Category Archives: travel

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Thanks

And no thanks do I get
for thirty years in medicine
for thirty years of rural work
for working alone without a net
not a whisper from officials

The thanks I get are on the street
in the shops, at live music
at Gallery Walk, at thrift stores
walking through town, from friends
from patients or spouses or mothers or fathers
who thank me and update me

Thank you, Beloved, for my odd career
for leading me rural, leading me to primary care
endless learning daily and people
they are all interesting, all different
all have depths that none would guess
all of your beautiful people, Beloved

Thank you for all of it

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: tiara.

This is one of those poems where I started grumpy and did not know where it was going until it went there. The light at the end of the tunnel photograph is on the Metro in Washington, DC last week.

Tiaras probably quality as stuff.

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We change

In clinic, a very common complaint was, “My body has changed!” This was often with shock or annoyance or betrayal. Weight up, a knee hurting, headaches, menses behaving badly as menopause approached, gentlemen with their own problems.

My muscles are getting stronger but are really grumpy. I am starting to rebuild muscle and endurance but my muscles and joint complain. I think that pain is the pain of wisdom. I am clearly very very wise, if that pain is wisdom pain. It feels better to frame it as wisdom than as “Oh, I am old.” Also it’s fun to watch people when I say, “My wisdom is really acting up today.” They get a funny look on their faces.

Medicine changes all the time too. Isn’t that a little unsettling? Science changes, ideas change, frames change. A treatment that I used 15 years ago would not be done for the same problem now. And we can treat hepatitis B and C! Hepatitis C was still named “Non A, non B hepatitis” back when I was in residency in the early 1990s. Hoorah for some things getting better.

It’s been interesting watching the changing ideas about Long Covid. Over the last year they’ve said, “Better in nine months.” “Mostly better by a year.” “Better by two years, mostly.” Also the estimates of people affected in the US have ranged from 3% to 7.4%. There is not even agreement about the definition, with the CDC talking about symptoms staying present after four weeks. Meanwhile the World Health Organization says, “It is defined as the continuation or development of new symptoms 3 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least 2 months with no other explanation.” Here: https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/post-covid-19-condition. CDC here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html.

I hope that we vote grown ups into office. I hope we aren’t tempted by the childish want to be dictators who say, “I can fix anything, I can do what I want, I am so great. I can make YOU great too.” I think the pandemic was very frightening and the temptation is to try to hide in an imaginary past or freeze the future or think that if we make everyone behave a certain way, no further pandemics will come. I do not think that will work, people. Vote for adults.

The photograph is from the US Botanic Gardens. Here is the model, inside:

The sculpture faces are over each arch. Here is a close up.

I think the carved face will last the longest, then probably me, then the one on the model. The model looks like it would be delicious for various smaller creatures.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: change.

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Home Hurrah!

New Year’s Eve was a travel day for me, flying from Dulles to SeaTac. This time my checked bag came along and did not divert to party in Chicago, as it did on the trip out. I had a wonderful two weeks in Arlington, Virginia and Rockville, MD with old friends and my son and daughter-in-law and daughter. Very kind friends picked me up at SeaTac and drove me the two hours home. I slept for three hours on the plane and another hour in the car. The pair of socks on yesterday’s Ragtag is for one of the two people who picked me up.

The plane was about 40 minutes early and the airport was impressively empty. There was some traffic on I5, but it was not crazy. There was quite a bit of fog all the way home.

Yesterday morning we went to the climbing gym for the second time in the two weeks. I had not climbed in maybe three years? And I have never done a lot.

The rest of my family climbs like squirrels and spiders. I currently climb more like a panicked sloth, but I did a 5, a 5.6 and a 5.7 the first day. Yesterday I planned to take it easy, but I roped up for one and it was the wrong one, so I tried a 5.8. My family was clambering up 5.11s. Whew. It was really fun and loads of fun to watch them. And hurrah that I can climb some after Long Covid and two years with unhappy muscles!

Peace and joy to you and yours.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: Hurrah!

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Knit one pearl two

“Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver but the other gold.” My parents taught me that round. We sang lots of rounds growing up.

What does the picture have to do with knitting? I knit the hat! I got to hike with old friends from the 1980s last week. They are old friends, not old! Well, we might be getting a little grey.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: knit.