Was it COVID Brain Fog or Writers Block?

It’s time to let the creative juices flow once more!

It's been a while since I have done it.
Put words to the page and then I've spun it.
Sending to readers a timely missive.
Hoping my followers aren't too dismissive.

I'm not sure of precise causation
That caused two weeks of blog cessation.
What was it kept my fingers napping
Instead of on the keyboard tapping.

It started when two lines appeared
On the COVID test I'd commandeered.
The first line meant the test was working.
The second confirmed the virus's lurking.

Two Moderna shots then double boosted.
Yet still in my nose the microbe roosted.
With coughs and sneezes and feeling sickly.
Into quarnatine I disappeared quickly.

So empty moments were now my friend.
Hours  of leisure I thought I'd spend.
Writing blogs 'bout things that were popping.
I might have been sick but the world was not stopping.

My mind was all foggy, could not concentrate at
The things going on that I'd want to debate at.
But now it's much better and I'm seeing clearly
Here are some things I missed most severly.

There were hearings in DC that were causing a ruckus
They told how Trump and his friends were trying to f*ck us.
Thanks to Adam, Elaine and of course Ms Liz Cheney.
We were sure mesmerized learning about how insane he.

The planet is hotter, it's like a fire pit glowing
Who knows just what to our kids we're bestowing.
Heat waves, deadly storms, and still the President's action
Was blocked by refrains from coal's friend Hot Joe Manchin.

But up in the cosmos there was such delight
As the Webb telescope provided a sight.
Of the universe edges as they were at formation
I say it's Big Bang, some say God's creation.

Those topics I missed while my brain it was snoozing
So my silence for weeks I hope your excusing.
I'll do what I can to get back up to snuff.
For reading this verse, I can't thank you enough.

_________________________________

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Security Vs Privacy–Which Matters to You?

I was listening to an online Homeowners Association Board meeting the other night (Barb does an exemplary job as Board President) as a resident gave a presentation about an item not on the agenda.

Jack had done some research and wanted the Board to know about a crime reduction security product that could be available to our subdivision. The product consists of a security camera to be placed at the subdivision entrance (we only have one) to photograph each entering automobile and transmit the license plate and other identifying information of the car to a database of vehicles reported as stolen or wanted for involvement in other criminal activity.

Any matches are immediately flagged and sent to the local police dispatch center for a real-time response. The police can apprehend the driver and prevent a crime from occurring in our subdivision. And by the way, all data is stored “in the cloud” for 30 days.

The Board asked Jack a few questions but since the item was not on the agenda Barb appropriately limited the discussion and let Jack know this would be considered at a future date.

I don’t know about you, but the prospect of a system like this horrifies me! Every time I or a guest of mine enters my own subdivision, the police will have a permanent record of the entrance. Who will have access to that data? For what purposes might it be used? What has happened to any sense of privacy?

Yes, our subdivision currently has a security camera. It records comings and goings and if, and only if, a crime is committed in the subdivision, those recordings are reviewed to see if the perpetrator can be identified. I get that. But to me, that is very different than the prospect of screening every car in real-time.

I know that surveillance is part of our daily lives. I know that every time I go past a toll plaza on the Tri-State the I-Pass system creates a permanent record. And I know credit cards and cell phones also leave never-disappearing traces of my whereabouts. But these are systems and devices I choose to use. And to the best of my knowledge, they are not immediately cross-referenced to a criminal database.

I value at least a little bit of privacy, even though I am not as privacy-conscious as I should be. I still use Google to do my online searches rather than the (claimed to be) more private DuckDuckGo. I probably use unsecured WiFi when I shouldn’t. I’m sure I make a thousand other mistakes that destroy my privacy. But do the local gendarmes really need a record of when I come home at night?

Security vs Privacy. It is a delicate balance. But this proposed security system is too intrusive for me. In the security vs privacy battle, I vote for privacy on this one.

How about you? Tell me what you think. I promise I won’t be tracking you!

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The Fight Against Cancer Never Rests. Northwestern’s Rebecca Blank and WXRT’s Lin Brehmer Have Revealed Their Battles.

Rebecca Blank and Lin Brehmer (Photos courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

Two days this week, two announcements that saddened me, one of which really shook me.

A 1975 Northwestern graduate, I wear the purple proudly. A family trip to Ryan Field for a football game is an annual event. So I was disheartened to read the email this week that Rebecca Blank, the incoming university president-elect at NU has stepped away from her role to face a battle with aggressive cancer. I wish her the best and trust that my alma mater will again find a top-notch academic to fill the role of university president.

The other notification has struck me more deeply. I missed the Tweet yesterday, spending a lovely afternoon on Lake Michigan, but this morning, the first news story I read was about WXRT radio guy Lin Brehmer. He too is stepping away for a while, taking a sabbatical from his role as the midday jock on my favorite radio station to begin chemotherapy for metastatic prostate cancer.

While I must concede that Rebecca Blank is just a name to me, Lin Brehmer has been a daily voice in my life for years. I would time my morning commute to be sure I was in the lab for “Three for Free,” the on-air trivia game orchestrated by Lin and Mary Dixon. A double-digit number of wins soothed my ego still bruised over long ago losses on Jeopardy! and It’s Academic.

And thanks to social media I am one of the thousands of listeners who have a bit of a relationship with Lin. He and I have Twitter bantered over Janet Jackson’s nomination to the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, over an awful Guster song, and most recently over my allegation that the station program director required one Cure song per shift. “Just don’t play Friday I’m In Love on Fridays…”

As a pathologist specializing in the diagnosis of urologic diseases, I see about 5 cases of prostate cancer a day. While many, perhaps most, of those men do well, I still feel a sense of loss for each of those husbands, sons, and brothers whose prostate biopsy is under my microscope. I know their lives have changed. So it is for Lin. (No, he is not a patient of mine and I was not aware of his diagnosis or the previous treatment that he has revealed in his Tweet.)

Lin is always everyone’s best friend in the whole world. I know the wishes from all of those admirers are bringing him strength and leading to a successful outcome. I can’t wait to hear his voice on “XRT once more.

And just a final reminder to all of you. Men, ask your primary care physician to check your PSA level. Ladies, remind the men in your life. Just do it.

________________________________

The above is the opinion of the author and not UroPartners LLC.

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Highland Park Reminds Us That Guns Kill People and Destroy Our Liberty

I did not want to be the first person to write about the outrage in Highland Park or even one of the first ten or the first hundred.

I was not there on that horrible July 4th morning. Nor was anyone from my family, nor any neighbors. And I don’t know any of the deceased nor any of those left orphaned or widowed or just bereft. I wanted those people to have a chance to tell their stories first.

But I have walked those streets in downtown Highland Park. I’ve had an apple pancake at Walker Brothers, bought canasta supplies at Ross, selected camp stuff for the kids at Gearhead when it was still Uncle Dan’s. This deadly act felt so personal.

My life has been touched by death many times. Natural causes, suicides, and even a few murders. But I can’t think of anything so senseless, so selfish, or so shameful as this tragedy. The gut-punch won’t go away.

We lament today but I fear that except for a handful of people whose lives have been irretrievably altered, nothing will change.

High-powered rifles will continue to be a fact of life and death. Handguns will continue to kill police, to kill offenders, to kill bystanders. And don’t tell me they are needed for self-defense. I’m not buying it, and these guys aren’t either.

I am not sure how and why our country reached this state of firearm saturation. I am not sure what we can do about it. The new Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a first step, most significant in showing that congressional sanity is a possibility.

Freedom to yield a weapon needs to stop when it touches my freedom or your freedom or anyone’s freedom to live a long, loving, and legal life. That’s what Independence Day now means to me.

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Pudding It On the Line. Who Remembers This?

I caught Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes, two WSCR radio hosts, talking about pudding the other day. “You take the banana pudding from Jewel, plop some Nilla Wafers on top, and it tastes like an upside-down banana cream pie. It is the best.”

Well, guys, I may value your opinion on whether a particular White Sox manager should be fired and the likelihood that the Bears will win more than 5 games in the upcoming season, but as for pudding, you know nothing, Lawrence Holmes.

Maybe it’s because of my history as a Jewel employee in the 1970s, but I avoid the fresh food in the Jewel deli section. No, if I want store-bought pudding I am going to head to one of my neighborhood Sunset Foods grocery stores and get a pound of their homemade rice pudding.

I sprinkle a bowl full of the pudding with some cinnamon, mix in some pieces of frozen banana and there’s a treat I can curl up in front of the TV with to watch an episode of Yellowstone or Stranger Things. That one pound is enough to get me through a week of TV melodramas.

There wasn’t always a Sunset Foods in my life. Long ago, my dad and I enjoyed a different store-bought pudding. It wasn’t from the deli counter. In fact, it wasn’t even fresh. It was a frozen treat from Birds Eye, the masters of freezer delights back in the 1960s. Called Cool ‘n Creamy, it was sold in plastic tubs that looked just like the one Cool Whip comes in today. And it was delicious.

Cool ‘n Creamy came in several flavors, Dad and I were fans of vanilla. I would eat mine plain, while he would douse his bowlful with Himbeersaft, an imported red raspberry syrup. We didn’t have cable TV or streaming service back then, but we could still sit in front of our old black and white Zenith and watch Jack Brickhouse broadcast a ball game on WGN.

Sadly, Dad passed many years ago and Cool ‘n Creamy is a long-gone relic of a different age. And I have moved on.

So Dan and Laurence, enjoy your banana pudding/upside-down banana cream pie. I’m going to be digging into another bowl of my rice pudding concoction—and loving it!.

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I Won’t Let Them Get Me Down! Observations on a bright spring day.

A little verse for when things look worse.

I’ve written much the last few days
Of courts and cults and horrors.
I’ve slung the mud,
Not toed the line,
I chose to take no quarters.

“You’re far too mean,” was said to me
By Barb, my sharpest critic.
“The things you say
Are very harsh.
Your tongue is too acidic.”

And so it’s time to calibrate,
To find some sweeter words.
To find the good
In what I see,
The moon, the grass, the birds.

We took a walk around the loop,
That’s the border of our ‘hood.
Our dog was prancing
At our side.
His temperament was good.

A gorgeous day, the sky was blue.
Not a drop was raining.
80 degrees
With a freshening breeze.
It was time to stop complaining.

So I thought about the many things,
That make my life completer.
Our family blessed
With all its health.
There’s nothing could be sweeter.

The friends we’ve had for a thousand years,
At least that’s how it seems.
And the new ones in
Our neighborhood.
With whom we share Canasta schemes.

The trips we take, and those we plan
For someday around the corner.
We’ll see the Arctic
When I retire
Or visit someplace warmer.

The films we watch, the books we read,
Shows on Hulu, Max, and cable.
Give our minds an escape
And open our lives
When Closed Captioning we enable.

We volunteer and donate blood and stuff
To help those who need a hand.
Those things bring good
Into our lives
And allow our horizons to expand.

Best, there’s this blog, this thing I do
Because for me, to write’s a pleasure.
And to hear your responses
And your points of view
Provides my thoughts with a refresher.

So I’ll be kind, no venom breathe
I’ll be no rabble rouser.
Until the next piece
Of vile Fox news,
Appears on my M’soft browser.

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A Look At The Week That Was. Donald Trump Emails Donny Jr.

Donald Trump in Illinois–photo courtesy Chicago Tribune

Les is More readers: I found this email in my inbox this morning. I don’t know who leaked it to me, but thanks.

Hey Donny,

What a week, hey? It’s the hugest since the Dems and Libtards and the LGBTQholes “stole” the election.

Just think, it is almost two years later and half the country still believes that bullshit. But as long as it keeps adding to my bottom line and keeps these idiot hicks chanting my name we’ll keep pushing the story. Good thing they aren’t watching the Congressional faux hearings, not that those cretins would understand a thing being said.

Speaking of those hayseeds, I just spent the day in Quincy, Illinois endorsing morons. What a shithole downstate Illinois is. Christ, it’s practically Iowa. If they allowed abortions after incest the population would be zero.

And while ~~incest~~ family is on my mind, what do you think of that crap from Ivanka? Doesn’t she know that if she stops the steal story she stops my money machine? And if she stops my money machine she stops the cash flow into her trust. What an airhead. She’s gotten to be as goofy as Jared, not that she was ever particularly bright.

How’s Kimmy? Still hot?

Gotta love the Supreme Court though. Thanks to my humongous nominations of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and that Coney Barrett chick I get to take the credit, not that I give a rat’s ass about abortion rights. If I get anyone in ‘the family way” I can still fly ’em off to some other country for the necessaries…you don’t have to worry about any new brother or sister brats. I made THAT mistake 16 years ago.

But how about those back-stabbers McConnell and McCarthy letting some new gun legislation pass? I haven’t read it but I hate it. Like I said before, I could shoot either of them on Time Square and not lose a single vote. MTG would probably pin a medal on my chest–not that I would let that face within ten feet of me.

OK, I’m tired of writing. Carlson is on.

Dad

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Supreme Court Reinstates Slavery; Follows Up Roe V Wade by Declaring 13th Amendment Null and Void

(Washington, DC, Special to More about Les) In a surprise but unsurprising move, the Supreme Court today invalidated the 13th Amendment, returning to each state the right to declare slavery legal within its own borders. The Court also declared the Fugitive Slave Act, an 1850 law requiring all states to return runaway slaves to their owners, as the “law of the land.”

Although no legal case involving slavery was before the court, Associate Justice Sam Alioto told reporters “we are merely reestablishing this great nation, the nation that the Founding Fathers created. We feel this Court has that right, and that responsibility.”

The majority opinion, written by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, stated that since nowhere in the original Constitution was slavery banned, Congress did not have the right to do so.

In a supplement, the Court stated they would be reviewing and potentially discarding all Constitutional amendments, except for the short portion of the 2nd amendment dealing with the right to bear arms, which the supplement states is a “God-given right inadvertently left out of the original Constitution by an inebriated James Madison.”

The majority opinion and supplement were signed by Associate Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. The minority opinion, written by Associate Justice Sotomayor, and signed by Sotomayor and her fellow liberal appointees Associate Justices Kagan and Breyer read in its entirety “These guys are f-ing crazy.” Chief Justice Roberts signed neither opinion and was seen wandering the halls of the Supreme Court Building babbling incoherently.

Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett stated that though their confirmation hearings were contentious, no one had asked them their views on slavery, so no one could complain about their opinion on this ruling.

Former President Donald Trump speaking at an NRA convention in rural Mississippi praised the move, stating “It was Giuliani’s idea, but I made this possible, I get all the credit. Hang Pence.” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre announced the organization would consider changing its name to NRSA, the Nation Rifle and Slavery Association.

In an immediate response to the ruling, Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas announced they will offer tax incentives to any company within their states operating with slave labor. Other state governors and legislatures will likely follow suit.

In a possibly related event, a giant tear was seen on the cheek of the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial.

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Mr. Reinsdorf, It Is Time. This Pathologist Says So.

Loyalty. Forgiveness. Redemption

I rarely write about sports, but today I am compelled to do so, feeling a parallel in my life to something happening with my beloved Chicago White Sox.

In 1986 Tony La Russa was fired as manager of the White Sox. He went on to have a wonderful managerial career for other teams, winning three World Series and being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Before last year’s baseball season, Jerry Reinsdorf, the long-time owner of the White Sox (and Chicago Bulls) stated that firing La Russa was the biggest mistake of his career. In an effort to do a “make-good” and turn back the clock, Reinsdorf made an unpopular choice and rehired La Russa to manage the team.

For those who don’t follow the fortunes of the Sox, the team is populated by several young stars. Going into this season the Pale Hose were considered a strong competitor for their first World Series championship since 2005. But so far, this season has been mired in mediocrity.

Injuries have played a big part in this season’s disappointing results, but much of the blame needs be laid at the feet of La Russa. In the fairly unanimous opinion of fans and sportscasters, both local and national, many of his managerial decisions have been wrong, bizarre, and have cost the Sox victories.

Mr. Reinsdorf’s loyalty and desire to right what he perceives as an almost 40 year ago mistake have kept La Russa in his job, despite an outcry from most of us to dismiss him, hire a better manager, and give the team a chance to fulfill its destiny.

So where is the parallel to me? Almost twenty years ago shifting loyalties and relationships led to the ending of my partnership with a large pathology group. I went on to create and direct the UroPartners Laboratory, and while I may not be in any Hall of Fame, I think I have done a pretty, pretty, pretty good job.

And since then two of the principals in the group that “divorced” me have told me it was the biggest mistake of their careers. Just like Reinsdorf’s comment about La Russa.

But you know what? Neither of my former partners had any inclination to bring me back. Nor would I have wanted to. My time with them was in the past, and I would have had no business looking at a brain or bone biopsy after my years immersed in prostates and bladders. They told me they were wrong, I appreciated it, and that was that.

So, Mr. Reinsdorf, I understand you are trying to make up for what you perceive as your past mistake. But you have made your apology. La Russa’s time as an effective manager has passed. Now it is time to move on…and that means moving on without Tony La Russa managing the White Sox.

I am waiting.

The above is the opinion of the author and not UroPartners LLC.

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What’s Wrong With These Doors?

“Beep, Beep.”

No, It is not the Roadrunner. It is the refrigerator is beeping at me. Once again I have left the freezer door open. Not even our upscale wood-paneled, state-of-the-art side-by-side refrigerator-freezer can keep things cool if I keep doing that.

Leaving doors open is a tendency of mine that has become frightfully frequent. And it does not stop with the Sub-Zero. I have bruised hips from kitchen drawers I only partially close and then bump into. I have suffered innumerable near concussions hitting my head against the cabinet door above my microscope, the one I perpetually leave half-open.

Of course, not all of my door-closing forgetfulness leads to bodily damage. This weekend I left the trunk lid open while shopping at our favorite Sunset Grocery Store. Sure, in the past I have left the gas cap cover open. Who hasn’t? But the whole trunk lid? A new low for me. Fortunately, no dishonest shoppers decided to borrow any of the fold-up camp chairs that were stored in the “boot.”

But I have to confess, all these dooritos have gotten me to start worrying. Is my inattentiveness to closing doors and drawers and trunk lids the start of a previously undescribed neurological disorder? Is it akin to one of those rare entities like prosopagnosia (the inability to make out details in faces,) or Capgras Syndrome (the belief that someone you know has been replaced by an imposter?) Will I soon mistake my wife for a hat? Does this condition have a name? Am I suffering from Doorignorsia?

Barb says not to worry. She says I have never been any good at closing things. Or at turning off lights when I leave the room. It’s all just part of my absent-minded-professor persona, just like the emails I send without the promised attachments or the black suit I forget to pick up from the dry cleaner in time for the important dinner. Details, details, details.

Just to be safe and in the interest of continuity, I had better end this blog before I lose track of where I started. And oh yeah, I’m going to try to remember to close the door when I go to the fridge for a snack.

.For our previous blog on early reading, click HERE!

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