After my surgery yesterday, the doctors told me that I might experience pain, a black eye, and maybe even a closing up of my right eye. Well, they were right. Yesterday the elephant sat on my eyebrow and today my right eye is bruised and almost shut. I look like I just got out of a fight with Mohammed Ali. But I will live to fight another day. I just may have to hide out today and maybe tomorrow.
World and National News:
Monica Lewinsky Returns: You remember her, right? Monica wrote an essay in Vanity Fair bemoaning her fate since her notoriety. If you want to get a good insight on her story, you can read extended articles about it in The New Yorker, and in The Nation.
Helping Kids Become Un-Healthy: The Associated Press reports that House Republicans are attempting to allow schools to opt out of the program to follow healthier food guidelines for their cafeterias. This has made Mrs. Obama mad.
Mrs. Priest?: Pope Francis indicates that he might be amenable to a possible change in the 1,000 year rule that Roman Catholic priests should be celibate. "The door is always open to change..." says Il Papa.
W: George W. Bush (former President) just received a new (partial) knee. He celebrated by walking up and down a flight of stairs. (Now.. if he just could get a new brain.... no, no, I didn't mean that.. just fooling.)
Civilization?: In Lahore Pakistan, a pregnant woman was stoned to death by her family because she married someone she loved instead of the person who was arranged for by the family.
More Dangerous than Baltimore or Detroit?: It must be very hard to live in South Korea. The people are constantly bombarded by nuts from North Korea, recently 33 elderly patients and a nurse were asphyxiated in a nursing home fire, 300 or more people are dead or missing in a ferry overturning, and major accidents have occurred recently in two different subway systems. I wonder if there are muggings on the street there?
Baltimore, Maryland News:
Disappearing Street: The folks who had their street disappear during the April rains had good news this week. They will be able to return to their homes by June 15th. The cost to repair and invent a new street will be 18 1/2 million dollars... I think that is just the cost to the City. I assume the railroad company will pay a bit too.
Don't Drink the Water!: Baltimore harbor water earned a failing grade for water quality last year. The year before, it received a C minus. So please.. no longer "swim or splash around" in the trash and sewage-fouled upper reaches of the Patapsco River.
Even though the score went down, officials say that's just the result of how grades are developed and the water was as disappointingly polluted last year as the year before. But I'm sure everything will turn out better, at least before the harbor catches on fire.
Little People No More: The Baltimore Sun reports that a young lady from Arkansas has had limb-lengthening surgery at Sinai Hospital. She has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism in which limbs do not grow in proportion to the person's torso.
This lady is extremely happy now that she has grown from 3'10" to almost 5'. Now she can walk without pain, drive the family car, use "normal" sinks, and function in a "tall" world.
I'll have to check to see if Sinai can get me back the 4" in height I have lost just by becoming an old man!
Carroll County News:
Weaponry: Carroll County is an area where almost everybody is an NRA member and knows what to do with firearms; however, new weapons emerged suddenly this weekend:
1. A man threatened his neighbor with a butcher knife.
2. A woman sliced up her neighbor with broken glass.
3. A man chased and tried to hit his neighbor with a child's scooter.
Prayer: The Sykesville Town Counsel recently talked about opening future meetings with a prayer instead of the usual moment of silence, because of the recent Supreme Court ruling that such prayers are not unconstitutional. I thought that one of Counselors made a very interesting comment, when he said that to incorporate a Christian-themed prayer would open the door to all creeds and religions wanting to participate. .
I wonder if the feisty Carroll County Commissioners have thought of this point yet? I think not.
CC Budget: Speaking of the Carroll County Commissioners, the 1915 Budget was passed yesterday by a vote of 3 to 2. The 2 being the usual commissioners that, in my opinion, do not have a serious grip on what it is like to be a rational human being, one who cares for those who are not as well off in wealth or health. These are the persons who advocate for closed or offsite meetings, school funding cuts and meeting opening prayers. Its a wonder anything gets accomplished when the 5 Commissioners get together. Maybe things will change for the better after the upcoming elections.
Candidates for the Maryland House of Delegates: I guess I am just dense, but I can't see why one of the Republican candidates wants to show an episode of Criminal Minds to buttress her thoughts on funding. Elaine likes that show and I do watch it sometimes.. usually, it depicts some nut-case who has figured out a novel way to slowly torture and kill a vulnerable woman or child. At exactly 8 minutes before the end of the show, the FBI raids the house of the "unsub" and rescues the victim. This is followed by a "post-mortem" kind of session on a jet plane, where a pithy quote from some famous author completes it all.
This is a well written and produced show, but if my kids were under 21, I would not let them watch it. Too damn bloody and besides, I'm sure it has given lots of "good" ideas to generations of serial rapists and murderers. Why it should help us learn why a candidate is running, is beyond me at the moment. Let's see if Dean Minnick addresses this in his monthly column in the Carroll County Times.
Goodbye!
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