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Archive for April, 2024

Travelogue

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 30, 2024| 2 Comments »

Yesterday, the mama robin aggressively chased a squirrel out of our backyard. First he ran up our maple tree, then he jumped to the fence, and she kept at him, dive-bombing him out of sight. I knew she had babies to feed, because after family dinner Sunday night we all got to see them. Nerd Alert – Bob and the Groom hooked up a fiber optic scope to a broom and gingerly raised it above the robin’s nest in the corner eave of our patio – 3 little yellow beaks attached to fuzz appeared on the monitor!

It was a welcome sight.

Last weekend a perfectly healthy young man, a local chef, died running the St Jude’s Nashville Marathon. He collapsed at the 22 mile marker, and the Bride was on duty at her hospital. It is never easy on the first responders and the medical team when a young person dies. Bob has treated his fair share of accidental deaths; a toddler falling into a hot tub, a child slipping through the ice. It takes a toll.

But this is my daughter, and she has children of her own. Now she was tasked with consoling another mother – do they teach this in medical school? The runner’s whole family came from NY to watch him achieve his goal. His name is Joe Fecci and he was 26 years old, may his memory be a blessing. A Top Chef winner he worked with over the years posted this on Insta:

“I keep telling myself not to just keep asking why, but it’s hard. because i’m fucking angry and i’m heartbroken but i am grateful. i’m grateful i hired a 19 yo kid from new york sight unseen bc he sent me an email. i’m grateful he spent two years sharing a kitchen with me.”

https://people.com/joey-fecci-chef-26-dies-running-nashville-half-marathon-8640818

Almost every evening after dinner, Bob and I will take a short stroll and end up sitting on our patio. We watch the robin pair take turns feeding their fledglings. Baby rabbits chase each other around our cherry tree. But it’s not a Disneyesque moviescape. We also hear the never-ending sounds of destruction construction around us – the saws, the drills, the trees falling. I think about our fragility in the world, and how lightly we should tread. I’ve finished planting flower pots in shades of pink and purple blooms, I want to surround our small cottage with beauty.

And Bob has planted his vegetables in raised beds so as not to feed the rabbits. But they need to eat too don’t you think? Here on Saturday, we stopped for a picture at the Farmer’s Market with our cousins and their delightful friends from NJ. They are younger, their children are in college, grad schools and working their first jobs. They are in-waiting for grandchildren. We are all defending our nests.

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The Next One

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Someone at the Seder table asked the Groom about the outbreak of bird flu, aka H5N1 Avian Influenza, in cattle. He had just finished his shift as an attending physician on the Intensive Care Unit at his hospital. He was still seeing patients recovering from severe post-Covid complications. My brave, Intensivist son-in-law was about to dig into my specialty Passover brisket when he put down his fork, looked up and said, “Don’t ask.”

Despite the fear of another pandemic on the horizon, and the growth of anti-Semitism on college campuses, our family’s Seder went off without a hitch! The Bride delivered her traditional matzoh ball soup, the Bug chopped up a delicious charoset, and cousin Peg made all the yummy veggie fixings, with a broken toe no less. The little Emperor never left my side since he knows I’m a soft touch. Listening to the Bug read the Four Questions – Why is this night different from other nights? etc – in Hebrew – made my heart melt.

Lately, I cannot shake the feeling that this time is NOT very different to other times. SCOTUS news may be all about Mr T, and his so-called immunity case, but I’ve heard enough about the disgraced ex-president. The Supremes are also looking at the state of Idaho and exactly how physicians may practice their craft. Remember when I wrote about EMTALA? https://mountainmornings.net/2024/01/09/emtala/ It’s an Emergency Medicine cardinal rule that no one may be turned away from a hospital’s ER.

If SCOTUS strikes down EMTALA, because of the Dobbs decision on abortion, we will all return to the ‘good ole days’ of doctors refusing to treat patients for any number of reasons – like the wrong insurance… When Bob first started out in this field, clerks at the front door of an ER could toe-tag a patient, one who may be critical, to be transferred to a public hospital. Triage by socio-economic standing.

If EMTALA is struck down, ER docs would lose their license and end up in jail should they happen to save a pregnant woman’s life but lose the developing fetus in the process. Yes, once we women had no bodily autonomy at all. We had to use clothes hangers, or hire stealth nurses if we were lucky; or, if we could afford it we’d fly to another country. Today red states are passing trafficking laws under the guise of trafficking minors for commercial sex, like TN Section 39-13-309 in order to prosecute anyone trying to cross states’ borders for an abortion. Who will be (or was) the first woman to die because of these horrendous laws?

If this sounds dystopian, it’s because it is. But back to the other question at the Seder table, the one about bird flu. Who will be the first person to die of H5N1? The USDA has found the virus in milk but it is not monitoring it for some reason. Is it spreading via milking machines? Nearly 40% of cows in the Texas panhandle tested positive. Are they testing the water supplies? Nope, I guess we’re just waiting for the next pandemic to show up in Emergency Rooms.

“The C.D.C. says it is monitoring data from emergency rooms for any signs of an outbreak. By the time enough people are sick enough to be noticed in emergency rooms, it is almost certainly too late to prevent one.”The C.D.C. says it is monitoring data from emergency rooms for any signs of an outbreak. By the time enough people are sick enough to be noticed in emergency rooms, it is almost certainly too late to prevent one. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/opinion/bird-flu-cow-outbreak.html

I had to read that twice. So my daughter, and all her Emergency Medicine colleagues, may be prosecuted for doing their jobs and will be on the frontlines of the next epidemic. It will certainly be too late for prevention. Bob’s brother nearly died from Swine Flu. Have we learned nothing from history? There will always be threats to our liberty. There will always be a Pharaoh and plagues, and questions. But next year, will we still be a democracy?

This is us, two writers and a doctor, prepping for the Seder.

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What To Do

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

What do you do when a bird decides to build her nest on your porch?

One of my favorite non-profits, besides Planned Parenthood, is the Audubon Society. I love perusing their magazine, soaking up stories of our feathered friends along with gorgeous photography. The new Spring cover shot is of a spindly-legged Wilson’s Phalarope (picture a large Piping Plover) standing on one foot, and the title of the issue is “Delicate Balance.” But the article that intrigued me the most on the inside was about cats – “Where the Not-So-Wild Things Roam.” It’s a funny and disturbing story about a cat called “Bad Kitty.”

Did you know that domestic cats that are allowed outside to roam about their neighborhoods are responsible for killing almost 1.3 BILLION birds a year? That’s just in this country alone. Now don’t get me wrong, I love cats. I can’t help it if half my family is allergic. When I was young and lived alone in NJ, Henry was my everything, my calico red cat. He looked like Edward G Robinson because at some point in his past street-life his jaw was broken. He had a short crooked tail too.

Henry and I would walk through the woods every weekend, without a leash. Of course, every now and then he’d have to zoom off but he’d always return. My cat had the run of The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge at all hours. In the early 70s, along with mom jeans, I didn’t know better.

The Audubon article suggests buying a large colorful collar for your cat, https://www.birdsbesafe.com/ if you must let them outside. Bells do nothing to alert a nesting cardinal. Birds however will see a feline approach if they look like they’re wearing a bright, hysterical clown collar. Better yet, if being in the great outdoors is essential to your feline’s well being, the author suggests building a “Catio!” Imagine a screened in porch standing alone with lots of cat architectural climbing details incorporated into its design.

I mean I used to let Aunt Kiki’s cat out on our sleeping porch in the Blue Ridge, and she did enjoy it – the view, the wind, the bears and the bluebirds. If you’re not into DYI, you could buy a Catio for a small fortune…

Yesterday I was hosting the little Frenchie Emperor for the afternoon, and he didn’t understand why I wouldn’t let him out the back door. I patiently explained that a robin was sitting on her nest directly outside between the pillars of my covered porch. He’s very cat-like in that he loves to chase birds almost as much as he loves to chase rabbits. I would open the side door and he’d look up at me like I was crazy, like it was absurd to go into the backyard through the side door when there was a perfectly fine and faster entry Right Over There.

“Rarely do we get this opportunity to get a front-row seat to a wild organism starting its life,” says Brian Evans, a migratory bird ecologist and project lead at the bird observatory at the Smithsonian National Zoo. “All we have to do is start noticing.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2024/04/15/how-to-keep-bird-nest-safe/

AND DO NOTHING. When a bird builds her nest in or around your house, just sit back and enjoy the spectacle. I put out ribbons for her pleasure but I don’t think she used them. And I noticed that when the dog was in the yard, she flew away and seemed agitated flying haphazardly around the fence. But when my neighbor came by and we sat talking underneath her nest, she stayed put! Birds are smarter than we think.

I’ve resigned myself to the early birdsong and the messy patio furniture, and hope that some squirrel or other creature doesn’t discover her nest. I figure it’s better than listening to the news in Israel, or Mr T’s trial in NY. I can’t worry about November with Passover approaching. It’s time to clean out the tsuris (troubles but also flour in Yiddish) from our lives. And pick the flowers in my garden.

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4 States; 3 Days; 2 Grandchildren; 1 Totality

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2024| 2 Comments »

We arrived home Monday night around 10 pm.

A road trip back from witnessing the Total Eclipse of the Sun in Illinois took us 8 hours… instead of the usual 3. We joined the stream of satisfied Totality chasers heading south-east on 2 lanes, packed like lemmings, traveling stop and go on Interstate 24; the only highway between Carbondale, IL and Nashville, TN. It was almost an hour wait at the Cracker Barrel, so we ate Lorna Doones in the car and sang along to a Beatles station. A perfect end to an incredible weekend.

On Saturday morning, Bob and I flew to Durham, NC for the Memorial of a dear, old friend, forever nicknamed “The Smiler.” We attended Sacred Heart School together, but his reputation took flight in public high school as that Dude, The OG Dude. The guy who took life as it came, with a sly sense of humor. Sweet and unassuming, yet whip smart – Jeopardy level smart. Always willing to help his friends, as if the comic book high school hero Archie turned into a 60s hippie. The Smiler went to Woodstock with the Big Chill crew, then settled down delivering blood for the Red Cross in his signature porkpie hat.

All through the years, he and my good friend Bess were soulmates. Even though they married other people, they shared a daughter, Guinevere Turner. If you recall, Bess was the smartest girl in high school, and we both went to college in Boston – only I dropped out to get married and she dropped into a cult. In the Smiler’s backyard, Guinevere, an actor and screenwriter, led the memorial recounting the first time she met her father at the age of 18. Last year she published her memoir about those early formative years in the Lyman Family cult, “When the World Didn’t End.”

The next morning we flew home, only to get in the car and drive 2 hours to Kentucky with the Bride and family in preparation for the eclipse. We all managed to catch the second half of the Women’s NCAA Basketball Championships in our Paducah hotel. SC trounced Iowa 87-75. I marveled at how far women’s sports have come since I played basketball at Camp St Joseph. I understood why Coach Dawn Staley broke down in tears after the game, even if the Bug didn’t get it. I grew up trying to control my tears – big girls don’t cry, you never cry in public – but sometimes they burst out of you instead of simmering to overflowing.

The next morning, we drove to Southern Illinois University’s Saluki Stadium and parked with our fellow stargazers. It was the Super Bowl for space nerds. I learned a lot that day. For instance, bulldogs aren’t the only dogs a school can adopt for a mascot. I’d never heard of the Saluki breed, but they look like the progeny of an Afghan hound and a Whippet! And did you know that if you pretend that the sun is an empty ball, you would need 1 million earths to fill it up? Also, plan to charge your EV before a once in a lifetime event.

It was all worth the wait and the driving. It was everything and more. We saw the Totality for over 4 minutes which was great, but the Grands jumping for joy was the bestest! A cosmic dance the universe choreographs for a select few on this earth, and for us twice in a lifetime. In 2017 the Totality passed right over Nashville, so I knew what to expect – the slow-moving cold, the night crickets. But seeing the moon intersect the sun while our Grands were experiencing the same other-worldly, celestial magic trick was unforgettable. ps – the Pumpkin is hiding behind his sister.

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A Lesson in Pysanky

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , on April 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

We never heard the shots.

We did hear and see the ambulances and police cars speeding by us as we walked through a Germantown park on Easter Sunday. I turned to Bob and whispered, “I don’t miss living downtown” as a helicopter swooped north above us. I wanted to see Ada’s tree standing in a memorial grove of bald cypress behind our friend, Yoko’s, townhouse. Her three year old granddaughter ran ahead of us, holding her ears against the sirens. We were invited for lunch, and had just finished a lesson in creating Ukranian Pysanky Easter eggs.

I love discovering new things, and though I’d spent many Easters as a child dyeing eggs, I’d never heard of this particular art form. Yoko lit a candle and demonstrated her technique – first you put a special pen, a kristka, into the flame, then dip it into wax and simply draw your design on an egg. Believe me it is not that simple, especially if you want to apply more than two colors. It takes a steady hand and a lot of patience. If you’d like to give it a try, here is the Martha Stewart method: https://www.marthastewart.com/1514689/tips-and-tricks-to-pysanky-eggs

When we got home, our solar eclipse glasses had arrived on our porch. We are all packing up, Grands included, for an overnight stay this coming weekend in Carbondale, Illinois. So many people are making the pilgrimage, we’re actually staying outside of town and driving in that morning. It feels almost biblical; chasing the heavens in order to see the sun disappear behind the moon, to feel the chill and hear the night insects begin chirping. If clouds permit, this will be my last solar eclipse, unless of course I’m still kicking at 95 and find myself living the dream in Florida.

The next really BIG solar eclipse in North America will take place August 12, 2045, covering: U.S, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Brazil….plus the U.S. gets a big coast-to-coast eclipse. Totality as long as 6 minutes 4 seconds will be seen from Reno, Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, with Port Saint Lucie, Florida, where totality will last the longest in the U.S. Expect big crowds at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. “


https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2024/03/30/its-exactly-nine-years-until-the-next-us-total-solar-eclipse/?sh=2f59172f6779

That night we listened to the local news only to find out that a mass shooting had happened at 3 in the afternoon at a restaurant only a block away from the park with Ada’s tree. All the sirens, all the noise made sense. A convicted felon had pulled out a gun and killed a family man and injured his wife and daughter and several other diners over some minor altercation. Two complete strangers on Easter Sunday.

A year after the Coventry School shooting, our TN legislature is trying to pass a “Shooting Alert Button” Bill, instead of discussing the real reason gun violence is an epidemic. When will our country say enough is enough? In nine years another total eclipse of the sun will move across Alaska. Maybe we could ban assault weapons by that time?

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