All Purls. No Swine.
October 3, 2023 is the 107th anniversary of the birth of James Alfred Wight, better known to the world as James Herriot, the author of upwards of a dozen beloved books about his Yorkshire veterinary practice from the 1930s onwards, and one of the three most influential authors of my book-filled youth. (The others were… Continue reading Changing My Life, One Book at a Time–Happy Birthday, James Herriot!
It's been almost exactly eight years since I published a version of the post below on Ricochet. (Time really does fly when you're having fun.) I was reminded of it this week, when I had a rare encounter with health care of the human sort myself. On Monday night (it's now Saturday), I did my… Continue reading Ruminations on the High Cost of Healthcare, and How to Bring it Down–2023
Well, it finally happened. Two years on, inexorably and inevitably, I caught the 'rona. It's hardly surprising, really, since I have been going about my business, carefully, but pretty much normally from the start, as have most of my family, my friends, my neighbors, and my own little corner of the world. I had both… Continue reading Omicron and Me
Two things got me thinking of this "oldie but goodie" post, first published on Ricochet in 2014: First, I inspected the nether regions of a few of my ewes the other day, in order to adjudge the imminence of any blessed events. (Another couple of weeks, I think; things generally start popping around here in… Continue reading Reflections On a Childhood Hymn
It seems that it's about time for the regular pre-election "Let's Fix the High Cost of Healthcare Once And For All!" national political posturing extravaganza, so I thought I'd throw in my two cents, and present what I'm pretty sure is a unique and extraordinarily effective solution. I’ve alluded to this subject in a few… Continue reading How To Bring Down The High Cost of Healthcare: RWKJ’s Medical Plan!
As some of you know, Mr. Right isn’t very well, and he suffers from numerous comorbidities (one of the terms of 2020, along with “social distancing” and “an abundance of caution” that I’ll be glad to see the back of, hopefully soon) that make him especially vulnerable to infection and which have made it difficult… Continue reading Being ‘In the Moment’ With Our Loved Ones As They Age
News story #1: New York City auctioned off extra ventilators due to cost of maintenance. Yes, they did. Hundreds of them. Ventilators acquired by “Mini Mike” Bloomberg in 2006, in response to a new far-eastern flu strain. As part of that response, and in anticipation of an epidemic, New York City stockpiled ventilators and facemasks.… Continue reading A Tale of Two News Stories
Journal of Public Health, written in 2015, and titled “The Open-Air Treatment of PANDEMIC INFLUENZA.” (No, I’m not shouting, the term is capitalized in the article title.) The authors seem competent, literate, rational and sane, and the details presented are many and compelling. Sources are painstakingly referenced and footnoted. It recapitulates the history, and efforts… Continue reading Remember When ‘Fresh Air’ Was A Good Thing? I Do.
Posting this vital information without further comment, because, really, I can't even. (Even so, I can’t help observing that it does give a modern twist to the phrase, “get a buzz on.”) Doctors Warn Women Against Putting Wasp Nests In their Vaginas.