In Case You are Wondering

I don't know how it is that an elderly woman, on many meds and already having suffered a broken hip can be up walking around and ready for Rehab. I still have lots of questions about how she will manage at home - she is not feeble enough for a nursing home but really not totally safe on her own but it looks like she will beat all of the odds and be discharged in better condition then how she went in. This isn't a criticism of the hospital system but rather the nature of our frailities as humans. We end up injured with a tired body needing meds to keep everything in balance. Then we add the trauma of surgery, the possibility of post op infections and the emotional toll and you end up with some sad cases where the person's health is never really back to where it was.

Which means the stubborn nature of my mother-in-law has won out once again. She is already annoyed that we won't let her have a deep fryer and insist that she use her walker. Now she has proof that she is invincible. It should be an interesting conversation to convince her that she has to wear a panic alarm. I would hate to think of what would happen if she had fallen with no one around - especially since she tried to jump up right away and say she was alright though she obviously needed an ambulance!

Meanwhile, my own mother is determined to age before her time - 20 years younger and I'm convinced if she could she would buy one of those little scooters that whiz around you at the mall.

How Classy?

Standing on the street with a smoker - I noticed an adult video shop that strangely did not have the windows all covered up. It was downstairs from the street so from where I was standing I could see very little except for the bargain bin. As I pointed out, what on earth ends up in the bargain bin? The ones where the acting is really bad? Or maybe the ones where the plot is just too unbelievable?

After a few smoke breaks I finally noticed something else that must have been bugging me in the back of my mind. At the bottom of the stairs is a hanging plant. A fresh, live, healthy looking plant. I try to imagine the owner determining that a plant would be just the thing to show that this is one classy place. Amidst the sleaze and corrupt fantasies is this hint of natural life.

I have often ranted that I can not tolerate fake plants anywhere near a pulpit. It just bugs me that in a place where we are determined to hear the truth (even if we aren't ready for it) we try to jazz up the place visually with fake greenery.

So you can imagine I have found this hanging plant rather distracting....

The best place to chill.

I had a great time this week going to a local bar and hanging out. Regulars go to have a drink, shoot some pool and generally see what's up. Its like Facebook but in person - there are people you might have ties with and others that you only know by sight. In general converations ebb and flow based on the topic and who is there (and who isn't). Best of all the music isn't blaring, the bathrooms are clean and the bartender is on his A game - showing interest as your glass empties but not hovering.

Unfortunately I can't afford the empty calories to hang about all day. But it is Wi Fi capable and I do need a place to work out some of my sermons which take so long to get "just right". And its close to the subway. However, it is the personal haunt of someone close to me and so he has squatter's rights. Why can't there be more places like this?