doodlebug

Thanks for the kind wishes, everyone. My colleagues at work decorated my office and gave me cards and we had DQ ice cream cake for lunch so it was a very good birthday. As usual, the dogs did nothing. Here are some pictures of my office taken yesterday, please excuse my lack of skill at photography:

I had season tickets on the mezzanine in Cleveland back in the 90's when every game was a sellout. There was a guy who had the seats next to us who, aside from being hygienically challenged, babbled his way through the game, calling out every play using baseball cliches. He seemed like he might be a little slow intellectually, too, so we felt uncomfortable confronting him although those of us sitting around him would express relief if he didn't come to a game. At the end of the season, when it was time to renew the seats, I specifically told the agent that, if that particular party still had the seats next to mine, I wasn't going to renew. Fortunately for me, he didn't renew his seats. To this day, my sisters and I can still make one another laugh by shouting 'Can of corn, can of corn!!!' 18 times in a row.

Earth Day is an excellent day to be born! Even for those of us born on April 22 before it was Earth Day. I remember the first Earth Day which was in the early 70's when I was attending Catholic high school. It was all girls and had been a boarding school when it opened and was on a couple of acres of land. The nuns decided that, in honor of the first Earth Day, all the students should go out onto the grounds and collect trash. I am sure those of you who ever attended Catholic schools remember this kind of stuff. Just the sort of project nuns love. So, there we were, celebrating Earth Day, walking over the grounds with trash bags, picking up trash.

I doubt they're still getting therapy. I don't see either one of them as the sort who would want ongoing therapy. Which is fine, most people who see therapists do so intermittently, as issues arise. I could see them going back for an occasional 'tune-up' which is how many people approach therapy. I do think Jill had unrealistic expectations from marriage, and that that was at least part of her problem with Derick. She was raised to believe that her parents had the perfect marriage and that, if she followed the rules, she'd have a marriage exactly like theirs. But, she's not Michelle and Derick is not Jim Bob. Derick also, having lived out in the real world, probably had a more flexible view of married life. I can see them approaching therapy to hash out that as part of the boundaries discussion as Jill realized that her parents aren't perfect and that her marriage doesn't have to look like theirs.

She'll probably just get one pair and pass it along from girl to girl. If the girls fail the eye test at the driver's license bureau, Jill will claim persecution, too.

Whoever it was would've been standing at the front of the church which means to me that they were authorized, unlike Jill. My church has people in the congregation who are photographers who will come to services at holidays or for First Communion or whatever and take pictures to use in bulletins or the website or other church communications. Usually, there's a disclaimer in the bulletin, like 'We're taking pictures for the church website at the 9:30 Mass next week. If you don't want to be photographed, come to another Mass'. I've never known anyone who cared, but they are given notice. Of course, Jill would get there early so she could be right in front for any photo op. And, like everyone else, I have to reluctantly give Jill credit for improving the looks of the church, though that was a pretty low bar considering how there was virtually no decor whatsoever before. Now, everyone knows 'Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses'. I have a feeling that Jill claims her girls have perfect eyesight without ever having it tested because she thinks they will be more desirable when it is time to auction them off in marriage. Also, they are mere wimmins and their only path in life is cookin', cleanin', bein' joyfully available, givin' birth and raisin' young 'uns. They don't need to be able to see for any of that. Meanwhile, the boys have important lives doing the Lord's work ahead of them. They need to be able to see clearly to run the printing press, preach at church and keep the wife and kids in line. I think Jill's threshold for needing an eye exam let alone glasses is based completely on the child's gender. As are many other things in her life.

Don't we all want to know what went down between Juliana and Archie? They had such great friend chemistry; once Juliana refused to even appear in the same scene as her; the show was much less interesting to me. That they couldn't even be filmed at the same time in a farewell scene for the finale doesn't say anything good about Julianna's professionalism and maturity. Since Juliana was the star of the show, I presume she wanted things that way which is why I am mostly blaming her. And, yes, for Linda and Busy to not at least have had some vague passing mention of their high school days as freaks and/or geeks was a real missed opportunity.

Amy was in the ICU, paralyzed from the neck down, no less. And, Jill hauled Amy's kids up to the hall outside the ICU to holler as loud as they could so Amy could hear them since kids weren't allowed in ICU. Because there was nothing more important in the entire world than Jill getting those kids up there to take photos so she could brag on the internet about what a great person she is. Other patients in the ICU are irrelevant if Jill sees a way to promote herself. Boston, I think you might be confused because, at the time that her sister had the horrific accident and nearly died, Jill was pregnant with her umpteenth kid. She took the opportunity to throw a baby shower for herself in one of the hospital's public spaces, cafeteria or visitor's waiting area, as I recall. And, as part of the shower, made she a large container asking for donations and made sure it was displayed prominently in case anyone passing by wanted to give money. And, of course, the money being collected was not to help her sister, permanently quadriplegic with a bunch of young kids who was obviously going to be needing many things in the coming months. Oh, no! The cash was money for Jill to spend on herself and, theoretically, her newest blessing.

Another good moment for Kerry was in ‘All in the Family’ when, after finding Carter and Lucy’, she snapped into action, running the trauma, issuing orders and doing what needed to be done. Then, once they were both transferred to surgery; rushing outside to puke in a trash can. Whatever her flaws, Kerry kicked as* as an ER doc.

Getting ignored by nuns is not the worst thing that could happen, IMO. I know someone who named their kid Ronald Jr. and got the same sort of flak from the priest who baptized the baby, even though Dad was a lifelong Catholic and had been baptized with the very same name. I believe the middle name saved the day. Abbie and JD and Gracie look to be such a tight, happy family, good for them.

If that's the case, then call her 'Abigail; be done with it. However, it is certainly possible that her name is actually Abbie. In grade school, I had a friend named Liddie, an old family name. One of the nuns insisted that this could not possibly be her real name and insisted on referring to her as Lydia and would only accept work from her with that first name. I thought it was awful then and haven't changed my mind with time. If Carlin is such a 'sweet friend' of Abbie's, then she should get her name right. I cannot imagine Carlin letting it slide if someone wrote her name as Karlin or her baby as Leila.

Amongst us heathen Catholics, nobody but old folks who are hard of hearing sit in the front row. Not much competition there, although I do try to sit in the front third of the church because I have the attention span of a gnat and my mind wanders to grocery lists, TV shows and other trivia if I'm not towards the front. In Jill's case, I am sure she would elbow anyone out of the way to sit in the front row. We've seen her do it at countless weddings. even for people she barely knew. She also went to the funeral of children who'd died in a fire who she did not know and not only sat in front at the service, but took selfies with the tiny caskets. Everything is a chance to take a selfie in Jill's world.

So, Jill punished a preschooler because he didn't say, 'yes, ma'am' fast enough when she told him to do something? He didn't refuse, he didn't even ask why; he just didn't respond as quickly as she wanted. This kind of thinking is just a natural extension of the Pearl's rules on blanket training infants. And, no, Jill, little kids are not sinful by nature. Not at all. And not replying to your request quickly enough is not a sin anyway.

Jana and JD are close, and she seems to get on well with Abby. I spent a lot of time in my 20's/early 30's tagging along with my sister/BIL and their kids to various things, even stuff I wasn't terribly interested in. I don't blame Jana if she wanted to get away from the TTH for a couple of days and enjoy some Florida sun. I was also known to entertain the kids while sis/BIL went out to dinner by themselves now and again on these trips. I considered it more than fair and I enjoyed doing it. I would think that Jana probably enjoys 'Auntie' time with Gracie and doesn't consider it a chore. She seems like a sunny, happy kid and I'll bet she sees Jana often enough that she loves to be with her.

Reminds you of every darned cat or dog you've ever loved, doesn't it?

Sixlets, I'm so sorry to hear of your sweet Millie's death. Our pets give us so much and ask for so little. I had forgotten about this song, but just heard it on the country music award show tonight. It's a fitting tribute to the love our pets give us. If you've never heard it, you might want to grab a kleenex first. It's about a dog, but that's irrelevant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ3J9YnXmUI It probably doesn't help that I've got a Maggie who is getting older.

Or, perhaps Joy just wanted to do it. We also don't know that they didn't switch places at some point.

Where are the dying people watching soap operas and game shows instead of facing their mortality Jeremy has seen in hospitals? I've never seen them. How insulting that he thinks that anyone in the hospital watching TV is wasting time they should be spending begging God for forgiveness.

Riding a bike, especially into the wind, is also going to be considerably colder than if they were walking or standing still. I live in the midwest and, to me, it looks like one of those sunny days that are deceptively cool, especially when on a bike.

Well, a lack of humility and having no empathy or concern for the feelings of others were consistent parts of Abby's personality; so I guess it makes sense that she would expect that the bosses would kiss her feet for deigning to return at all and beg her to please take even more time off. When I was a resident, one of my fellow residents was being treated for depression and frequently took unexpected, last minute, leaves of absence due to her problems, supposedly on the advice of psychiatrists. She would literally call the Chief resident at 7 AM on a workday and tell him she wasn't coming in for the next 2 weeks, this happened multiple times in less than 2 years. The first couple times, we all were very understanding, but, by the 4th, 5th and 6th time; our patience had worn thin. It seemed she always needed extra time just when it was her turn to be on weekend call or in the middle of the summer when we were training interns and run ragged or just before Christmas. Because of the way residencies work, we would have to pick up extra night and weekend shifts to cover for her. Then, she would return from her medical leave, tanned and happy, with tales of how wonderful it was to lie on the beach for a week and how much fun it was to visit family and friends. And, never a word of thanks or an offer to help any of us, ever. One time, she returned for less than a week, only to leave again on a scheduled vacation, no concern about how the rest of us would handle things. It wore very thin and we were actually relieved when she left the residency after her second year (our program director gently guided her out the door, really). It was easier not to have her around at all than to put up with the unpredictability. I'd imagine Abby's fellow residents were feeling the same about her at that point.

I'm so sorry to hear this. If you've used a pet crematorium before, you can give them a call and usually they will come and pick up your beloved. If you don't have a crematorium you've used and cannot find one with 24 hour service like Scarlett suggested, it is possible to simply keep your pet's body until the vet opens on Monday and take her there. I once lost a dog on the 4th of July, she weighed 90 lbs, no pet crematoriums would pick her up or they weren't open. So, I simply covered her with a blanket, and, with the assistance of a neighbor, put her in my car and drove to the vet's office the next morning where the crematory picked her up.

Thanks for the kind words. In real life, Abby would be entitled to bereavement time due to the death of her father in law, but, at least the hospital where I work, would only give 3 days, no matter where the funeral was held. And the funeral would've been over weeks ago anyway. As far as needing leave due to her alcoholism, it is an illness, like any other. If she had the practitioners treating her illness advise her that she needed a longer leave of absence and sign the disability paperwork, the hospital would have to grant it. I think Abby was still a resident at the time she relapsed. Recall that she took quite an extended maternity leave when Joe was born about a year earlier, too. It seemed like Joe was around 4 months old or more before she went back to work then. If she was then in an alcohol treatment center for a month, which is typical; she would've already missed at least 5 months of her residency in about a year. Residency isn't considered to just be a job, it is also educational. Just as regular schools keep track of absences and can refuse to pass a student on to the next grade if their attendance is spotty, same with residency. At the time I was a resident, about a decade before Abby finished; we had an absolute number of days that we had to have worked in any given year. In my day, if we took more than 6 weeks off, in any combination of sick leave and or vacation; we were required to repeat the entire year. So, Abby would've owed County at least one more year and potentially two before she would be able to get her certificate of completion of her ER residency. It doesn't matter how long she worked as a nurse, how great a med student or resident she was or the fact that she screwed at least 2 ER Chiefs, there are national boards who oversee residents and they set the rules. During my residency, one of my fellow residents was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, same tumor as Mark. He couldn't work the last 6 months of his last year. Our residency program director had to petition the national OB/GYN board to request permission to give him his certificate of completion anyway as he was dying and was never going to practice. They agreed, he died a few weeks before the end of the residency and his widow got his certificate. As time has gone on (and more women have entered residencies and dared to give birth during them), the rules have been modified somewhat and now a resident who takes a leave for legitimate reasons only has to make up the portion that is missed, not the whole year. Even so, Abby would still have needed to hang around at least 6 months longer than she did on the show. Thank heavens for TV inaccuracy.

The predominant religion in Hungary is Catholicism, somewhere between 50-60% of people living there claim to be Catholic. As we know, Catholics are not real Christians and they must be saved and worship the real Jesus. That is why God wants Phillip to go there. Contrast with the black people who are NOT 50-60% Catholic. Of course, Jesus wants Phillip to save the Catholics first.

Next time the cops are trying to get a killer to confess, I suggest they use that. Was that Phillip singing? Wow! That takes the definition of 'tone deaf' to an entirely different level. I guess it does take a certain type of talent to sing every single note off-key.

Absolutely. My mother pre-deceased my father by nearly 10 years. We used the same funeral director, a friend of one of my sisters, both times. When we got together for the planning session for my dad, our friend pulled out a folder and said, 'your father said to tell you he has already decided on everything and you'd better go along. After your mom died, he called me and we did all the planning.' It was actually kind of a relief, he'd picked the casket, decided on what he wanted as far as visitation and other details. No decisions to be made. One of my sisters was a big spender and Joe made sure to tell her that my father specifically wanted to be sure she didn't waste money on his casket. I went with my dad to pick out the stone after my mom died. They had a joint plot, so we got a double stone. My father wanted it to be plain except for names and dates, no embellishments. The monument guy finally talked him into a small cross with wedding rings. When the guy asked my dad how he wanted his name to appear on the stone; my father told him that he wanted 'his' side of the stone to be blank because 'there will be no previews of coming attractions'. So, it was blank for a decade.