Were you here?

Before 6 a.m. this morning the parking lot in front of the football stadium was nearly filled. The gates opened at 7. They only let people into the plaza so everyone stood until the players got there off the bus about 8:45. They were done at 9. There are still some people out there now at 9:15 but mainly it is over. Whew.

I turned on the TV and learned that the reporter could not hear the anchor 'due to a large amount of noisealation'. And he was not being cute. I don't know why I keep expecting local TV news to not be horrible. I also don't know why I keep watching.

Oh and they said that there were about 25,000 people there.

When I was a newspaper reporter I often had to provide a crowd count. It is not an exact science. A cop showed me how once. (Take a confined area - like a corner or a square of sidewalk and count the people in it. Then figure how many of those there are with people in it and multiply. Since no one ever does an actual count it is nearly always exactly WhoTheFuckKnows.)

Having said that, if there were 25,000 people out there this morning, I'd have to say that more than 20,000 of them were totally invisible. I'm thinking Mr. Noisealation probably didn't major in English OR math.

I'm enjoying all the coverage of Pittsburgh. I went to college an hour west of there. We'd pile into whatever car we could find like circus clowns and head for the Big City. It was in the days when Stohs was a local beer and the Duquesne Incline was free and steel was still THE industry and Three Rivers Stadium was Brand Spanking New. It was such a change from North Carolina. The food was amazing. The people sounded so different and were so much fun. One of my best first friends was Francie who was from Washington (called 'Little Washington' so you wouldn't get confused - oh and pronounced Warsh-ington). I heard on the news last night that Washington was working to change it's name to Steeler, PA. Fun. Wonder what ever happened to Francie.

Were you here?

Before 6 a.m. this morning the parking lot in front of the football stadium was nearly filled. The gates opened at 7. They only let people into the plaza so everyone stood until the players got there off the bus about 8:45. They were done at 9. There are still some people out there now at 9:15 but mainly it is over. Whew.

I turned on the TV and learned that the reporter could not hear the anchor 'due to a large amount of noisealation'. And he was not being cute. I don't know why I keep expecting local TV news to not be horrible. I also don't know why I keep watching.

Oh and they said that there were about 25,000 people there.

When I was a newspaper reporter I often had to provide a crowd count. It is not an exact science. A cop showed me how once. (Take a confined area - like a corner or a square of sidewalk and count the people in it. Then figure how many of those there are with people in it and multiply. Since no one ever does an actual count it is nearly always exactly WhoTheFuckKnows.)

Having said that, if there were 25,000 people out there this morning, I'd have to say that more than 20,000 of them were totally invisible. I'm thinking Mr. Noisealation probably didn't major in English OR math.

I'm enjoying all the coverage of Pittsburgh. I went to college an hour west of there. We'd pile into whatever car we could find like circus clowns and head for the Big City. It was in the days when Stohs was a local beer and the Duquesne Incline was free and steel was still THE industry and Three Rivers Stadium was Brand Spanking New. It was such a change from North Carolina. The food was amazing. The people sounded so different and were so much fun. One of my best first friends was Francie who was from Washington (called 'Little Washington' so you wouldn't get confused - oh and pronounced Warsh-ington). I heard on the news last night that Washington was working to change it's name to Steeler, PA. Fun. Wonder what ever happened to Francie.

Blow Job Question Answered

So... In December I asked about canned air... When the can runs out of air juice, it still blows so what's the diff?

beaq suggested that the non juice air was no infinite and that is exactly right. This morning my can, that had long ago run out of the cold chemical whatever, now no longer blows at all.

Guess it's back to the air store for me!

Blow Job Question Answered

So... In December I asked about canned air... When the can runs out of air juice, it still blows so what's the diff?

beaq suggested that the non juice air was no infinite and that is exactly right. This morning my can, that had long ago run out of the cold chemical whatever, now no longer blows at all.

Guess it's back to the air store for me!

ohmygod

Mom just called this morning and ripped my heart right out of my chest. She was very business like and said she had a problem and couldn't get a hold of Polly (who was really sick last week). She said she had a rash on her face and the nurse - someone she didn't know from another area of the home - came and looked at it and was going to make her go to the hospital. When she got to the word hospital, her voice cracked into tears. Mom is not a cryer.

The home has had some staffing problems and they have always always had staffing problems on the weekend. And, of course, Mom rarely had a problem during the week. I have no clue what the sitter was up to.

I asked Mom a bunch of rash questions - does it hurt (no)? is it twice as bad as it was yesterday (no, it's worse but not twice as bad)?

Mainly I asked her these questions so she would not cry and be focused on helping a fix. Then I told her to tell anyone and everyone who came near her that she was not to be moved one inch without contacting me. 'Tell them I am the family member in charge and they must have my permission before you leave the building.' That seemed to help her. I told her I'd make some calls, find someone to do something and call her back.

I had NO Clue who to call. I have no qualms calling the head guy at home but what's he going to do? He's going to take her to the hospital. So I figured I'd see if I could get Polly and if I could maybe she could tell me who to call. I got her and she said that she was feeling much better and but she was filthy and had to have a shower before she went anywhere but she would be at Mom's in 45 minutes. She also said that Mom has an appointment with her doctor at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow anyway.

I called Mom back and told her that Polly was on her way. She was a mess. She could barely come out of it enough to be glad to hear that Polly was coming. I told her that I was going to call the nurse and tell her NO hospital. She said thank you and hung up.

It took a couple of calls but I found the nurse, Karen, who explained the rash thing and sounded really reasonable. She said that it started with her eye yesterday and today the eye was swollen and it had spread. She told me that Mom told her that it hurt. And so Karen thought going to the hospital for an evaluation was the right thing to do. And I think, in her position, that was the exact right call.

Except that Mom just hates that hospital with a passion. I said it probably bothered her enough to have someone look at it but it doesn't hurt enough for the hospital and told her that Mom does know what hospital hurt is and will tell them (and she will). I told her that Polly was on the way and they would all look at the situation and if together they decided Mom needed to go to the hospital, she would talk Mom into it. Karen sounded cool about this.

Karen mentioned shingles and crusty.... Better than leprosy and flesh eating bacteria, I guess. Crap. If it's not one thing it's another. I do not have one single clue what keeps Mom going. I would have tossed in the towel years ago.

And what in the world would I do without Polly. I mean, seriously, if something were to happen to Polly or to Mom while Polly was gone or unavailable, I'd be hosed. I need to think about this. And at least make sure I have the phone number of someone to call.

ohmygod

Mom just called this morning and ripped my heart right out of my chest. She was very business like and said she had a problem and couldn't get a hold of Polly (who was really sick last week). She said she had a rash on her face and the nurse - someone she didn't know from another area of the home - came and looked at it and was going to make her go to the hospital. When she got to the word hospital, her voice cracked into tears. Mom is not a cryer.

The home has had some staffing problems and they have always always had staffing problems on the weekend. And, of course, Mom rarely had a problem during the week. I have no clue what the sitter was up to.

I asked Mom a bunch of rash questions - does it hurt (no)? is it twice as bad as it was yesterday (no, it's worse but not twice as bad)?

Mainly I asked her these questions so she would not cry and be focused on helping a fix. Then I told her to tell anyone and everyone who came near her that she was not to be moved one inch without contacting me. 'Tell them I am the family member in charge and they must have my permission before you leave the building.' That seemed to help her. I told her I'd make some calls, find someone to do something and call her back.

I had NO Clue who to call. I have no qualms calling the head guy at home but what's he going to do? He's going to take her to the hospital. So I figured I'd see if I could get Polly and if I could maybe she could tell me who to call. I got her and she said that she was feeling much better and but she was filthy and had to have a shower before she went anywhere but she would be at Mom's in 45 minutes. She also said that Mom has an appointment with her doctor at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow anyway.

I called Mom back and told her that Polly was on her way. She was a mess. She could barely come out of it enough to be glad to hear that Polly was coming. I told her that I was going to call the nurse and tell her NO hospital. She said thank you and hung up.

It took a couple of calls but I found the nurse, Karen, who explained the rash thing and sounded really reasonable. She said that it started with her eye yesterday and today the eye was swollen and it had spread. She told me that Mom told her that it hurt. And so Karen thought going to the hospital for an evaluation was the right thing to do. And I think, in her position, that was the exact right call.

Except that Mom just hates that hospital with a passion. I said it probably bothered her enough to have someone look at it but it doesn't hurt enough for the hospital and told her that Mom does know what hospital hurt is and will tell them (and she will). I told her that Polly was on the way and they would all look at the situation and if together they decided Mom needed to go to the hospital, she would talk Mom into it. Karen sounded cool about this.

Karen mentioned shingles and crusty.... Better than leprosy and flesh eating bacteria, I guess. Crap. If it's not one thing it's another. I do not have one single clue what keeps Mom going. I would have tossed in the towel years ago.

And what in the world would I do without Polly. I mean, seriously, if something were to happen to Polly or to Mom while Polly was gone or unavailable, I'd be hosed. I need to think about this. And at least make sure I have the phone number of someone to call.

That was some fast shower!

My cellphone shows that I called Polly at 10:13 my time.

At 11:04, she called me back to report.

1. Her cellphone battery is dying.
2. She actually got Mom's doctor on the phone from Mom's room (this means she got through her emergency service which I didn't think was even possible).
3. He says it sounds like herpes which is, apparently, very contagious.
4. The sitters and everyone else in Mom's room will need to wear gloves.
5. The doctor will see her first thing in the morning, Polly will take her.

And then, apparently, the battery did die. But it sounds like no hospital. I think I'll wait a bit and call Mom and make sure she's emotionally ok.

Herpes? Does this mean she has to declare all her recent sex partners? And/or a quicky with the orderly is out of the question now? Her birthday is next Wednesday - maybe I should think about sending a supply of fun condoms....

That was some fast shower!

My cellphone shows that I called Polly at 10:13 my time.

At 11:04, she called me back to report.

1. Her cellphone battery is dying.
2. She actually got Mom's doctor on the phone from Mom's room (this means she got through her emergency service which I didn't think was even possible).
3. He says it sounds like herpes which is, apparently, very contagious.
4. The sitters and everyone else in Mom's room will need to wear gloves.
5. The doctor will see her first thing in the morning, Polly will take her.

And then, apparently, the battery did die. But it sounds like no hospital. I think I'll wait a bit and call Mom and make sure she's emotionally ok.

Herpes? Does this mean she has to declare all her recent sex partners? And/or a quicky with the orderly is out of the question now? Her birthday is next Wednesday - maybe I should think about sending a supply of fun condoms....