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On January 28, 2015 (aka: a year ago this week as I write), I died. And if you
would like to know more details about that,
give a look here.
Subsequently,
the last time I penned a note to this page was two months post my resurrection...
not even half-way through what I have now (with hindsight) come to
think of as my 'year of recovery' and which in some ways still feels
daily
like it has just begun.
I won't mince words... some of the challenges -- phantom pain, emotional
tumult, dazed confusion and a sporadic sense of disequilibrium -- that
challenged my stamina this past year were daunting.
At times I caught myself wondering if the agony was worth it... not that
I wanted my life to end, but that I hurt... a lot... and sometimes I
just wanted the pain to end.
Thankfully, all of those troubling sensations have now, for the most
part, disappeared. I am feeling good, and fine, and happy, and well...
except for one thing which I now must confess.
Before I do, however, I need to make it crystal clear that I am and
shall forever shall be deeply appreciative of and thankful for the
'regular folks' who came to my immediate aid with heroic life-saving
measures. This includes especially
Senator Jon Woods (aka: the guy who CPR'd me) and Corporal John
Watt of the Arkansas Capitol Police (aka: the guy who
defibrillated me).
I owe them my life and am eternally thankful that they did what they did
to revive me.
That said, I must confess that I have a (large) unresolved issue with
the 'professional medical community' that took charge of my life at the
moment the ambulance crew arrived and my hospitalization commenced.
Specifically, I feel very strongly that certain 'duty of care'
obligations were grievously violated by people who should (and probably
do) "know better" but are so caught-up in a tsunami of procedural
bull-shit that they can no longer do their job... which is CARING for
UNIQUE HUMAN BEINGS...
Being compassionate with family members; stating facts; telling the
truth... but abstaining from browbeating anyone, ie:
"If you don't sign this paper and authorize us to do the
procedure that we think is best, you're gonna be responsible for your
mom's death...!!!!"
And though I won't go into extended detail I will summarize my
sentiments to say that, as reported in my medical records, my release
from the hospital (against medical advice) was expedited when I, of my
own volition, expressed that I felt like I was, at that point, "being
held against my will."
Of course there is more to it than this, things relating to my initial
diagnosis and how my care was managed while my grown-up children were
being dunned to submit me to procedures that they knew -- because
they KNOW me -- that I would NOT want... but the bottom line is that
these circumstances have resulted in a dispute over how much I should be
forced to pay for the 'health care services' that I got...
Anyway, that is the state of my affairs at the moment... all-in-all life
being very good and feeling even better now that I've gotten that off of
my chest... (((hugs))) ~Christine
christine@gozarks.com
Come blog with me and we'll chat about all
sorts of stuff!
~ ~ ~
The
Declaration of Independence as codified for enactment by our
'we the people' government in the
Constitution of the U.S.A. created a geographic bastion of
sanity exempt from the obtuse regulation of 'peaceful assembly' or
'pursuit of happiness'...
In accordance with the covenants, liberties and
duties vested in 'we the people' by the founders of our nation in
their signing of these great documents:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident,"
that we are each "endowed with
certain unalienable Rights" which no man, agency,
legislated policy or judicial due process has the authority to
interdict or revoke and which, in fact, it is the 'duty' of the
'majority' to safeguard, preserve, secure and defend on behalf of
ALL the PEOPLE...
Aka: NOT just the ones we 'like'...
Being a 'true American...' Taking a stand
for Liberty & Justice... Fighting the good fight... Rising to the
cause...
All of it, in terms of the standards that 'we the
people' are to hold ourselves accountable to, boils down to this one
point:
As the standard-bearers of the 'justice for
all' banner, it is our duty to 'defend' the rights of each
individual to be whoever they choose to be, so long as their conduct
is peaceful and does no harm.
And we have s profound duty to discriminate
between what constitutes legitimate harm -and- and what we
(personally) may find morally abhorrent because to secure the
blessing of liberty for all, Lady Justice *must* be 'blind' to all
such prejudicial belief, respectful of those 'imbued rights' of each
individual to peacefully assemble with whosoever they wish and
pursue any sort of conduct that leaves others free from harm and
makes them happy.
~ ~ ~
You
never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change
something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
~Buckminster
Fuller
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As some of you already know, in July of 2014, friend and professional colleague Robert Kim Combs and I
founded a new publication...!!!
Called Help YourSelf, the moniker is indeed a double
entendre, grounded in the overarching purpose of the publication: to convey
useful information about various community resources and programs
that empower folks to "help themselves" with knowledge and
become productive members of a thriving community.
Our first (and so far only) print edition (20,000 copies) of this 24-pg full color newspaper
went into
distribution throughout Pulaski County, Arkansas during October,
November & December of 2014.
Then in January of 2015, as we were putting together our second
edition, I died (see column at left), and things have been in (as my
partner in publishing calls it) 'loatus' for a while... <smile>
And now we are thinking and talking about going to print again... in
fact, Kim is already updating the Community Resource Directory
listings --- which will (like always) be freely available as PDF
from our website no matter if we go to print.
To do this, however, takes ADVERTISERS... and to learn more about this
we invite you to come visit us at
Help YourSelf Publishing.
Be The Solution...
NOW....!!!!!
~ ~ ~
Tiny Wisdom:
On Helping Yourself
By Lori Deschene
“The
best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.”
~Swedish Proverb
Helping yourself is telling people what you need,
even though you’re afraid to acknowledge it.
It’s forgiving yourself for your mistakes, even though you feel like
dwelling in guilt.
It’s taking responsibility for your problems, even
though someone else may have played a large part in creating them.
Every one of these choices enables you to help
yourself. And when you make the effort to help yourself, you are
better able to help other people — and the world.
~ ~ ~
FYI, to all who asked and wondered: Marjorie is now free from
the allegations raised against her, yet the question remains... Why
was she ever arrested?
click image above to read more
~ ~ ~
 Think these
things always: that it is our
duty as thinking beings with the ever-present capacity to choose to
abide the 'highest law of reality' -- doing unto others as we would
have them do unto us --
with the unified purpose of making things good for everyone,
everywhere, all of the time.
(((hugs))) ~Christine
~ ~ ~
Looking for
a special gift for that 'impossible to please' someone?
Consider my book <smile>,
MEET THE
PRESS: Essentials of Effective Communication with Media.
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 No
matter what else life is or isn't about, the single connecting
thread of all experience and action is 'thinking'.
Like the
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what we think (and what we think about what we think) is our point
of power in guiding the ongoing dynamics of our own unique and
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This
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~ ~ ~
If you
want more of what you've already got, do more of what you're already
doing...
A gift for you... and you... and YOU...
(click image
to enlarge):
~ ~ ~
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds
discuss events; small minds discuss people.
~Eleanor Roosevelt
~ ~ ~
Peace
abounds when fighting ends...
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SUPPORT THE USO!!!!
January 2016: A lot of ocean water has flowed
beneath the deck of ship my son is stationed aboard since last I
typed a note to this page. It was six years ago when he was just
signing up for his tour of enlistment, doing the preliminary
assessments, trainings and evaluations that carried him forward to
boot camp and beyond. Wow... where does the time go.
He has consistently and steadily advanced in his
training, stature and command of responsibilities. I admire him and
know that if any small part of our nation's future hinges on him, we
will do fine.
March 2015: What a joy and a blessing to have
my youngest lad home during my initial recuperation early in
February. Huge thanks and much appreciation is extended to his Navy
commanders for permitting his visit. And just for the record, his
official rank and designation now is Interior Communications
Electrician Petty Officer 2nd Class Enlisted Surface Warfare
Specialist... IC2(SW) for short. Love you son... May your sailing
forever be smooth, easy and happily exciting... (((hugs))).
November 2014: Navy life is intense, ie: duty
shifts that start at 6am on Friday and last until 2am Saturday
morning; rigorous training and tough exams... Back in August, he
sent a pic of himself with a 'new shiny thing' proudly pinned on his
chest which he explained is an ESWS (Enlisted Surface Warfare
Specialist) qualification that he earned. And, while I am so proud
of his continual achievements, I sincerely hope that he never has to
put this skill-set to use...
May 2014: Not much is new... work moves along
in preparation for participation in operational exercises coming up
'soon'... the exact dates of which are not released for public (or
family) consumption with respect to maintaining security. Resultant
of this, our plans for a 'family reunion' this summer are 'on
hold'... pending some clue as to our sailor-man's availability...
February 2014: My son reports that the Navy
has been keeping him and all of his crew-mates busy since the
mid-November incident (see below), and that everything is going
well. He did manage to get a few days leave and visited with his
sisters in Florida, where they had a blast skydiving. What a
hoot...!!!
November 2013: Yes, my sailor-lad is part of
the crew on the ship that
made international news mid-November when it was
broadsided by a 'rogue drone'. Thankfully, he was not one of the
injured crewmen... And my heart goes out to the young men who were
injured and their families. Though I am told that everyone is now
okay, to be brutally honest I'm not.
August 2013: Text messages (which are my Navy
son's preferred means of communication) apprise that he is
recovering from (minor, planned) surgery and is doing just fine.
Yea...!!! Also that Navy life goes well and that the new
truck he got is great. Things are ever changing yet always the same
<smile>. He is happy... and that is what really counts.
Mom's Day 2013: What a joy to hear his voice.
Things have been busy, schedules intense, duties demanding... and he
is doing just fine, on his way to the beach with buddies... "Will
you go swimming?" I ask. "M0OOOM..." he wails in disbelief of
my ignorance... "The water is only 50 degrees... it's waaaaay too cold
for swimming....!!!"
March 2013: Another sweet-surprise visit from
my sailor-son. Yummy... and bitter-sweet. Makes me miss him all the
more.
January 2013: Yes, my sailor-man made it home
to celebrate the New Year... and his visit (though common knowledge
amongst his siblings) was a total surprise to me... Wow, did we have
a good time. And now that he has returned to base, well... I started
missing him before we left the airport.
December 2012: Long days and way too much to
do, says my Navy son. Eat, sleep and work is the total routine. What
keeps you so busy, I ask. Everything electrical, he says...
August 2012: Phone chats reveal that all is
well with my Navy son, though the days are long, often exhausting,
and life is sometimes 'boring'. In the main, he is enjoying what he
is doing, actually now getting a sense of 'doing' moreso than
'learning how to do'...
He spoke with excitement and dignity about having
resolved an issue with some type of amplified shipboard broadcast
device. I could tell that he was proud of this accomplishment, which
made me even more proud of him.
May 2012: A marksmanship test score of 228 to
240 = "Expert" status in the Navy. My IC3 writes:
"I got a 231 with the 9mm."
January 2012:
"I have an update for you, I was frocked today. The
Commanding Officer and Command Master Chief of my ship pinned on my
E-4 insignia so I am officially a 3rd class petty officer instead of ICFN. I am addressed as IC3 which is a lot easier to say every time
I have to answer the phone (lol). I will send you a pic of what the
insignia looks like. It is will be displayed on all of my uniforms
after I have them all updated when we get back to land. Any way it's
hard to believe how long I’ve been in, the time has really flown
by."
He enlisted over 3 years ago on the delayed
entry program, spent months in training to prepare for bootcamp from
which he graduated late in October 2010 and is now stationed aboard
the USS Chancellorsville with the homeport of San Diego, California.
Official Navy USSCV Website
USS Chancellorsville (CG 62)
Deployment Log
Cruiser Photo Archive
My son is one heck of a great kid and
I love him with all of my heart, just like I love all my children,
be they near or be they far...
The Ticonderoga Class Guided Missile Cruiser
USS Chancellorsville (CG-62)
~ ~ ~
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off your bowlines.
Sail away from safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore, Dream, Discover.
~Mark Twain~
~ ~ ~
The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that
surround him... The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions
to himself...
Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable
man. ~George Bernard Shaw
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