take Our Freedom
You know who you are. You, George Bush, with your sick psyche and delusions of grandeur. You, Powerful Neocons, with your dreams of empire and global domination. You, Far Right Religious Wingnuts, who...
View ArticleSpeaker Pelosi: A Symbol of Hope
Congratulations to Nancy Pelosi, Our New Speaker Of The House, and now third in line for succession to the Presidency of The United States. This is indeed a landmark day for women in America, the land...
View ArticleCorporate Exploitation of the Elderly, Sick And Disabled
None of what you will read here came as any surprise to me, because I've worked as an RN Case Manager in Home Health Care, and had ample opportunity to see how private business gouges the hell out of...
View ArticleDo not wait..say it now.
On Easter, my family gathered in the Community Room of this Senior Apartment Building where I live. I'd reserved the space for our private Easter Dinner, and about half way through, I noticed my old...
View ArticleFrom a Sad (and Glad) Gay Elder
I am so very sad for all who are being denied their equal civil rights to marry. I understand the outrage completely and hope every red hot atom of it is channeled into effective, ongoing action.I...
View ArticleWishes....
I wish comfort for those who feel betrayed and who grieve the loss of hope. I wish courage to those who still have hope for tomorrow. I wish strength to those who will fight on and on I wish ease to...
View ArticleOne View from the Sidelines
I'm old now, and finished with the survival struggle. This has allowed me much time to study and observe more fully than ever, the forces at play In America, that determine the quality of life for all...
View ArticleALERT: Raisin Toxicity for Dogs
In case there are other dog lovers who are not aware that raisins and grapes are toxic to doggies, they most certainly are.My daughters beautiful black lab Rufus ate a half of a bag of stolen raisins...
View ArticleMother's Day: BA HUMBUG!
I know. Shame on me, for saying "BA HUMBUG!" to Mothers Day.It's worse that defacing the flag or saying bad things about Apple Pie. Mother Hood is one step below sainthood for a whole lot of people,...
View Article3,531 Bites of Pie ?!
Just for the hell of it, I added up all the comments from the four, count 'em, four rec list diaries based on remarks made by one man who isn't even an elected official. As of five minutes ago, total...
View ArticleOwning My Racism
I've spend many hours this past few days reading thousands of hard words being exchanged in a number of diaries with long comments threads that were painful to read. So painful that several good folks...
View ArticleDear Mr. Alan Simpson: An Apology
Dear Mr SimpsonIt is with sincere humility and a heart full of shame I offer you this sincere apology. Please hear me out.I am so sorry for sucking too hard on the SS cow udder back when my husband...
View ArticleLet it begin with me
It has to stop. If there are no actions taken to stop the rising tide of anger and hatred bathing this country, we are all lost.I'm a 70 year old Retired RN, with serious mobility limitations. I been a...
View ArticlePost Computer Stress Disorder (PCSD)
I have PCSD. (Post Computer Stress Disorder) I am in solid recovery now, but it is being threatened by the looming DK4 transition: already I have suffered flashbacks I thought were far behind me. My...
View ArticleHairballs, Toilets and Garbage
I nearly drove myself insane today trying to act hip enough to navigate the new site. Ended up hunched over this keyboard sweating profusely, with the kind of headache I know means my BP is going up,...
View ArticleDK4 Thoughts on Day Four
For whatever it may be worth, I offer my thoughts and observations on my personal DK4 experience to date. I write as an older user who is not very tech savy, having not even entered the computer world...
View ArticleDkos4: Day 6 Thoughts
For me, jumping right into the deep end of this Olympic sized web pool was not a good idea. I nearly drowned because I had no idea it was so big and so deep. By day three of trying to grok the meaning...
View ArticleShifting Sands
The word community has many many meanings, and our definitions vary greatly. My own perception of what it means has certainly shifted and changed through the years. The one constant thread that winds...
View ArticleDKos 4: Day Ten Thoughts
Well, I am still here. If you'd asked me back on the first few days into the transition, I'd have said the chances of me being able to hang in here were next to zip. Nada. No way. I have finally tamed...
View ArticleDKOS 4: Day 19 Thoughts
One thing I enjoy very much about getting old is becoming more of an observer, than an actor. Once I got past my own initial panic and full blown cranky crises over the change to dK4, I've returned to...
View ArticleDear Old Clara
Nobody could remember ever hearing Dear Old Clara say a single word. She was like a little humpbacked shadow who got up every morning, got dressed, then came to sit silently on her tall stool in the...
View ArticleThe Human Factor (and Open Cranky Thread)
I am cranky and for once it's got nothing to do with software glitches, although this is an Open Thread where those can certainly be discussed as well.I'm cranky because of HUMAN glitches that cause...
View ArticleThe Little Ones Shall Lead...
She stopped in her still wobbly tracks, plopped down on her butt in the middle of the sidewalk her face full of awe, intent on what she saw.It was an ant hill, a big one, swarming with hundreds of very...
View ArticleOpen Thread For Crankies
The overall level of crankiness around here seems to be decreasing somewhat, but I did find myself having a small relapse over these past few days of trying to navigate the group dynamics. I get it...
View ArticleThursday Open Thread and Thoughts on Crankiness
Happy Thursday, Dear Crankies! (Crankists? Crankers? Crankologists?)Since I can't dazzle you with techie tips or anything else useful, let's just spend a minute considering "crankiness" in general....
View ArticleThe Train
It had been a very bad day and it wasn't over yet the door could still open and he'd be there again she counted each second till it would be time for the train to come and take her away please please...
View ArticleA Dignified Death
One morning she awoke and she simply knew. Right time was drawing near. She smiled, and began the slow, painful movements of getting out of her bed.
View ArticlePatient Centered Primary Care: The Good Old Days
I passed my RN state boards in 1972, and went to work for a large hospital affiliated with the Mayo Clinic, on the surgical orthopedic unit. I invite you to join me on this trip back to the days when...
View ArticleMy Guys
(This is another true story about wonderful people I've encountered in my long years of working in the health care field. Names have been changed.)I was almost out of rent money and desperate for a...
View ArticleA Rollator on a Leash!
When I was younger, I thought it was so sad to see old folks staying home so much of the time, instead of getting out and staying engaged with the world. .Then guess what? I got old.
View ArticleStifled No More
Lately, I've been watching old movies about ordinary people forming unions to fight for their rights to be treated decently. Wilmar 8, the Salt of the Earth, powerful woman striding forth into battles,...
View ArticleRemembering Jerry Ray
He was a quiet kid, my little brother. A loner, who preferred reading books to sports, and helping Mom cook, over more manly chores. Mostly, he tried to stay out of the way in our unhappy household. He...
View ArticleNon Violent Power: a Memory
Una'a excellent diary on non violent response to bullies brought back a memory of a true event I'd like to share with you, that happened many years ago. It was one of the most powerful events I have...
View ArticleA Bad Day For Poor Working Moms in Minnesota
If you are a low income employed single Mom in Minnesota who relies on child care assistance in order to be able to work, it is a very bad day. It seems child care subsidies were not covered under...
View ArticleIf I Could.....
(Authors Note: I find aging to be one of the most challenging, confusing, and fascinating adventures in my life. I deal with it mostly via writing my way through it in private journals. It can be a...
View ArticleOld Timer's Journal: What's "RICH?"
Just finished reading Bink's diaries discussing the article about people who make 250,000 a year having a tough time making ends meet.Personally, I can't stretch my mind far enough to even imagine ever...
View ArticleOld Timers Journal: Fireside Spider
Little One leaned against the Elder, as they gazed at the glowing embers of their campfire. "Is it Question Time yet, Grandmother?" the Little One asked."Yes, it is Question Time.", Grandmother...
View ArticleOld Timers Journal: The Perks of "Making Do" Together
I come from the days when "making do" with what one has was considered pretty normal. Born in 1940, I was raised till my teens by a great grandmother who supported us all by running a rooming house,...
View ArticleThe Upside to Aging
It's a genuine challenge to find a way to write about aging that doesn't make people turn away in droves, for many reasons.Admittedly, the last chapter of the book of life has many challenges,...
View Articlettfn in support of boycott
I left here once before, by invitation of the owner, as one of the "womens studies" outlaws. I came back when I saw reasons to hope that change had happened here: more women on the front page, more...
View ArticleSometimes, When You Least Expect it...
This is for whoever gifted me with a lifetime subscription as well as for everyone who has so generously gifted others.Sometimes, when you least expect it something happens that warms the heart a look,...
View ArticleThe Somewhere In-Between
My friend is close to death now. She's floating in that "somewhere in between" life and death. She looks peaceful. There is no struggling, no evidence of pain. and I know she is more than ready to move...
View ArticleA Plea For Protection
This is an invitation to join in a powerful plea for protection of our President and his family. Send positive thoughts, good energies, prayers, wishes, however you feel comfortable in asking and...
View ArticleA Life Un-lived
To my dear long-dead brother on Memorial Day 2013:Once again, time to honor your memory with my words. You were only 20 years old when you left for Viet Nam and then came back in a box covered with...
View ArticleNo Celebrating Here
I was so in love with my country back in 1945. I was five, and I can remember standing as tall as I could, and saluting every soldier I saw, begging to be allowed to go on base to watch the drill...
View ArticleImagine This....
You get up early on Sunday so you can get the kids all gussied up in their best clothes for Sunday school and church. Then you get into your own Sunday best, which starts with the hated girdle with the...
View ArticleEnter: R2D2?
It sits over there behind a screen because I do not want to see it. It is an unwelcome guest, no matter how much oxygen it can deliver. And it's ugly. So is the 60lb O2 tank in the storeroom to use in...
View ArticleWho Would You Be Now, If You'd Lived?
Dear Little BrotherIf you'd lived through Viet Nam, who would you be now? For one thing, you'd 69 years old, still six years younger than me. I still giggle when I remember how , as a child, you really...
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