This post is going to come really close to guilting our readership on a
variety of fronts, but it is also going to put a big target on my back.
Not everyone reading this need come to the same convictions I have, but I guess I hope you have to wrestle with some of the thoughts I went through.
I do not like giving blood. Everything people say about it is completely true; it really doesn't hurt, when nurses call the needle entering the skin a "slight pinch," that's pretty accurate. Regardless, I can't look at the bag of blood or the needle in my arm or I'm going to get dizzy. Nurses must chuckle to themselves about this big guy felled by the simplest of procedures.
It has been years since I've given blood for that reason. The reason I'm writing about it now is because of a thought I had during a walk: I claim to be pro-life, but I don't donate blood. There is an excellent chance that 1 hour of my time could save another human life, but I can't be bothered. Conversely, I expect women in all sorts of life situations to carry a small human around inside of them for 9 months and then endure the hardship of said human exiting their body, all because I hold that all life is sacred. How calloused and wicked am I, to behave so hypocritically?
The thoughts hit me like a punch to the gut. I immediately signed up for the next blood drive the Red Cross had for the area, which it turns out won't be for another two weeks, but the thought of all the human suffering I could have had a part in preventing over the past decade or so of my life haunts me.
Abortion is about the perfect issue to unite a group of people. Believe life is sacred, and you have an absolute right and an absolute wrong. Anyone who doesn't believe as you do is a monster, and monsters don't deserve respect or compromise. There are good guys and bad guys; we're with the good guys, and that makes us morally superior to the other side. Best part of all, it costs us absolutely nothing to do so, just vote a certain way and can rest assured that you are better than half the people in this country.
I am starting to doubt how much sanctity of life is motivating our priorities, however. There are a variety of legitimate reasons people choose not to give blood, but what a perfect analogy for being willing to bleed for your beliefs. If not donating blood, what about enlisting on the national bone marrow registry and be willing to provide a bone marrow transplant should you ever be a match to someone desperately clinging to life? Are you at willing to be an organ donor, which literally costs you nothing, so that another might live?
How does belief in the sanctity of life influence our support on other political questions? How do we feel about refugees fleeing war and religious persecution seeking safety in our midst? Do concerns about safety (most of concerns I hear expressed, by the way, are exaggerated or unfounded) keep us from caring for the widow and the orphan? How does our belief in the sanctity of life influence how we think about welfare, gun rights, or foreign policy?
People who care about life are going to disagree on these issues; they are multifaceted. But in talking to people about these issues, I am shocked at how quickly they try to steer the argument away from holding life sacred and towards personal responsibility or the importance of guarding against a perceived onset of tyranny; important issues, sure, but they have to be weighed against others. The way most people approach politics is to allow only one principle to direct their position and not recognize other principles might pull them another direction, and it is shocking when one of those ignored principles is sanctity of life.
So are you willing to bleed? What are some ways you can live out what you believe? Ultimately, it comes down to showing your fellow man love. Omnia Vincit Amore.
Monday, May 29, 2017
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Hummingbird Hospitality
We are finding that owning a home comes with a lot of added responsibility. While renting our responsibility was to pay rent, pay utilities, keep the garden from taking over, and clean on a somewhat regular basis. Home ownership requires monitoring mortgage payments, taking care of repairs, selecting new carpet or paint, cleaning more square footage, mowing the lawn, keeping the weeds from taking over, landscaping and gardening, furnace, fireplace, and AC maintenance, etc.
One responsibility that wasn't mentioned in the homeowner manual that we got from the home inspector was caring for the birds that live in our backyard. There was also a sense of duty to these birds that came with buying this house. The previous owner, before he passed away enjoyed sitting on the back porch listening to KC Royals games and watching the birds come to the feeders. There are a total of 6 feeders in the backyard that were included with the house and now they are our responsibility.
A few weeks ago I had a patient mention that the hummingbirds were back in the area so we put it on the to-do list to fill the hummingbird feeders. We hadn't gotten it done when one day I was out on the porch and a brilliant green hummingbird flew up and check each of the four feeding flowers on the feeder and flew off with a very disappointed look since the feeder was bone dry. I rushed in to inform Arthur of our first hummingbird sighting and that we needed to get some sugar water. He has taken it upon himself to be in charge of hummingbird hospitality. He filled up the two feeders with great care and we watched eagerly throughout the week for our guest to return. Nothing. We did see an oriole several times stop to get a swig of the sugar water so that provided us with some entertainment. Arthur's parents were then here for the weekend and his dad was shooting photographs of the birds in the backyard and really wanted some bird to come up to the deck feeder. But nothing came.
A few days ago Arthur took the feeder down to clean it since sugar water starts growing stuff after awhile and in the hour that the feeder was inside I saw another hummingbird zip by and hover in mid air where the feeder usually is puzzled by the empty space. We missed them again-- what terrible hosts are we.
We finally got some bird seed this weekend to fill the other feeders in the back yard so as I was taking the laundry off the back deck (Side note: This might turn into a blog but we have been experimenting with not using our dry and line drying everything on the back deck. So far it has been great and we haven't used the drier since moving but the last 2 days with constant rains showers and 100% humidity has put a damper on that this week) I watched a cardinal eat at one feeder and a wren at another. Then the hummingbird zipped by to the feeder and sat there contently slurping up sugary solution. Finally. I couldn't wait to tell Arthur. But in the 20 minutes it has taken to type up this blog I have seen 4 humming birds come to the feed and two more orioles. We might go through a lot of sugar this summer but in the grand scheme of things a few dollars for 5 pounds of sugar is more enjoyable for a homeowner than 100 bucks to get rid of termites. Omni Vincit Amor.
This video has some fun footage of hummingbirds and the science being the aerodynmics of hummingbird flight.
One responsibility that wasn't mentioned in the homeowner manual that we got from the home inspector was caring for the birds that live in our backyard. There was also a sense of duty to these birds that came with buying this house. The previous owner, before he passed away enjoyed sitting on the back porch listening to KC Royals games and watching the birds come to the feeders. There are a total of 6 feeders in the backyard that were included with the house and now they are our responsibility.
A few weeks ago I had a patient mention that the hummingbirds were back in the area so we put it on the to-do list to fill the hummingbird feeders. We hadn't gotten it done when one day I was out on the porch and a brilliant green hummingbird flew up and check each of the four feeding flowers on the feeder and flew off with a very disappointed look since the feeder was bone dry. I rushed in to inform Arthur of our first hummingbird sighting and that we needed to get some sugar water. He has taken it upon himself to be in charge of hummingbird hospitality. He filled up the two feeders with great care and we watched eagerly throughout the week for our guest to return. Nothing. We did see an oriole several times stop to get a swig of the sugar water so that provided us with some entertainment. Arthur's parents were then here for the weekend and his dad was shooting photographs of the birds in the backyard and really wanted some bird to come up to the deck feeder. But nothing came.
A few days ago Arthur took the feeder down to clean it since sugar water starts growing stuff after awhile and in the hour that the feeder was inside I saw another hummingbird zip by and hover in mid air where the feeder usually is puzzled by the empty space. We missed them again-- what terrible hosts are we.
We finally got some bird seed this weekend to fill the other feeders in the back yard so as I was taking the laundry off the back deck (Side note: This might turn into a blog but we have been experimenting with not using our dry and line drying everything on the back deck. So far it has been great and we haven't used the drier since moving but the last 2 days with constant rains showers and 100% humidity has put a damper on that this week) I watched a cardinal eat at one feeder and a wren at another. Then the hummingbird zipped by to the feeder and sat there contently slurping up sugary solution. Finally. I couldn't wait to tell Arthur. But in the 20 minutes it has taken to type up this blog I have seen 4 humming birds come to the feed and two more orioles. We might go through a lot of sugar this summer but in the grand scheme of things a few dollars for 5 pounds of sugar is more enjoyable for a homeowner than 100 bucks to get rid of termites. Omni Vincit Amor.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Garage Sales
We had been warned that this weekend our town will be a bit crazier than usual. The first weekend in May is the city-wide garage sale. Natives warned me to expect erratic driving (more than usual), a ton of people out and about, not leave our garage doors open, and that we should not leave anything of value outside or someone might be knocking at the door trying to buy it.
The craziness began on Thursday evening with a few sales opening on our block which lead to some drivers parking their vehicles in the middle of the street to jump out and make a quick purchase. Friday brought the official opening to the weekend and everyone not at the golf course on a beautiful afternoon or celebrating Cinco de Mayo at La Fiesta were hitting the sales to get the best early finds. I was excited since it also meant opening day of the plant sale at the nursing home that I walk by every day on my way to work. Another patient had tipped me off not to miss this. Since Arthur has allotted a generous house plant budget I picked up a small jade plant. These are sometimes used in bonsai gardens and I think Confucius (our Chinese evergreen) and Jade will be happy East Asia plants together.
Friday evening I had the idea that maybe if we hauled our broken freezer out to the street that maybe someone would come by and take it for free. Wouldn't that be great. This might be the one time that having more privacy of being in the corner of a quiet cul-de-sac is a disadvantage when trying to get other people to haul off your junk. Sad to say, the defunct freezer is back in the garage taking up space.
Saturday morning I was up bright and early planning our attack for garage sale day. There were at least 60 sales advertised in the paper and luckily there was a handy map which made plotting our routes around town a little bit easier. Specifically we were on the hunt for gardening tools or other tools in general since our shop/garden supplies consisted of a trowel, pots, a hose, and a bag of potting soil when we moved. Since then we have acquired a shovel, ladder, lawn mower, and a garden rake that a patient gave me. (I might have looked a little silly and like an American Gothic re-enactment walking around the hospital and home from work with a rake but if anyone asked I was just going to mention that it was Take Your Rake to Work Day).
Our first stop we saw garden statues for a gargoyle and the Greek god Pan. It was difficult to pass up those additions to our statue and topiary garden. Next we hit a sale that had some great kids books. It's hard to pass up on 5 books for a dollar so we expanded our children's book collection. Someone was probably a teacher as most of the books were on science and space but there were also a large number of multiculture children's books with emphasis on China, Japan, and Africa.
Garage sales intrigue me from an anthropology point of view. What can you find out about a family and their lives by looking through their junk? At the next sale I was able to determine that it was the home of someone older who was a doctor and flew airplanes. The style of furniture or dishes and kitchenware is usually a good indication of age. This sale also had a lot of books including the KU Med Alumni Directory, four shelves of medical textbooks, and a complete set of flight encyclopedias. As it turns out I was right on-- it was the estate of a doctor who had a pilot's license.
At this sale we picked up a leaf rake -- a big item on our check list -- and the biggest find of the day...a food dehydrator. We hit a few others stops and found a new work shirt for Arthur, plastic drop cloth with adhesive so the drop cloth and taping the trim are done in one step, and a box of CFL lightbulbs. We might have looked a little redneck cruising around town with a rake handle hanging out of the back window but actually we fit right in with the other erratic drivers.
From an economical stand point our outing this morning took about 45 minutes and cost $13.50. Here's a run down on our purchased and estimated market value:
Children's books for $1 worth about $10
Polo shirt for $2 worth about $20
Food Dehydrator for $3 worth about $50
Drop cloth for $.50 worth about $7
Box of CFL bulbs for $2 worth about $19
Jade plant for $3 worth about $8
The estimated market value comes to about $115. Now if we had only gotten rid of the freezer today would have been priceless. Omnia Vincit Amor.
The craziness began on Thursday evening with a few sales opening on our block which lead to some drivers parking their vehicles in the middle of the street to jump out and make a quick purchase. Friday brought the official opening to the weekend and everyone not at the golf course on a beautiful afternoon or celebrating Cinco de Mayo at La Fiesta were hitting the sales to get the best early finds. I was excited since it also meant opening day of the plant sale at the nursing home that I walk by every day on my way to work. Another patient had tipped me off not to miss this. Since Arthur has allotted a generous house plant budget I picked up a small jade plant. These are sometimes used in bonsai gardens and I think Confucius (our Chinese evergreen) and Jade will be happy East Asia plants together.
Friday evening I had the idea that maybe if we hauled our broken freezer out to the street that maybe someone would come by and take it for free. Wouldn't that be great. This might be the one time that having more privacy of being in the corner of a quiet cul-de-sac is a disadvantage when trying to get other people to haul off your junk. Sad to say, the defunct freezer is back in the garage taking up space.
Saturday morning I was up bright and early planning our attack for garage sale day. There were at least 60 sales advertised in the paper and luckily there was a handy map which made plotting our routes around town a little bit easier. Specifically we were on the hunt for gardening tools or other tools in general since our shop/garden supplies consisted of a trowel, pots, a hose, and a bag of potting soil when we moved. Since then we have acquired a shovel, ladder, lawn mower, and a garden rake that a patient gave me. (I might have looked a little silly and like an American Gothic re-enactment walking around the hospital and home from work with a rake but if anyone asked I was just going to mention that it was Take Your Rake to Work Day).
Our first stop we saw garden statues for a gargoyle and the Greek god Pan. It was difficult to pass up those additions to our statue and topiary garden. Next we hit a sale that had some great kids books. It's hard to pass up on 5 books for a dollar so we expanded our children's book collection. Someone was probably a teacher as most of the books were on science and space but there were also a large number of multiculture children's books with emphasis on China, Japan, and Africa.
Garage sales intrigue me from an anthropology point of view. What can you find out about a family and their lives by looking through their junk? At the next sale I was able to determine that it was the home of someone older who was a doctor and flew airplanes. The style of furniture or dishes and kitchenware is usually a good indication of age. This sale also had a lot of books including the KU Med Alumni Directory, four shelves of medical textbooks, and a complete set of flight encyclopedias. As it turns out I was right on-- it was the estate of a doctor who had a pilot's license.
At this sale we picked up a leaf rake -- a big item on our check list -- and the biggest find of the day...a food dehydrator. We hit a few others stops and found a new work shirt for Arthur, plastic drop cloth with adhesive so the drop cloth and taping the trim are done in one step, and a box of CFL lightbulbs. We might have looked a little redneck cruising around town with a rake handle hanging out of the back window but actually we fit right in with the other erratic drivers.
From an economical stand point our outing this morning took about 45 minutes and cost $13.50. Here's a run down on our purchased and estimated market value:
Children's books for $1 worth about $10
Polo shirt for $2 worth about $20
Food Dehydrator for $3 worth about $50
Drop cloth for $.50 worth about $7
Box of CFL bulbs for $2 worth about $19
Jade plant for $3 worth about $8
The estimated market value comes to about $115. Now if we had only gotten rid of the freezer today would have been priceless. Omnia Vincit Amor.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card
There are certain tasks when moving that are crucial to get set up right away-- changing your address with the post office, getting utilities started, and getting a library card. After the dust settled after we moved it was only a day or two before we were down at the library eagerly asking for official library cards. We would have done it even sooner but you have to present a piece of mail with the correct address (hint: this is why changing the address promptly is so important). I think the first thing we checked out in town when we were deciding if we wanted to move here was the library. Arthur was slightly disappointed by the lack of shelves devoted to math and philosophy but he's coping. As we were headed down to the library we both started sing this song:
Personally, I am really excited about gardening currently and only checked out 3 or 4 gardening books and maybe 1 or 2 travel guides about Italy right now. I think I have a book stashed in each room right now as with a bigger home I keep forgetting where I have put my books at that I am reading at that time. Once again we get pretty excited about learning new things-- I have been known to jump up and down, wave my arms in the air, and dance a jig because learning something new is so thrilling. Any library is perfect for this-- whether is it books on compost gardening, bird watching, traveling to a new place, learning a new language, or just losing yourself in a story.
Now we are grateful to have a library just a 15 minute walk away but we are also closer to Manhattan Public Library and Hale Library which I have had long love affairs with. (I don't have a long list of previous boyfriends but library relationships on the other hand have been numerous.) I stopped by Manhattan Public Library the other night and was once again overwhelmed by the selection of books. Not just 25 books about gardening but 25 feet of shelf space devoted to gardening. I picked out a few and sat and read them sitting at a table with a large globe (got to love globes in libraries). As I went to check out I dusted off my MPL card and was glad to put it to use again. Of course I did have to show proof that my address was no longer Boyd Hall-- has it really been that long?
Fun with a library card started at a young age. It meant we didn't have to ask mom if we could get the VHS of Sword and the Stone for the twentieth time but could check it out or any other movie when we wanted. In college Hale Library was a home away from home-- or at least where my favorite chair to take a nap between classes was. I also saved thousands of dollars by checking out my textbooks from the libraries at K-State and during grad school. This also meant fewer textbooks to move into our new house. This love affair with library isn't new either. Here is a blog post my roommate and I wrote about our feelings for the JoCo Library when I lived in Kansas City (the video at the end of that post is worth watching). I will always be indebted to the librarians at the Marysville Library. They graciously allowed me to get a library card for the 2 months I lived there without proof of address. This provided me with fun books to read on long winter nights in a lonely, empty house. Also it was the only place I could get internet connect for my laptop so I applied for my first job there. As a kid Arthur spent so much time at the Norton library that when the librarians were going to get rid of the set of Harvard Classics on their selves they gave it to him since he has been the only person to read them in the past 20 years. Which is why in the near future we will be moving 20 volumes of the Harvard Classics into our home. And I thought we were done moving. Omni Vincit Amor.
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