I respect her intelligence and problem-solving skills.

But she refuses to get vaccinated, period. One of her reasons is that she also doesn't get a yearly flu shot.

She claims that she doesn't know what's in the vaccine, whether it works, whether it will trigger her asthma, etc. (And inexplicably, she watches Fox "News" and finds it credible. She believes it gives her information/facts that MM refuses to share.) Yeah, she wears a mask and believes that's all she needs for protection. She's even defending in court individuals who face getting fired because they also refuse to be vaccinated but they care for vulnerable individuals (e.g., caregivers in a convent). And she loathes Anthony Fauci, and thinks he's a charlatan who has/had financial interests in the lab in Wuhan, China.

Her teenage niece has been just the opposite regarding Covid. She refused to go to a classroom until she could get vaccinated. Took 2-3 showers a day in an effort to convince herself that she was "healthy".

With the new variant that is supposed to be highly more contagious than the original and Delta variants, my friend is still ready to accept the risk of infection. I know on some level she understands that once she contracts Covid, she has to finish the journey so to speak.

Nine students (half my class) were mysteriously told to pack up to go home at 10:30, 2-1/2 hours after school began. Two more were taken away after Lunch. And almost every 10 minutes, the Office PA requested individual students to pack up and report to the Nurse.

I don't believe I'm extrapolating incorrectly. That many kids in such a short period of time spells COVID.

I'm not worried as I got my booster shot four days ago and all of us were wearing masks.

I'm just concerned about that many kids had to leave school for public health reasons.

The pediatric vaccine for Covid can't come soon enough for me.

27 years old, a single mother of a 5 year old.

She struggled for many years with pain and self-medicated. She tried therapy. She tried Jesus. She tried finding a man who would take care of her. But dammit, she tried!

My BFF is her grandfather. He adopted her before she was born b/c his son and girlfriend were planning on abortion. And my friend and his wife (not the grandmother) raised her. Made me part of their family.

She made me smile in many ways. They lived in Lynchburg , VA. She was in HS when the school PA announced that Jerry Falwell died in May of 2007. She jumped up and yelled "Yaaaaaaay!" That was effin' brave considering that Falwell was the de facto King of Lynchburg.

She asked me for advice from time to time. I supported her all the way all the time.

My BFF is going to raise her daughter, his great granddaughter.

Background: I'm a cashier at a food emporium which also has a general liquor section.

Three minutes before the end of my shift, here he comes. A cart just loaded (literally) with boxes and bottles. All liquor. Never have seen anything like it before. I gird my loins and start processing the order on the belt.

Customer is a guy, 40-something, with an authoritarian streak. I'm older than he is and a woman. (This isn't going to end well, thought I.)

First he wants to tell me how many boxes and how many bottles. I can't do that. If there were 10 or less, I could scan and verify the numbers. There had to be 30-35 pieces of liquor to process. And not organized; they're all spread out. So he's mad at me at 0:45. He's trying to get me to skip steps by telling me that he comes to the store every week, implying I was about to lose a loyal customer. I hope my supervisor doesn't notice and I'll be under scrutiny.

I have to attach "PAID" stickers to each piece. That slows down the process and Customer gets more angry. Pressure cooker mad. I'm just glad to be able to concentrate, not missing a single item, not dropping any glass, etc. He's talking AT me and I keep a neutral demeanor, you know, professional.

He's insulting me in front of me to customers waiting for their turn. I give him great service notwithstanding.

Finally, time for payment. The tab is $ 1,229. Not kidding. This is the biggest tab I've ever done. I was expecting a credit card. But he whips out a roll of $ 20's. That's right. And he's counting them and practically throws them at me. Of course, I now have to count the bills -- 62 of them. And he's talking at me again, trying to distract me while I'm trying to account for the money.

I counted 62, but thought maybe this is a good time to Cover My Ass and called over a supervisor. While I didn't mention the difficulty of the past 15+ minutes, I did ask for her to confirm the wad of bills before I put the sale through. She had to take it to the Money Room for counting. And this guy is almost screaming. I asked my supervisor if she could finish the sale and she looked at me with understanding and told me I could leave.

I returned about 10 minutes later and my supervisor told me that when he tried to complain about me, she told him that she had been watching the entire transaction and he had been abusing me.

I love it when management has your back.

Nothing but Humanities.

Art History, Music History, Theater History, European Civilization (2 semesters), German, Spanish, Italian, Chemistry, Modern Dance, Logic, and that's not counting my courses for my major in Music (Rudiments, Advanced Harmony, Composition, History during the Romantic Era, Baroque History, Modern History, Counterpoint, and more). Plus I researched, wrote, and defended a 90+ page thesis and performed a solo recital.

When I entered college on Day One, I had no idea whatsoever what I was going to do after graduation. None. So I simply enrolled in classes that seemed interesting.

Was I prepared to enter the work force after graduation? Not really. I opted for a backpack trip through the U.K. and Europe the summer following graduation, and saw sights that mirrored my courses.

What did I get out of this educational experience? More knowledge about western civilization than most college graduates. The apparently rarified skill of critical thinking. Three foreign languages. The ability to teach myself in the future.

That is what's lost with the disinterest in the Humanities.

He looked good "on paper." Respected physician in the community. Dressed in Brooks Brothers suits. Member of the exclusive Tuxedo Club. Read Wodehouse, Amis, and other 20th century British authors. Intellectual. Played golf and court tennis. Drove a Jaguar.

But totally out of touch with everyone including our family. You might say he grew too big for his britches.

I could discern there was something "wrong" before I was 10. Disturbingly wrong. It was more than he was republican and loved Nixon. I listened carefully to what he said, what he didn't say. And I felt a combination of unease and apprehension/fear.

To my dismay, I seemed to be the only one who could see beneath the veneer. Maybe my mother to a lesser extent.

I hope Ohio has enough political will to deny Vance a slot during the primary next year.

I am 64+ years old. Five foot one. 170 lbs.

I feel good, but uncertain how long that's going to last with the excess weight.

I visited my primary, who's a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) and discussed a new strategy for weight loss with health benefits.

I've had a comprehensive blood panel with cholesterol, glucose, A1C, thyroid. We both agreed to send me to confer with an endocrinologist (gland specialist). To rule out Hashimoto's Syndrome (lazy thyroid) and metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance (pancreas). My A1C level has thankfully reduced 0.5 since 2019. But I need a more comprehensive study.

Two years ago, I was prediabetic, just a hair away from diabetes. I read that 50% of Americans have undiagnosed insulin resistance, so I want to be certain I don't have it and if I do, take measures to heal the pancreas.

Right now, with the blessing of my primary, this is my first week of intermittent fasting. Essentially, it's reducing three meals to two and having an eight-hour window of eating per day. The other 16 hours allow the pancreas to rest. This is my fourth day and I'm fine. It just requires a little scheduling. Of course you don't eat indiscriminately during those eight hours. Low carbs, protein. Fruit instead of fruit juice.

I'll check in and let you know if I've lost any weight and/or my belly flattens.

It's happened before in history.

William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was shot on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901, six months into his second term. He was shaking hands with the public when anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot him twice in the abdomen. McKinley died on September 14 of gangrene caused by the wounds.

-snip-

Czolgosz had lost his job during the economic Panic of 1893 and turned to anarchism, a political philosophy adhered to by recent assassins of foreign leaders. He regarded McKinley as a symbol of oppression and was convinced that it was his duty as an anarchist to kill him. He was unable to get near the president during an earlier visit, but he shot him twice as McKinley reached to shake his hand in the reception line at the temple. One bullet grazed McKinley; the other entered his abdomen and was never found.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_William_McKinley

After the shocking assassination of President McKinley, the gunman Leon Czolgosz confesses his actions to be inspired by violent anarchist Emma Goldman’s claim that “all rulers should be exterminated.”
https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-emma-goldman

Four months after hearing Emma Goldman speak, Czolgosz assassinated William McKinley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Czolgosz

My point: Goldman spoke and Czolgosz had four months to calm down. He didn't. On January 6, Donald Trump went beyond rally rhetoric and the crowd was flush with anger, malice, passion and headed for Congress in a deluded belief they were taking back their country. Trump deserves to be held in account for inciting a riot and for treason.

He'd never done that before. He never hit the other legal assistant before.

It's irrelevant what precipitated that attack; we'll just say I didn't follow his directions to a Tee.

I immediately told his law partner, who barged into my boss's office and screamed at him. I'm pretty sure the topic was workplace litigation.

The next day, my boss came to me at my desk and tried to obfuscate, telling me that I misinterpreted what happened. That was the moment I knew that I couldn't continue working at my job.

I wanted to, but couldn't, press charges for assault, etc., because my boss (unfortunately) was the former municipal prosecutor where the incident happened. My claim would be dead in the water. I just chose to move on.

My point: Having my boss hit me was bad enough. Having my boss do gaslighting made it much worse.

I've never forgotten what happened and never minimalized my memories. I'm just as outraged today as I was 19 years ago.

I had a law client, a certified registered nurse, who was accused by one of her charges in a long-term care facility. The "victim" was 73 and in a wheelchair. She claimed my client abused her 15 different ways (emotional, psychological, mentally, and physically) during a shift (8 hours). She claimed neglect of her basic needs. More damning was her son claimed he saw his mother's leg being crushed like a vise when she was being lifted from wheelchair to bed. Even more damning, the "victim's" roommate testified that she heard the situation from behind her curtain.

Doesn't look good, does it?

We had three hearings. I cross examined all witnesses, including the "victim".

We came up with 14 inconsistencies in the evidence/testimony for the "victim". She also confided to my client that she wished she had money to buy her son (the witness) a house and a new car. Investigation into the "victim's" financial status found she had a reverse mortgage on her home, in an amount higher than its value. Stuff like that. Now, all of a sudden it didn't LOOK good for the "victim."

As for the son and the roommate, I cross examined them and found decided inconsistencies in their stories.

I was left with one last question to be addressed: Why would an old woman in a wheelchair, who otherwise had a good working relationship with my client, make all this up? Because the evidence indicated that this particular woman only got really upset when she missed a medical appointment or test. She missed a DEXA Scan twice and blamed my client for having to make yet a third appointment.

So, long story short, yes, on its face, my client looked damnable. But I gleaned poignant facts to exonerate her.

I'm holding off judgment on Gov. Andrew Cuomo. I'd like to have these women testify under oath.