I Adore Daniel Radcliffe

I didn’t read any of the Harry Potter books, nor did I see any of the films, but I fell for Daniel Radcliffe after seeing scenes of the movies and his media appearances. I admired his performance skills and his commitment to personal privacy. He’s a consummate performer and I’ve always thought his parents guided him well; they were never visible and seemed to provide the wisest of counsel to him. 

In the clip above, he displays, I think, consummate musical theatre chops. Adequate singing, but extraordinary skill with the choreography. I love this young man. (In the clip, he’s introduced by Robert Morse, the equally skilled actor who originated the role Daniel plays in the remount.)

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I began reading Shuggie Bain; it’s wonderful to be entranced by a book on the first page. I know that I’m in for a good read. And then I found a source of books online other than Amazon and all the books are at a remarkably low price. Heaven! I ordered seven new books.  It’s bookoutlet.ca. 

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Well, this is odd. I’m liking George Bush. He and other leaders are publicly, and loudly, criticizing the GOP—in the form of Trumpism. 

"White Anglo-Saxon Protestantism, then it's not going to win anything." That’s what he said. And he went on: "If the Republican Party stands for exclusivity -- you know, it used to be country clubs, now evidently it's White Anglo-Saxon Protestantism -- then it's not going to win anything." And there was more.

He and his allies are fighting for a renewal of the GOP as it was during his presidency. He’s splitting the GOP and the Trumpers have no future. His side will win because the herd follows where public sentiment goes. He wants to push Trump and his red cappers forever out of reach of office, and I think/hope he’ll win.

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Today has dawned semi-overcast. There is blue sky but it’s cool this morning, so I’ll likely just idle the day away reading and walking Her Highness. When it warms up later, I may get some light work done on the yard. Who knows? Who cares? All that matters is that I can feel my lungs getting stronger every day.

The Turkeys here on the island are all in
glorious colour right now because it's
 breeding  season.

Philly DA

I did some yard work yesterday! That’s how good I felt even though the cough is still nasty to hear. I did nothing too heavy or worth writing about, but the energy I had was a sign of good spirits, good weather and better breathing.

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Well, colour me stupid. I thought Philly DA was fictional. I guess it isn’t, after reading a review on the Vulture website. I loved it, believing it to be a remarkably clever fictional story, but I’m still keen to watch it knowing it’s a true story because the protagonist, Larry Krasner, the DA, is compelling to watch and to hear. The guy is brilliant and inspiring.

Episode two was compelling. I’ve never understood the harshness of some people’s expressed desire for revenge. Episode two focused on the dilemma facing Krasner, who’s opposed to the death penalty, when a cop is killed in Philadelphia. The cop’s sister and mother, who loved their brother and son deeply, are repugnant in their advocacy for the death of his killers. It’s an incredible series, this Philly DA.

I was mugged once. The guy wanted forty dollars, the price of a good Heroin hit and I didn’t have that much cash, so he decided his knife would somehow make money materialize, so he forced me to drive into the garage of a large building downtown, holding the knife to my throat, and then, when that place proved too busy, he forced me to drive to a seaside parking lot.

When a garbage truck arrived, he pulled my head down into his lap and he held the knife against my neck. But when he did that, my hand wound up close to the door handle on my side of the car and I thought I had my chance, so I opened the door and ran towards the truck screaming for help. The two men on the back of the truck just told me to call the cops and drove off. Scared, I turned to face my aggressor, thinking he’s still be in the car, but he was running away.

In the ensuing days, I had horrid visions of the revenge I wanted to take—not on my aggressor, but on the garbage men who didn’t come to my aid. Of course, that passed, and I realized that revenge only hurt me and that being at peace with the world and getting on with my life was far, far more important.

I pressed charges but refused to go to court. I did not want to see the man who assaulted me again, so I made a video with the police. He was charged with kidnapping because he made me drive him to the garage and park, and the minimum sentence for kidnapping at the time was twenty-five years. Since then, I’ve considered feeling a desire for revenge to be an anathema. I’m happy to leave vengeance to the system.

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Today begins at the lab with a sputum test. That should take all of one minute, and then I’m going on a walk with my fellow dog walkers. After that, because it’s a dark and cool day, I’ll come home to light a fire and read.

No Side Effects

It’s noon on Saturday. I just got back from our morning walk. I waited until 10:00 am to go so that it would be a little warmer and brighter, the sun a little higher in the sky. I soon felt the familiar euphoria that comes to me on my walks, derived from the incredibe beauty of the forest right now. Thick, lush bright green Moss lines the paths and the new young leaves on all the Alders look particularly lovely as they flicker in the gentle wind. But most of all, I knew that I was walking with a pharmacological army inside me that was defeating the toxins in my lungs.

When I got home, I made lunch and then tidied and cleaned up the house. I’d not done any housework since my breathing took a dive and I started feeling so poorly. It felt good to make the house shine. And when I looked out the window and saw the shite on the roofs, I felt an impulse to get out there and clean them—a welcome sign of a return of will. 

But I stayed inside and had a little nap in the sunshine before going to the village for some groceries and Peppermint extract with which to deter the rodents from my car engine. And then we went for our second walk, enjoying a day with of side effects (and so no need for the anti-side effects medicine).

Fear comes on par with breathlessness during acute pulmonary attacks, so my fear began just a little over two weeks ago with a sudden pain in my chest and a rapid onset coughing attack. Ten days into it, I read on one of the websites I visit about Sum Famousperson’s son dying of asthma and that news ramped up my fear, as did reading constantly about equipment shortages in respiratory supplies and machines due to Covid-19. 

I cough up enough to feed a small village. Nice thought, eh? I have more healing to go with my physical healing, but the fear is gone. I have faith in my medications and the support of Dr. Dorscheid and his wife. I’m not afraid, I’m not alone and I’m healing. Add no side effects and you can imagine how good to ponder all that while walking (thank you, Bruce) in warm air, under bright sky and in sunshine. 

In the evening, I partied. I had ice cream and some chocolate after dinner to celebrate day one of corrective medications and no reaction. As I ate, adding bread, I watched Philly DA. It’s a very stylistic form of fictional storytelling: Presenting the narrative as actual contemporary history—a Docuseries, like the War of the Worlds radio play. It’s as serious and very, very well done; instead of being about ‘defunding the police,’ it’s about judicial reforms and presented in a positive light and as the high point of the judicial reform movement—electing a reform DA. It’s on PBS.

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The media and conversation polarized during the Trump administration: Right or Left. You’re with us or against us, and it was ugly to watch the polarization play out in photos and editorials.

I’m on edit alert level ten. I’m very careful about discussing or volunteering vaccination status—mine or anyone else’s unless they reveal their’s, as happens often and comfortably. But with people around here, I’m extremely careful because in this community I feel what’s going on everywhere. We’re becoming two distinct social classes that are going to have different rights of access—both public and private.

At least I feel like I’m on the correct team.

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Today has dawned beautifully. It’s going to be a great day, but last night I suffered my first side effect from the drugs. Maureen Dorscheid told me that one of the drugs might cause me difficulty in sleeping. She said it was a little like taking Speed and last night, even though I’d taken the drug really early yesterday morning (5:00 am), I had trouble going to sleep and staying asleep, but it’s a small price to pay for curing my lungs. Besides, I can nap today in the sunshine.

I love this time of year when it’s bearable to be in the sun. I can’t do it when it’s hot.

It Isn't My Asthma

Guaraná (above) contains high levels of caffeine – as much as four times that of coffee beans, as well as other psychoactive stimulants (including saponins and tannins) associated with improved cognitive performance. And numerous research papers explore its potential in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidepressant, intestinal regulator and even an aphrodisiac.

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Well, I didn’t hear from my doctor yesterday, but I heard from his wife who’s also a pulmonologist because Dr. Dorscheid had undergone a medical procedure. Just talking to her lifted my spirits and restored my faith in my future. What I heard her saying was that I was in dire straits, but that proper treatment would restore my breathing. I was very grateful for the relief she brought to me.

I got two new medications (an antibiotic and the dreaded Prednisone), plus another one to help protect me from the side effects of the antibiotic. Plus, for the next six months, I’ll be having two sputum tests twice a month. 

It isn’t asthma that’s the problem; it’s likely an infection that’s taken hold because I have asthma. It’s either a bacterial infection or due to mold in my lungs. Doesn’t mold in your lungs sound awful? Anyway, I'm taking medications to combat either cause.

I’ve just taken my new meds for the first time this morning. Now I wait to see how I react, but it’s good to know there’s a little army inside me fighting the toxic invaders.

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Today has dawned clear and bright, but it’s cool. I’m going to start a new book and take it easy all day. That’s my plan for the next few days while I recover.