Failure to thrive

Traveled last weekend and came back with a sickness that has been kicking my ass this week. All the humidity on Long Island combined with going into air conditioning and not enough (never enough) rest added up to something nasty taking hold on my system.

Did get some things sorted about with my Aunt's estate. I now have the rest of her pictures and went though my Father's pictures and did some scanning. A lot of memories went by, good and bad ones. Did end up driving on the LIE during afternoon rush hour to see my Sister in LIC. Nice neighborhood, with a cool view a few blocks from her apartment.



Driving was tiring. Put over 1,500 miles on the car, and it performed wonderfully. Still, it was a long trip in a shot amount of time. That, and my son's annual IEP meeting always adds up to additional sadness and inadequacy as a parent. The meeting went well enough, his Mother had concerns about the amount of a therapy he was to receive, which made sense to me. That my son is attending a new school and they're still getting to know him adds more to the uncertainty. He does seem to be doing well there. We were very concerned about how he would take the transition to a new school and pickup and exchange between his Mother and I, but that has not been a problem. Which is a very good thing.

Called an accountant today, we're meeting next week to talk about finances. This is a first.

Week two of my NFL hiatus is in full effect. Weird getting messages during the game and comments directed to me the next morning about what happened the night before. I do not know the specifics, I see the headlines, but do not know how the Bills are sucking.

Now, back to trying to rest or avoid writing.

One week from vacation

You share things with your children, and they, in turn, share things with you. Took Wednesday off and kept my sick son out of school. He was quite listless, low energy and had a fast running nose. As they day went along, and after a rare late morning nap, he felt better and went to school on Thursday.

That day, I started to falter at work and woke up this morning feeling like a truck landed on my head. So it was my turn to call off work for the second time this week, take a late morning nap and try to recover as the day went on. Not sure it worked enough. The weekend is here though.

Received news today that a body part of mine is not a potential match for a possible transplant. Not sure how to feel about that. No stress or anxiety about the procedure, but totally unable to help, just have to watch from the sidelines and hope for the best now.

Always a good walk

My son was generous enough to give me whatever sickness had been inside of him last weekend and that left me waking up this morning and deciding going to work was not in anyone's best interests.

After sleeping a bit longer than usual I figured it would be better for me to not sit on the coach and get outside to take advantage of the beautiful September weather. Even while sick, I could appreciate it.

So the decision was made to take a walk in Greenlawn Cemetery.

It had been awhile since I've been here. It's hard to maintain a large space effectively. A portion of the fence on the west side of the property has busted down and now anyone can get in easily, at anytime. They need funds to repair the property and I do not have them.

Still, it was a pleasant day for a walk and I picked some areas I do not usually wander in.



Would love to know the back story to Mr. Gene. How did he get that name?



I know Columbus has a vital Greek population but did not realize there was a section of the cemetery that had a lot of Greek people buried there. This made me chuckle, shoot me.



Away where now? She did not go out for a pack of cigarettes, or did she?



The grave of a woman in her early twenties who died in 2012. This type of decoration fascinates me, and it's all over the cemetery here, and I imagine elsewhere.



I know I've posted this before, but it makes me giggle, ok?



And this one is further down the row. I'm sorry, but this makes me laugh.



As far as I know, this is the only grave in the world of an Olympic gold medal winner who was executed for committing murder. Here's the story.

None of my visits here are complete without some reflection here.



I was very happy to see that a lot of the overgrowth that obstructed the view of the pond from this spot had been cut back.

And just a few steps from this spot is this humble gravestone.



Greenlawn has been one of my go to spots for some quiet reflection and inspiration. Sometimes some cool birdlife is spotted, or a sprinting ground hog as you drive out of the property.

44 Hours

On Saturday night my wife and I were in the middle of watching Two Days in New York when the phone rang. It was my son's mother. She was taking our son to the ER. He was walking bent over and with a limp. His energy level was also low.

I thought he banged his hip, or fell. When I got to the ER he was not walking bent over, the way his mother said, but with an obvious limp. He was doing this a couple of years ago also, when I took him to get X-rays, but nothing was found then.

After a lengthy wait, two and a half hours, my son was finally taken to get X-rays. An hour later, I saw the results. There was a massive backup of stool in his intestine. Huge, really. At about 12:30 in the morning he was given an enema. Not much moved. An hour and a half after that, another. A doctor came around about about 3AM, saying he recommended him being admitted. At 4:30AM, after eight hours in an ice cold, tiny, ER admitting room, he was finally situated in his own room.

At 6AM, another enema, and every three hours following. The poor guy really endured a lot. It's really hard to see him when he's like this, and unable to tell us what's happening to him. I also have to say it's really hard seeing so many sick children in a hospital, one of the saddest things you ever see.

The room was great, the nurses attentive almost to the point of smothering. The cafeteria was inexpensive and better than expected. It's a new, high tech, extension of the hospital and it's well put together.

The view is amazing.



It took awhile for stuff to start moving, but it did. No further description is necessary.

This morning we were told that, if an afternoon X-ray showed the colon had cleared the old stuff out, we could take him home. Which is what happened.

My son's mother was great, stayed with him all of yesterday and last night. I hope she's getting some well deserved rest. My wife came by yesterday and held things together at our house while it was all going on. I went home for some rest for a few hours on Sunday morning and last night.

Finished watching the film. A happy ending but Grandpa never took a bath. Now we have to make sure this lack of using the toilet does not happen again, the tough part.

First expereinces with Zicam

Children are vectors for germs, my wife has said. She's right. My son was sick last week and gave me what he had. Whatever virus or bacteria he transmitted to me put me out of commission for about 32 hours straight last Wednesday to Thursday. All I did was sleep and lie there, wondering why my head hurt so much. Even after discovering that Zicam is not ineffective, trips out for errands over the holiday weekend were draining.

Poor kid still has the remnants, and he gave what he had to his mother. Such a sweet boy. The only person who did not get the crud was my wife, and I hope she does not. This thing sucks.

Really should start packing, or pacing

Today I am home with a sick child. The boy has a cold and cough. He got some rest last night, but needs more - and for the cough to diminish some more. Hoping I do not get what he has because I'm going to IWPS tomorrow and having a voice is kind of important in a poetry slam.

Yesterday was also his IEP meeting, which is always an hour of lost hope for me. I'd go on about it, but it's too damn depressing. I also had my goals and objectives meeting at work, which is all I'm going to say about that here, too. A double whammy I do not recommend anyone having to go through in a day.

Trying to get my act together for the trip to Fayetteville, it's tough with all the other stuff that is going on. All I can say is that I'm going to do my best.

Recovering

My wife and are are both on the mend from what is being called the Great Poet Flu of 2012. We're thinking Scott Woods is Case Zero, as he was ill for some time. Was he recovered enough at Poet Picture Day last Sunday???

Right after that three people, at least three people who were on the library steps last Sunday became violently ill. Teri, Paula, and my wife.

On Monday night my wife caught the bug. It was not pretty. She was out of commission on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thursday morning I woke up with a headache and became light headed. Called off work, called my ex to ask if she's put our son on the bus because I did not want him to catch anything, and went back to bed. It got worse after I woke up around noon. I did not eat anything and only had water and a couple of glasses of ginger ale for about thirty six hours. Took Friday off work and found I could eat, a little bit.

While all of this is going on, Scott Woods is in his world of Schadenfreude, clicking "Like" on status updates in which I mention my illness. He posted comments of nothing but laughter and went as far as suggesting that, if Facebook let him, he would type his gleeful comments in a larger font. I guess he did not have a seven year old to beat in chess that afternoon. Such is life when you have a nemesis.

Improved even more over the weekend, a weekend I have my son so I'm worried about him catching this, whatever it is.

He's been good. Very into his own business of jumping on his bed and having adventures in his room with Bob the Cucumber and Larry the Tomato. He even closed the door to his room.

Downstairs, he rediscovered his books and pulled them off the shelf in a flourish last night. A few minutes ago he did some organizing on the floor.



There's also a line of five more books at a ninety degree angle, but I do not want to include the ugly living room chair in the photo. Now, with the time change, he has energy at new times. Daylight savings time messes with him, he pounced out of bed right after I put him there. He's not happy.

While grocery shopping today we came across the closeout cart that Kroger puts out from time to time. Most of the time we look, and move on. Today though they had a box of what was depicted on the box as wine glasses.



In my world wine glasses have stems. So you can swirl the wine in the glass. So you do not get finger prints on the glass while looking at the color. So you do not warm up a white wine with your hand any faster.

Now I understand the reasoning for a stemless glass. A friend in the biz said it was great if you're outside on a windy day and I get that. Sure, it eases breakage in restaurants but if I am paying eight bucks for a glass of wine there had better be a glass with a stem!

Anyway, the glasses (set of four) were marked down to three bucks so we bought them. I'm just going to say they're for juice.

Not well today

Feeling like garbage today. Calling off work. Cancelling dinner plans with a friend. It's raining again and Supertramp got nothing to do with it. The lawn gets neglected for another wet day.

The four I got in a poetry slam last night has nothing to do with any of this, nor does the hilarity of being mistaken in a photo for someone who looks nothing like me.

If I could get some sleep, I'd feel better.

This is about a song, right?

Had some restorative pho at Lac Viet in the North Market. Did not quite cure what ailed me, but tasted pretty darn good. Best six dollar meal in the city.

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure.

There's something about her. The ginger hair. The sweet voice. Who knew she was over thirty? A former child star...



Then turned pop star in the swinging sixties. During her television special in 1968, she incited a furor by taking hold of Harry Belafonte's arm during a duet.

Yeah, MILF.



Even hotter in French.

Tumbling Further into the Abyss

My son has got his energy back. He's worn me out to the point of illness. I think the recent temperature changes have done that to me as well. It was thirty degrees warmer than today on Sunday. Which was when I got some yard work done, and went on the roof to make sure the gutters were secure.

Who knows when I got sick? Was coughing all day yesterday, dealing with insurance bureaucracy, a school meeting and a busy day at work.

Day 12 - A Song from a Band You Hate.

Hate is such a powerful word. Keeping with the no repeat rule, since the band I hate has plenty of songs I hate let me present you with some more musical filth.

I was part of a crowd that booed these wanker poseurs off the stage at Rich Stadium back in 1981. These sing songy twerps somehow got their way into one of the opening slots on the Rolling Stones "Tattoo You" tour. After George Thorogood donned a raincoat and blew the clouds away, these middle of the road hacks came on with their smiley waving feel good tunes that no one gave a crap about.

They left, still thinking they were loved, but did not finish their set.

Once again, because I like my readers (and there are more of you now, even if you do not comment) I will not embed the song. But if you click HERE you will see a foul site. Just looking at the lead singer's outfit is cause for a terms of service violation. You've been warned.

While watching the Blue Jackets Fall Apart...

I'm returning to the land of the healthier while having a Genny Cream and watching the Blue Jackets' season essentially come to an end in Calgary.

More loss, but it's only a game I have no stake in.

I've been listening to a lot of soccer over the internet the past few weeks. It's become so much easier to find a match through my Tunein Radio app than find a video link online that may get cut off, could be of middling quality or a wonderful Veetle feed that takes up all the RAM so you can't do anything else on the laptop.

While sick on the couch Wednesday I could have listened to Arsenal beat the crap out of Leyton Orient but I found a station similar to ESPN radio and dozed to reports of gambling odds interspersed with updates of the live matches. So I got to hear the reports of the Scottish Cup match when Neil Lennon acted like a thug. Yes, it's an Old Firm match and tempers are in the red zone, but Lennon's really got to tone it down if he's going to be manager long term. The guy's already facing a four match ban.

Watched Nowhere Boy last night. A decent look at John Lennon's awkward teenage years. Most of the film took place during the time he was just beginning to listen to rock and roll and before he met Paul. Aaron Johnson did a good job at portraying Lennon. Thomas Brodie-Sangster was outstanding as a teenage Paul. Just looking at his resume I see that he played Sam, the kid in Love Actually.



Kristin Scott-Thomas was very effective in playing Aunt Mimi, who essentially raised John. The weak link in the film was Anne-Marie Duff, who gave Julia a bit more vacancy and cool mom vibe than was necessary. I'm not going to quibble about historical accuracy, but John's eyes were brown, not blue. First time director Sam Taylor-Wood did a good thing by including a rendition of the opening chord of A Hard Days' Night into this film's opening. She and Johnson also fell in love during filming.

Another film we just watched was The Secret of Kells. A fictional, animated rendition of the writing of the Book of Kells. The animation was gorgeous. The story held together quite well. But this is one I would have liked to have seen on a large screen, the colors and details are a treat.

Coming back

Still coughing, my mouth is a chapped mess. Do not want to be around anyone.



Did go back to work today. My body is not made of lead weights anymore.

There is improvement. Slowly.

Number Five, Number Five

It is an anniversary today.



Tonight is my fifth year being a part of Writers' Block. It took a couple of years for me to finally get up the nerve to read poetry, my own poetry, onstage.

So on March 2nd, 2006 I went to the Columbus Music Hall and did it.

Life has not been the same since. There have been so many changes, so much drama that has calmed down and WB saw a lot of the good and the bad of those episodes.

Who knew I'd be going to Berkeley as the IWPS rep back in 2009? Not me.

Who knew I'd be doing features, slams, appearances around the county and coming in second place at the Columbus Arts Festival? Not me.

Unfortunately I'm really sick today and am most likely not going to make it out tonight. Wanted to give an electronic thanks to all of you from my deathbed.

Especially you.

See you at Barley's next week as the Women of the World Poetry Slam returns to Columbus.

Passed on to me

When my son gets sick, it's doubly hard. First, you feel bad that he's sick. Second, he cannot tell you what is wrong, and is not very good at self care.

He seems to have some sort of eye infection, but that's been cleared up with drops. Giving him the drops is a lesson in patience, he does not like it when you put anything on him. So it's been a struggle pinning him down to get the drops in, but it has not been as horrible as I imagined.

It's sad seeing him listless, with no energy and so unlike himself. He slept in the afternoons for a couple of hours this weekend and still went to bed around his usual time. When he deliberately sleeps during the day, you know he's not well.

So we're home today, and maybe he'll shake off the illness. Well, he's already given me a sore throat.

Been following the situation in Madison. Protesters were allowed to stay in the capitol for another night, but for how much longer. Another protest in planned in downtown Columbus tomorrow to rally against senate bill five. The Oscars were dull dull dull, Everton won, Celtic lost some poetry drama got smoothed out a little and the Blue Jackets lost a heart breaker at Nashville.

There's still hope though.

Sick

Have had a sore throat since Friday. Did not sleep at all last night, the pain was so bad. Went to urgent care this morning and as suspected, was diagnosed with strep throat.

If I've ever had it before, it's never been this severe. The pain while swallowing was too much.

And a plus to urgent care. I was in and out of there in about 45 minutes.

Got my pills and have been in a fever breaking sweat most of today.

Trying to keep away from my son, to keep him from getting infected. Thanks to my Scottish Wife for dealing with me this weekend. When I'm ill, I want no one near me. Need to go into the cave and suffer alone.

I am better than my Live Journal friend Anna, who is now in an ICU with a bleak prognosis. Met her through Caitie, she's led a fascinating life. Hoping for the best for everyone, it's all I can do for someone I've never met.

Hey, it's the First of July

It was an eleven person slam last night at Writers’ Block. I drew third and presented a new rant. Not sure if an inferior poem did not go over well, or if I did not have the lungs to present it. Maybe it was a combination of both as I placed ninth in the round.

Scores were low, which I always like so as the second round scores were coming in low I thought I could sneak up and maybe snatch third place. Did My Thunder, which went over very well, just enough to miss third place by two tenths of a point. Not a bad climb, but no points. A fun night overall. No one is really blowing me away right now though, and I include myself in this criticism. A lot of tired and distracted poets, busy too. Being sick is no excuse, really, but I’ve lacked the lungpower to get it right the past couple of weeks.

The social schedule kicks in next weekend. Squeeze and Cheap Trick are next Friday, parties on the weekend. More activities will come as the month progresses.

Google analytics is a rather fascinating way of finding out who is looking in here, and for how long.

Been lax on posting pictures lately, perhaps there will be an update this weekend. Depends on how busy the boy wants to be. Really have to get some rest between World Cup matches (Go Spain!) and swimming. The heat is supposed to increase again.

We Will Be Invincible

It's not that England would have won yesterday's World Cup match. The goal that was completely missed by all the officials would have tied the game at two. But, there would have been a shifting in momentum and urgency by both teams that could have changed the complexion of the game. I think Germany would have won, and decidedly so, we'll never know now.

Missing or allowing goals due to blown offside calls is one thing. Screwing up when the ball has clearly past the goal line is another thing entirely. FIFA have a great deal to answer for. They're earning billions with this tournament and for a goal to be clearly missed in the net messes with the game's integrity.



I was very impressed by this memoir by Pat Benatar. A very compelling story of being one of the only female rock stars in the early eighties. During that time, there really were not many solo rock women out there other than Debbie Harry, Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde. She is one of the few stars who never went into rehab or hit any deep rock bottoms in her personal life. Despite unbelievable pressure by a douchebag record company to produce music and an incredible amount of sexism she prevailed and is now living her own life on her terms. She has a story to tell, and slapping a record company executive is a stunning part of this book.

I was not overly wowed by The Passage, Justin Cronin's thick book about the end of the world. American scientists have created a virus that may slow down the aging process, it's put into convicts, things go horribly wrong. For the first 150 pages it was quite the page turner, then the point of view shifted and I was left bored and stranded. I plodded on through the last 450 pages and could not wait for the book to end. It reads a lot of Stephen King's The Stand and even includes a pious and wise black woman for spiritual relief. Ugh. After finishing the book I was told it's to be a trilogy. Books two and three will not be in my house.

Been trying to shake a cold. Now Captain Trips has invaded my sinus cavity.

The Everton Connection

Very cool to see Tim Howard made the save, then the throw to and eventual game winning goal by Landon Donovan in yesterday's World Cup match. Three months playing for Everton turned Donovan into a man!

Had it on at work, listening in headphones. They know, and appreciate my updates. I don't cuss and click the screen on when something exciting may happen. When the goal was scored I clapped loudly.

Feeling like a wreck physically so I was far from 100% at last night's slam. It's no excuse but my energy was not there. Came in sixth out of seven and had a great time while doing so. My three minute did not grab the crowd but my one minute had them, but not the judges. Oh well, another night perhaps. It's good to have a one minute poem to be able to use on the subway or in a pinch.

Been reading a book that I'm plodding through. Started out exciting enough then took a point of view turn about a third of the way through that initially turned me off, but I'm dealing with it. If it was not over six hundred pages I'd be bailing.

Tonight at the Ohio Theater the CAPA Summer Movie Series is presenting Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr and Second Chances. Both will have scores performed by Clark Wilson on the Mighty Morton Organ. I've seen both of these films, but never in this setting. My Scottish Wife has not seen either of these treasures. It's going to be a spectacular night at the cinema!