This is the conservative town immediately north of us, between us and Austin:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/the-horrifying-epidemic-of-teen-age-fentanyl-deaths-in-a-texas-county

I'm feeling really burnt out and full of despair over the current news cycle. The judge who swatted down the pre-existing conditions coverage, blaming doors for the Tennessee shooting, the state Republicans on their biannual destruction spree that passes for legislation... it's all just a lot.

Looked for a minute like I was going to finally have to get involved in some care for an ageing parent (87 and ridiculously fit and healthy in general), as she had scheduled a hysterectomy with very casual disregard (it seemed from a distance) for what the recovery would be like. The three kids fell instantly into their lifetime roles, my hyper-responsible older sister freaking out, my much less responsible youngest sister declining to even change the dates she was visiting mom by a week so she could be actually useful, me, I guess, in the middle. With prompting from alarmed oldest child (who is also her medical proxy) mom has now arranged for a friend to stay with her for a while after the surgery, so instead of heading up there to be first option, I'm more or less on call if something happens (a plane flight away, but a pretty easy one).

it seemed from a distance

I think you need to be in the actual room for a hysterectomy.

Fwiw, my mother's hysterectomy was a very easy surgery and recovery. She was 57 or so, not 87, but it seems to be a fairly routine thing.

Mine was at age 37 and not too bad.

1: This is the town I lived in from 2nd to 4th grade.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/interactive/2022/drug-overdose-deaths-fentanyl-greenville-nc/

I have a story I just love: my friend's kid, C, is hilarious and outspoken. She's a senior in high school. The high school girls' soccer team made the playoffs, and so C and some parents were decorating the locker room. One of the other parents was the mom of the goalie, who is out and has a girlfriend. The mom was going on idly about how she hopes her daughter will find a boyfriend.

C looks at her, and says loudly with max teenage condescension says, "How does [your daughter] not hate you?" (and apparently the room went absolutely silent and I imagine it being very cinematic.)

Anyway, apparently the mom and goalie-daughter did in fact have a heart-to-heart that night, and the daughter admitted to her mom that she hated it when her mom talked about hoping the daughter would get a boyfriend, and the mom agreed to stop doing that.

8
Jesus that was bleak.

Bringing the threads together, this is the second time Greenville, NC (which I'd gotten confused with Greenville, SC) came across my internet in the last day.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/12a5jca/tennis_courts_in_tommy_pauls_hometown_replaced/

I should have known about Greenville NC, as they're the home of what was the most hated college Ultimate Frisbee team back when I was in college, the ECU Irates. I remember vividly playing them and aside from being cheaters, two of their players got into a fight *with each other* during the game.

heebie banned my phone but not my laptop.

Why would I do that?

Because of all the errors my phone makes?

Well, as long as I had a good reason.

So to update my spinal infection tale: I'm hoping to get out of the hospital tomorrow to begin six weeks of antibiotic injections that, apparently, I will mostly self-administer through a PICC line that was installed today.

The spine biopsy has produced no result yet -- the bacteria/fungus/whatever hasn't grown anything. I'll be able to cut back on my three-dose-a-day injections once they figure out which bug I'm fighting.

I'm feeling not-so-bad, and I think this was something fairly close to the optimal result.

I'm not a person who complains about institutional food. I'm just fine with what I get on airplanes, and taking care of my parents, I have a fair amount of experience with hospital food. But I gotta say, the food here is the worst. I'll be pleased to get back to my own kitchen.

That sounds very scary -- glad that you got a least-bad result. Hoping for no surprises going forward.

I'm glad to hear it. What a harrowing thing.

Good to hear, pf.

So recently Trump asserted on television he had a right to take presidential records for himself. Hannity was trying to handhold him through it:

Hannity: "I can't imagine you'd ever say, Bring me some of the boxes we brought back from the White House, I want to look at them."
Trump: "I would have the right to do that! There's nothing wrong with that!"

Later he referenced the government paying Nixon about $18 million for his papers/tapes. Another motive? Of course those were materials whose status was more arguable because the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act was passed laying claim to them several months after Nixon resigned, and was paid in a settlement to the foundation years after he died.

15: Right, but it's kind of a pain on my end because I had to walk all the way downstairs to my laptop to tell pf that I'm glad things are going well.

Well have you learned your lesson?

Yes.

That lesson being I can comment using my phone if I use the wifi, but not cellular data. Which is suboptimal since I often like to make bad puns when I'm out.

I guess I could switch networks.

Wait. Now it works. Never mind.

9: I bet the school doesn't let you go to prom as a thruple.

Glad to hear it pf

||

Tim signed a job offer. Relieved and happy. His old boss had gotten sober in the last year or so but still had alcoholic personality issues, so, I think, on net, the lay off will leave us better off, because we have the severance money and a better work situation.

Now I need to work on finding a better job.

|>

Good new, BG!

Good luck looking for work. Late capitalism is not easy.