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Comment by Joan Denoo on December 15, 2013 at 7:40pm

How Saint Nicholas May Have Looked

Comment by sk8eycat on December 15, 2013 at 2:09pm

The comments are as funny as the "article."

This ought to twist some KKK Krischun knickers.

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/12/1262236/--We-re-Not-White-Guys-Megyn-Kelly-By-Jesus-and-St-Nicholas?detail=email

Comment by Steph S. on December 14, 2013 at 8:47pm

Hope your son gets better Mindy and congrats on your daughter's first date - I hope it goes well for the two of them.

Comment by Steph S. on December 14, 2013 at 8:43pm

Comment by sk8eycat on December 14, 2013 at 7:38pm

Mindy, did you know that the man who wrote all the song lyrics, and a goodly part of the script for "The Wizard of Oz" (Yip Harburg) was a lifelong atheist?  I have a collection of his poems called "Rhymes for the Irreverent."  Funny stuff.

I think L. Frank Baum was an atheist, too. There is just too much very sly stuff in the first book that pokes fun at religion and conservative politics...IF you look at it in a certain way.  The "heartless" Tin Man, etc.  He was certainly passionate about politics in his private life.

Comment by sk8eycat on December 14, 2013 at 7:24pm

Patricia, did you have fusion along with the Laminectomy?  I did...I have two rods bolted to my lower spine, held in place with grafted donor bone. I was astonished at the low pain level afterwards; maybe it was the fact that hospitals are more knowledgeable about pain management now.  I was allowed smaller doses of pain meds every 2 hours instead of having to wait 4 hours for a larger dose that would always leave me groggy.  (I don't know what they gave me...not morphine.  I am violently allergic to that.)  I was able to sit cross-legged on my bed before I left the hospital 5 days after the surgery. Shocked the physical therapist (who I thought was a smug goody-two-shoes anyway.)  I didn't do the prescribed post-hospital therapy...lack of transportation, and... well...it bores me.

BTW, it was a Catholic hospital; I asked to have the "scarecrow" removed from my room, but they wouldn't do that, so the first day I was allowed out of bed, I draped my "Imagine No Religion" T-shirt over it.  My surgeon (young, secular Jewish) nearly fell on the floor laughing when he saw that.  So did one of my RNs (a gay man...middle-aged...ALL the nurses were fabulous!)

The main thing is that, as you said, the sciatic pain was killing me; I couldn't sit in a chair of any type for more than 5 minutes, so I couldn't get an office job for 10 years.  I knew as soon as I came out of the anesthesia that it was GONE! Oh, every once in a while (maybe every 6 months), I'll feel a tingle in my right leg, but it's a numbness-type tingle, not the hot, screaming pain I had before.

The most painful thing about the whole operation was the amount I had to pay out of my own pocket after Medicare paid its share.  I maxed out my only credit card, and am still making payments on the debt.

I need to have the same thing done on my neck, and I just can't.  It scares me...I had a parathyroidectomy (the incision is the same as for any thyroid surgery) in '92, and the post-op pain and stiffness went on for almost a year.  I couldn't sleep lying down for about 3 months, couldn't turn my head far enough even to look in the rear-view mirrors while driving, etc.

Plus...if I rack up any more debts, I'll lose the house. I wouldn't mind moving to an apartment for low-income seniors, but my sister would, and the house is in both our names.

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 14, 2013 at 5:22pm

sk8eycat I can understand a population of uninformed individuals might object to looking at reality through a metaphor, but for a school district to fall for such tactics is just outrageous. I think the Four Horsemen, and others who are militant in their opposition to ignorance being taught in public school is well justified and I consider myself one of those awful persons who take a militant view in opposition to failure to learn science. In fact, the more I learn, the more militant I become. 

The reality is, I am becoming more confrontive to the negative feedback she gave. One of my counselors at Cancer Care gave me some very bad feedback and I called her on it. She is of the old school; nonsense is nonsense, whether stated by an uninformed or a trained counselor. 

Gee, that feels good, to be able to discriminate between healthy and unhealthy therapy! I am sure her motive was positive even as her information was lousy. 

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 14, 2013 at 5:12pm

sk8eycat and  Patricia My goodness, this sounds serious, and painful. Did the surgeries help? 

"What is a laminectomy?

"Back pain that interferes with normal daily activities may require surgery for treatment. Laminectomy is a type of surgery in which a surgeon removes part or all of the vertebral bone (lamina) to relieve compression of the spinal cord or the nerve roots that may be caused by injury, herniated disk, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the canal), or tumors. A laminectomy is considered only after medical treatments have proven to be ineffective."

Comment by Joan Denoo on December 14, 2013 at 4:56pm

Mindy I the car problem is solved without too much expense. Sorry to learn of your son's strep throat; hope his diabetes strategy stays under control. My favorite of all stories, The Wizard of OZ. Sharing cartoon. 

Ian, Ah ha! The pope is caught in a dilemma: Does the pope forgive the priest or the homosexuality? Seems to me a little reality check is in order. A priest is a construct of the human mind. A homosexual is a reality of hormones and whatever else is involved in creating mammalian sexuality and has nothing for which to be forgiven. 

Steph, cute photo of resistant kitty and lovely young woman. 

Napoleon, is this a correct translation: "one does not become an atheist by desire"?

Steph, Whistleblower Cat!?

Comment by The Flying Atheist on December 14, 2013 at 4:26pm

I have to add my two cents as well. I like the Oz picture and also the Jesus walking on water, Mindy. Funny stuff, as Johnny Carson used to say.
I hope your son recovers quickly. Sounds like he's being well cared for.

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