10.11.2018
Mr. McGinley, who told you to do that, the receptionist demanded? Detail
When she first saw me on this last of my visits to the health clinic, this tremendously dear and adorable receptionist, with this funny Sly grin called me James. We were both so glad with the familiarity. She is alternately a drill sergeant and just so Charming. Mid 20s I'll guess. Very stylish, very carefully and attractively groomed. African American woman. She and the other receptionist at this clinic for the homeless are just off the charts in their poise, strength of management, professionalism, good cheer, skills. We have so very much enjoyed encountering one another. This last encounter was not a scheduled medical visit. That was yesterday the last one, a dental appointment. I needed to do something. And the something turned out to be three very large trays of cut fruit from the nearby Walmart, trays in a bag with a card on top addressed to the health clinic team, and inside the card was the message that I needed to deliver to them. Thank you for the rare and extraordinary goodness that you channel to all of us. Signed, your clients. Upon presenting this in a large double-bagged Walmart bag this so Charming receptionist looked up in her controlling mom young African American woman way, Mr McGinley, who told you to do this? I was so taken aback but almost immediately first I pointed up to the sky indicating Creator, whatever that is, and then to my heart. She seemed so stunned with the whole thing. I think in a really really good way. There was certainly enough fruit for the entire staff at this place to have quite a bit. And the same thing was repeated at the other place that kept me for 4 days in support of my colonoscopy.
Why did you take my sweatpants, my medical roommate asked me immediately? Detail
Upon checking in for 4 days in conjunction with my colonoscopy each of we homeless people are very understandably and appropriately required and offered to shower, provide our clothes to be washed immediately, concerned with bed bugs and the like I'm sure, and issued sweat clothing to keep if we like. And to wear if we like while our clothes are being washed. I was issued a blue and white shirt and a seemingly new pair of Grey sweatpants. Upon completing my shower I was briefly in the room that I shared with two other people who had been there for some time I'm sure, African American men, obviously homeless, and the one man in there, substantial amputations due to diabetes I'd be quite sure, why did you take my sweatpants? His demeanor was not extremely hostile and his language somewhat mumbling. Oddly I was not upset by this encounter and I responded several times factually. These are the sweat pants that were on the chair when I reached out after my shower. Put there by the attending nurse, I don't know which one because I was showering. He mumbled some stuff not very happily after that. And for the next day or so when he saw me his demeanor went from quite friendly to others to mumbling things about tattoos and whatnot, obviously trash-talking me and wanted me to hear it. In a world where Liberals are happily sitting by while conservatives destroy everything decent on Earth, such things just don't bother me. But I certainly notice them. Within a certain number of hours this made me a little bit concerned about my clothing disappearing which was now washed and in a bin above my bed so I changed into that clothing. And I stayed in my clothing for several days. But within 24 hours of the colonoscopy as prep was required I became concerned about soiling the clothing I was wearing so I reached for the sweatpants to put them on. The sweatpants were gone. I needed sweatpants so I told the nurse that I thought was trustworthy, mature, about the incident and the major factor that I needed a pair of sweatpants. And I made a point of saying, I do not want an incident here. I had decided that the African-American man was emotionally and mentally distressed. She seemed to understand what I was saying and got me some sweatpants but I did notice that she was writing in what appeared to be a logbook. The next day I was waking up from a long and deep nap. Through my grogginess I heard, did you tell the nurse I took your sweatpants? I chose to respond, and I was very relaxed, I found that my sweatpants were missing and I told the nurse I needed some. I would have gone on in more detail but he rather than wanting more detail and what I took to be a friendly and relaxed manner, startling me, pointed above his area and said there they are. I didn't understand what he was saying but by this time he had walked over to where he was pointing and was holding in front of me the sweatpants that he had taken out of his bin. In what continued to be a friendly and light-hearted way he said, now I don't want any trouble with these folks, here they are, and I have some shirts, if you need any shirts or anything else you let me know. It's you and me, okay? None of this evidence that he was afraid, or worried, but he did take the interaction with the staff seriously. But much more pronounced was a friendliness that I had observed him interacting with African American clients there. And the several times I encountered him in the day or so that I remained at this facility he made it clear that he thought I was a human being, was pleasant, relaxed, and we both enjoyed the interaction. I told the nurse that I wanted to leave those sweatpants for him when I left. She said she needed to talk to the staff about that. I saw him before I left and I said I want to leave those sweatpants for you. Oh no, I have plenty he said, meaning it. I left the sweatpants on a windowsill near his bed.
The African-American driver was so irritating. Detail
Several times she was my driver to and from medical appointments. A mid forties African American woman, nicely dressed, driving a nice new modern passenger van. On our first encounter she was borderline hostile showing the discourtesy of not hiding her shock at my appearance and alarm demanding that I identify myself. Our second encounter wasn't much better. Cold, detached, dismissive. In my perception. The 15 minutes or so trip was the music of her choice at medium volume, what would be considered fairly sophisticated black radio. Totally mindless, artificially Jolly I thought, irritating. On the second or third trip she made a series of phone calls, the first two to an obviously young African-American male to do with getting up, dressing as she thought appropriately with a belt, and being ready to depart for school on time. And then the third call fairly mindless I thought to who I presumed was her husband. The next visit I was glowing with the goodness just sloshed about in the medical office devoted to homeless people that I had just left. And I simply mentioned something about this as I was getting in the car with the same driver. The floodgates opened, although that's totally the wrong wording. We found immediately such shared passion for people being good to one another. The boy that turns out was her grandson, the third generation of children that she has raised. Among the events that she shared in a mutually enjoyed conversation was how he emerged with $20 one day, she inquired and discovered that a neighbor boy had given it to him, a much much older boy, she spoke to the mom, all the issues of possibly even if unintentionally grooming him as a drug Runner or who-knows-what. I quickly saw that her parenting skills are way way way Beyond mine and her Humanity, a third generation of children that she's raising with such care and courage just shocking and humbling me. And the man that she calls, not her husband, but her father that she calls every morning. I don't know what she hears and that radio programming that I considered mindless but for the first time it occurred to me that it is totally understandable and may be necessary self-medicating, for a person who is non-white in this nasty bigoted white-dominated culture.
If all the Liberals instantly went away. Detail
If all the Liberals instantly went away the problem for the conservatives in the lower economic strata would be what? To them in fact the educated Liberals are nothing more than a tax, an oppression, on their lives. No? The exception proves the rule. Liberalism has simply been the prevailing sanctioned means of Oppression for a long time now. It is being overthrown.
Input desired. Prototype image for my new uniform.
If you have strong comments positive or negative, or strong input, now would be a good time to let me know.
This is why the extinction of the human species is a good thing, we the citizen fund it and sit and watch. There is a moral Ark....
This is why the extinction of the human species is a good thing, we the citizen fund it and sit and watch. There is a moral Ark in the universe and it is about to extinguisher human species. That's a good thing.
10.10.2018
Update, last weeks. Detail
The entire reason that I came to DC for what is now almost 4 weeks, flight leaves early morning Tuesday, was to support the great and good man I know whose young son is in a terrible medical situation. The weight of the world is on my friend's shoulders but I have been able to see him and I'm so glad that happened. My sense is that his young son has entered what is likely to be a long battle and at this point all that can be known is that the best medical teams in the world are working with great Passion on his case under the watchful eye and skilled hand of his dad and mom.
It was not my expectation to receive extensive medical care of myself but in fact that has happened. Quite an extraordinary blessing. There are at best Band-Aids on our unforgivable cultural sin of allowing poor in our society, but in Washington DC those Band-Aids exist, put forth by many good people doing the best they know, and I have been a tremendous benefit these recent weeks of that. Long overdue and terribly expensive full body CAT scan with contrast, multiple blood work, and finally a colonoscopy at Georgetown University Hospital several days ago all indicate that in fact no cancer is to be found in this tired old body. Statistically there is a 30% chance that there will be a recurrence of cancer in my colon but a check every 5 years might be sufficient to catch that in time. A place called Christ house is not designed for me, a highly functioning individual, no credit to me, but it is what it was available and it was a tremendous help. All made bearable and productive despite being unable to use internet, because one of the top 10 books on my long waiting list was available and 1/2 of 800 pages are now read, behave, Robert sapolsky, a Must-Read. And although I thought it was far more than necessary, being sequestered for 4 days in a fairly intensive medical facility for the homeless, passing out upon arriving back there after the procedure due to extreme stomach pain, certainly validated that I was there. Several visits have been to my primary care doctor, a combination of Teresa of Calcutta and Paul Farmer, a brilliant extraordinary channel of good into the world. I am alive in significant part due to her and we both really enjoyed seeing each other. She seems genuinely amazed and extremely pleased at my physical strength and health and everything right down to the blood work indicates that this old body is very very very very healthy. And they have a new Young dentist pretty much of my primary doctors caliber, never had better dental service in my life, and probably not as good, tremendous pain management, great care, very respectful explanations, and now four fillings that had somewhat degraded are now replaced and he thinks that these poor old teeth might last me quite a few more years. The previously owned bicycle purchased was quite a wonderful thing. Must be returned on Sunday afternoon. They will buy it back for probably a third of what I paid for it plus accessories that I purchased,. It was very useful to understand what a conventional bicycle feels like under these quite strong thigh muscles carrying not 80 lb of a 750 lb bike but probably 20 or 30 lb of stuff plus me. It's unclear to me how permanent it will be the offline of the last 4 days and the focus on my reading list. It is so hard for me to satisfy my conscience that the right thing to do is to detach from the ongoing minute-by-minute Horror Story, the unnecessary destroying of the Titanic right underneath us but it clearly is not something that I'm going to have any impact on, and I just have to run the risk that people are going to wonder if I really think that maybe things are going to be okay? They are not. All that is possible for any of us is to Channel A little bit of good in the world that the rare individual susceptible to that might be encouraged to find the goodness in themselves and to live out of that. This dictates that I try and find the fortitude, courage, and compassion, to leave the sinking of the Titanic to everyone's apathy, and to see what I can do about becoming better able at channeling goodness into the world for the susceptable One in a Million. This has been my intention quite a few times now before and I failed. Maybe a little more success this time. And last but not least two things. I saw my oldest acquaintance who has become a good and maybe my best friend. It was an extraordinary several days, and I got to see a family that is so dear to me and has been so dear to me up in the Philadelphia area for an evening. That was quite a wonderful gift as well.
Review. Behave, Robert sapolsky. Must read owners manual. Detail
If one owns and nervous system and cares deeply about the world and how things operate this is a must-read owners manual for all who have a nervous system and thinks it matters. It seems to me that this extraordinary it elect, neuroscientist, paleontologist, Stanford University, and great human being, decided to share with us what he has had to come to understand to make any sense of the world and the human beings in it. He is a wonderful writer. Every relevant discipline from Neuroscience to Sociology to evolutionary biology, psychology on and on and on, highly cited, writing that is brilliant, a reflection of his great Humanity.
James is back online. Facebook jail over in a week.....
James remains in Washington DC, colonoscopy which was negative required being in a homeless hospice for 4 days offline. He is back online, the plan is to fly from Washington DC back to his friend the solar human hybrid vehicle in Reno storage. And then to resume traveling to Southern California.
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