Surgery

When they opened up the knee, they apparently took most of the meniscus. I know it had really been hurting, but hoped that some would remain so the potential for arthritis would not be so great.

When you have your ribs broken and your sternum sawed, broken, pulled apart and stuck back together with super glue and staples, it hurts. Especially if you cough, and you have to cough a lot to clear the lungs. I lived in fear of sneezing, believing that the staples would fly out of my body and everything would explode in a spasm of pain. Well, at least it would hurt a lot.

So why did every meal come with pepper? Isn't that kind of sadistic?

When you get your knee opened up, you are supposed to keep all weight off it and use crutches or a wheel chair for two days. They must have dumped a gallon of fluids in me with the IV, though, so off to the bathroom, over and over. Not easy with crutches, very awkward, took a long time.

Again, are they just sadistic?

Heretical thoughts

Lyn Yarbrough sent this, and the concept helps me out a bit. I listened to a TV weatherman go on about "global warming" and the inevitability of the future. While this guy may be a genius and know a lot about the future, it bothered me that I was being fed stuff by a TV weatherman.

An analysis of the value of heretical thought by one of the world's leading Physicists, Freeman Dyson at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.
http://edge.org/conversation/heretical-thoughts-about-science-and-society

..."Here is another heretical thought. Instead of calculating world-wide averages of biomass growth, we may prefer to look at the problem locally. Consider a possible future, with China continuing to develop an industrial economy based largely on the burning of coal, and the United States deciding to absorb the resulting carbon dioxide by increasing the biomass in our topsoil. The quantity of biomass that can be accumulated in living plants and trees is limited, but there is no limit to the quantity that can be stored in topsoil. To grow topsoil on a massive scale may or may not be practical, depending on the economics of farming and forestry. It is at least a possibility to be seriously considered, that China could become rich by burning coal, while the United States could become environmentally virtuous by accumulating topsoil, with transport of carbon from mine in China to soil in America provided free of charge by the atmosphere, and the inventory of carbon in the atmosphere remaining constant. We should take such possibilities into account when we listen to predictions about climate change and fossil fuels. If biotechnology takes over the planet in the next fifty years, as computer technology has taken it over in the last fifty years, the rules of the climate game will be radically changed.

When I listen to the public debates about climate change, I am impressed by the enormous gaps in our knowledge, the sparseness of our observations and the superficiality of our theories. Many of the basic processes of planetary ecology are poorly understood. They must be better understood before we can reach an accurate diagnosis of the present condition of our planet. When we are trying to take care of a planet, just as when we are taking care of a human patient, diseases must be diagnosed before they can be cured. We need to observe and measure what is going on in the biosphere, rather than relying on computer models."

   

 

 

 

 

Quotes

From Jerry DeFrance

"Insanity in individuals is something rare..but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule."   Friedrich Nietzsche

"The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer."  Henry David Thoreau

"There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write."  William Makepeace Thackeray

Early tomorrow, I go in to have some of the meniscus in my knee removed. I apparently tore it and it is so sore. I limp and it interferes with sleep a lot. So I will be a bit woozy for a while as it is same-day surgery, but general anesthesia.

Jer sent these to me (he will get them returned as he gets these postings in email) and I found them to be new to me and especially interesting. He knows how much I love quotes and aphorisms, and apparently knows how poorly read I am.

First, the Nietzsche quote is apparent in modern US politics and we can go back in history and pinpoint many examples. One of the reasons it is unfair to compare the hysteria of 1930's Germany to any other period; it had its own unique insanity.

The Thoreau quote is so fundamental to every human--to be listened to! Seems like we often just take turns talking rather than trying to understand what the other person is offering.

The last is especially appropriate for what I have been trying to do on this blog for a couple of years--put some of those thoughts down in a cogent fashion. Difficult for me, and if nothing else, gives me a sense of appreciation for those who perform the task well.

Don't understand

A 71-year old Iowa man shot and killed an escaped convict who was holding he and his wife hostage. Shouldn't there be an investigation by the Federales? This must be another mistake of the stand your ground law. Let's accuse him of murder, or some Federal crime. You know, I am not much younger, I probably look like that guy.

Oh, wait, there are differences.

Also, notice that this story is not carried on NBC News (it was earlier, but you have to know where to find it) or Yahoo. I had to really dig to see it as it was taken down just about as soon as it was put up.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/20/justice/iowa-escaped-inmate-shot/index.html

Doesn't have the appeal that the Travon Martin shooting had...or has.

P & W

Prokofiev wrote it, "Peter and the Wolf" (1936), Disney switched it around (1946) and I listened to it in the one-room country school in the early 1950's.

Next spring, we are going to see it performed, and it will be the first time I have seen a live performance when the Virginia Symphony does it March 30, 2014...assuming the crick don't rise. In January and April, we will see "Bolero" and "Tchaikovsky's No. 6 Pathetique," respectively.

Both the Ravel and Tchaikovsky pieces are emotional, and I hope no one takes their own life after that fourth movement of Pathetique. Can't wait for this treat.

Just listened to a little bit of the Disney version of P & W on You Tube and the memories were really vivid. That room, Big Cut District 12, had a special smell on top of everything else, a combination of sweeping compound (does anybody know what that stuff was, and is it still used?) and a "school" smell. When it was too cold or stormy to go outside at lunch, Mrs. McKillip would sometimes let us play games, listen to her read a book or play a record, like the 78 rpm one of "Peter and the Wolf."

My vote was often for the record, but I have always been the kind who would play a song over and over until everyone else was ready to break the record or me!

Live performances of symphonic music are wonderful to me, as there is no electronic cluttering of the sounds, and once they are gone in that auditorium, they are really gone forever because those sounds will never be "live" again.

As many of you know, the symphony in Sioux City was special for me, and we are again lucky to be in a place that has a wonderful orchestra and a great place to perform, the nearly new Sandler Center in Virginia Beach. I still marvel that Klinger-Neal at Sioux City's Morningside College was built in 1964 and had such great acoustics.

At this stage of life, I have so much more discretionary time so it is possible to do some study on these pieces, get more familiar. Maybe we should rent Bo Derek's "10"? That came out 34 years ago. Doesn't seem possible, nor does it seem possible that Mary Cathleen Collins (Bo Derek) will be 57 years old this year. Whoa.

Can't wait to see and hear P&W, too, although I may yearn for that distinctive voice of Sterling Holloway.

Only thing that could make it better would be visitors to see it with us.

Coping

 

There is truth behind so many aphorisms--"Life isn't fair," "Bad things happen to good people,"--and the like. The hurts and shocks come about to young and old, and the soft, sweet Hallmark moments are rare.

Humor is a wonderful way to cope, and some have that creative gift. Some of us don't. My friend Jerry has it, and he needs to use that gift to its utmost right now as we all grieve the loss of a wonderful woman, his wife Pat, after a long fight with cancer.

Jerry and Pat deserve all the friends they have earned over the years. Truly wealthy folks in that best form of wealth. Linda and I are so honored to be in that group, and it just dawned on me that Jerry and I first became acquainted at UNL 50 years ago this fall. Half century of friendship is good, but it is not enough.

We were then at that age when so much is new, so much needs to be discovered and the hurts, slights and difficulties are fresh wounds with an exquisite quality. And so it goes, we develop ways to go on, to cope. As we become more seasoned, we have those tactics to rely upon when tragedy hits.

I have known only a few people who have the ability to come up with a clever response, or to entertain with words. Jerry has that ability. Most of us compose the good quip when the time is long gone, and timing is everything. "Oh, yeah, I shoulda said..." Fortunately, there is a place in this world for those of us who lack brilliance.

His friend, Dave, lives down the street and has been showing up at the house three times each day to offer support during these times. A good friend, good therapy. He was there, left, and another friend in the neighborhood stopped by, noticed the red-rimmed eyes and said, "Get on your shoes, we are going for a walk."

Their route took them past Dave's house and Dave roared out the door to greet them carrying one of those airline bottles of booze, half empty. "I don't drink scotch, just beer, so I thought I would let you have it."

Jerry examined it, determined it was Irish whiskey, not scotch, also noted that it was half empty. Removed the cap, dramatically threw it over his shoulder and downed the whole thing at once! Barely enough to dampen all your teeth.

"It's the least I could do," Dave said.

Jerry gasped, "Ahhhh," gave Dave a long look and replied, "Well, very nearly so."

They all collapsed in laughter, coping.

WEATHER OF THE THIRTIES

The diary kept by Maurie Matzen, my mother's cousin who was more like a brother, for the years 1932 through 1936 were the typical activities of a young farmer, just married and starting a family in the Depression. Weather meant a lot, so I looked up the weather for a few of those years for Genoa.

 

For those of us who knew Maurie, such a gentle "splendid" man, this diary is fascinating and gives us a wonderful insight into those days. 

I selected Genoa because it was fairly close, it has kept records for many years, partly due to its founding in 1857 and its role regarding the Indian reservation of Nance county, and because my high school teacher, George Umbarger has kept the records there for more than 50 years.

He told me that the records for the Genoa weather station are second only to Omaha in longevity.

Anyway, here are some of the highlights:

Year	Highest Temperature	Lowest Temperature	Heating Degree Days	Cooling Degree Days	Annual Precipitation	Snowfall (inches)
1932	102	-22	5280	1171	29.88	37
1933	107	-23	5023	1181	18.31	10.5
1934	111	-14	5570	1727	15.74	27
1935	105	-13	5831	1199	22.51	16.4
2010	98	-22	6417	1071	26.97	20
2011	101	-14	6364	1005	25.93	53.6
2012	103	-10	5296	1285	15.19	26.3

A note about Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days. Pretty simple calculation designed to allow utilities to estimate the requirements to heat and cool buildings. It is based on the temperature of 65 degrees, and it is simple--add the high and low temperature, divide by two to get the average and subtract from 65. If the high is 60 and the low is 40, the average is 50 and the heating degree days equals 15. It is the best estimate of how hot or cold a day, a month or a year was.

Observations

I always heard stories of how hot and how cold the "Thirties" were. According to the weather statistics, they are not that different from recent years in Genoa, Nebraska, except that recent years have been a bit colder and 1934 was pretty darn hot!! And dry, with only 15.74 inches of rain. The 2011 year had a lot of snow, and there were stories about how much snow there was in the Thirties, too. Summers today are quite a bit cooler, too.

This is by no means a statistically significant observation, but it is interesting in light of all the press coverage of global warming that the recent years have been so much colder than the "old days." When we talk geological time, though, it is insignificant.

Still, the recent years were 11.1% colder in the winter and 17.8% cooler in the summer than the Thirties, a not-insignificant difference. We should be careful about anecdotal information.

Summary

Several things we can't really measure from the information we have here that are terribly significant in measuring the impact of the environment on the people and economy of the time:

·         Wind -- I am sure that somewhere there is a measure of the wind velocity and the hours of that speed, a common indication, but I don't have it. The Great Plains of the 19th and early 20th century were windy, and they are to this day, but with the advent of trees, a novel commodity until the late 20th century, the wind was more of a factor. The diary talks of dust storms and those are virtually non-existent in that part of the country now. 

·         Farming Practices -- One reason the dust storms have diminished is the way farmers prepare and tend the soil of their farms. I remember hearing as a child about the "modern" way, minimum tillage. That is now the standard, and it conserves the moisture in the soil and exposes the soil to much less wind and rain erosion. It is my understanding that without some of the chemical control of bugs, minimum tillage would not be feasible.

·         Modern outerwear -- I remember being really, really cold a lot of the time. Now, it just isn't necessary.

·         Air conditioning -- In homes and vehicles. We did not have air conditioning in the farm house, nor in the milk barn. Couple 100 degree summer weather of an afternoon with an enclosed barn with a bunch of large, hot animals and it was warm. Had quite an odor, too! Tractors had umbrellas, maybe, and the A/C in the car was usually shut off because someone was smoking and it reduced the mileage so much. I think our first one with air conditioning was a 1960 Ford that would die at idle if the A/C was on.

I think it is so ironic that in this little sample, it is completely upside down from the global warming that we hear so much about. Wouldn't be surprised that Genoa has just not gotten the politically correct word.