Celebrating the Murder Conviction of Derek Chauvin - Poem: The Yellow Sun Makes No Distinctions

 The sky is darkening at my house now, as my oatmeal melange is cooling on the electric stove.

Showers and thunderstorms before 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 4pm and 5pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Temperature rising to near 66 by noon, then falling to around 50 during the remainder of the day. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

We are still celebrating the MURDER CONVICTION of DEREK CHAUVIN. We believe he should have a very long prison sentence. 

Now you can't just tell this to anyone. Half the people on my street probly think he's not guilty, so we don't go around lighting fireworks.

Though what he did was a heinous act against a fellow human being, this racist may never believe he did wrong.

Last night we blogged for New Directions. We had a couple of new people. Dire cases.

Just had an idea what to write about.

Remember Scrooge in the Dickens story A CHRISTMAS CAROL? 

Whew, glad I remembered the name. 

That man changed! The same thing could happen with Chauvin. Would I wanna write something like this? 

Years and years ago, Ada and Rich drove us to a performance at Penn Foundation, an enormous mental health facility.

In fact, they just sent me a solicitation and I threw it away, along with a dozen others.

While Scott was mowing his lawn, he came upon a flower he had never seen before. I goggled it and came up with this.

He found only one. 

THE YELLOW SUN MAKES NO DISTINCTIONS AMONG HUMANKIND

Burn. Burn. Burn.

Your earthlings are a curious lot.

Greedy. Tempestuous. Bigoted. Racist, Sexist. Gorgeous. Hiding behind twittering fans, pretending Truth is not a word.

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....

For many hours I've been painting on my back porch.

First, though, I walked around the block to get up my nerve. 

It's nice and bright on the porch. Bumble bees and wasps have been banging on the glass panels. 

I put a purple sheet on the floor. 

Painted my late mother's clodhopper shoes. What will I do with them? Certainly not hang them from my car window.

Scott had bought some things and I asked him for the Styrofoam panels, which I painted.

They're fairly good.

He liked my mom's shoes. My sister Ellen brought them over. We used to go to Faherty's for our shoes in Southampton PA. The folks are very nice there. They put cotton pads on the inside of the shoes to make them fit properly. 

I have the fan trained on me as it's very warm in here. 

Cut a bit of Japonica from the bush outside. Smells very nice.

AND my backyard Lilac Bush is flowering.

I always say hello to my shrubs.

Do you think they hear me?

Was listening to a very well-read audio book on the Net called The Last Tycoon by F Scott Fitzgerald. 

It was very hard to follow, so I shut it off.

Tremendously autobiographical. 

And probably had a piece of Dove Chocolate in the red foil wrapper.

Everything is drying on the back porch now.

Patch.com sent out a bulletin saying we are going to have a severe storm. Seems impossible, but who knows. I put out my Tall Bags in the Yellow Plastic Bin and not surprisingly a humongous wasp flew out. I guess he's feasting on all the food in there.

Hope he or she likes King Oscar Sardines. 

What we need now is a poem about King Oscar.

KING OSCAR

What a magisterial word is King

And he is among the greatest

His moustaches flared up around his serious mouth

As he sailed the seas in his fancy uniform

with epaulets like tiny whisk brooms I use to

sweep up crumbs in my kitchen

He lived so long ago 

in the early 14th century, I believe,

that the only honor they could think of

was to name a can of sardines after the mighty man.

...

If I ever go to Norway, I will see if I can persuade the populace to erect a statue of this Good Man. 

...

Just listened to a brilliant story online by H G Wells. The Transformation of Elsevere. A young man is conned into the body of an old man. It will give you the willies or the hebejeebies. Your flesh will crawl. 

H G WELLS, author of The Time Machine and other works.

A Burning Question from Susan Griffith

 Just ate the most delicious soup! Made in my old crockpot from a now defunct thrift shop on Old York Road, it has brown rice, mushrooms, onions, and I added cut up Cabot Sharp Cheddar for protein.

Ate it while watching a documentary called THE ALGONQUIN ROUND TABLE. As a lover of all forms of entertainment, I watched while slurping my soup.

Here is the URL for the Algonquin. I sent it to Rem and Margie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ObXzrP4wdc

Oh, forget it, the link did not go through.

***

All my postcards are in my mailbox. Jack and Linda Fogel, donations to Planned Parenthood, Parkinson's Diz, note to Natalie, my mom/law, and I think that's it.

Did my back exercises this morning. Actually improved in the one where I stand on one foot and then the other.

Dante the Mailman just arrived and took all my mail. I leave the phone off the hook as I don't wanna get anything from CVS.

How shocked I was to hear from an old friend - Susan Griffith of Susan and Gary Griffith. We used to compare our experiences from then Bldg 16 of Norristown State Hospital.

Like me, lithium ruined her kidneys and she has been offered a transplant. It's called a swap. She wanted my opinion on what to do.

I had such a great experience that I highly recommend the operation.

Her main worry - and it is quite a problem - is that she will get manic or depressed after the operation.

She should gather as much info as she can from her transplant surgeons. They are the experts though patients like myself are also helpful.

Susan has a 26 yo daughter Jessica. I told her my kidney donor Sarah is 47!

Right now, Susan is at Penn Jefferson undergoing tests. I do remember them. Going through all those hoops. Tedious, trying, and very stressful. Bring a good book and try to read.

I started off at Jefferson but they rejected me right away. I was furious, as was Sarah who met me there after taking the train in from Brooklyn.

We did end up at Einstein Medical Center in North Philadelphia, which worked out great. You would not believe all the meds I take so my body will not reject my kidney. 

Susan, you should have goals after your transplant. Submit your experience to a newspaper or better yet, a magazine.

Take notes the entire time you are there. That should help steady your mind.

The worse thing that happened to me was getting insulin dependent diabetes. Am so used to it now, I inject myself in a place that doesn't hurt many times a day.

Belly or butt.

Okay, gonna go out on the back porch now and paint a pair of shoes I have. My mom's old clodhoppers. 

Wish me well! 

And Susan, think positive, follow the doctors' instructions and if you are so inclined, PRAY. Her operation is scheduled for May 12, 2021. 

Ruth Z Deming, MGPGP 

founder/director

New Directions Support Group

https://newdirectionssupport.org/

Poem: THE TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER IN THE PINK BATHROOM

 Here is a poem I wrote this morning, April 16, 2021

THE TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER IN THE PINK BATHROOM

Here's a poem I wrote this morning

THE TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER IN THE PINK BATHROOM

Empty.

Once Sarah and Dan kept their brushes there.

Used the Crest given them by Amerigo Venneri, DDM,

a smart man whose two children, Doreen and Joe, whose

favorite food was pizza, became their dental masters

till one by one

they left home and only I live here.

As I Water Pik, I hear the sound of Niagara

where as a child Dad and Mom took the lot of us

Ruth Donna Ellen Lynn and Amy to view the

rainbow colored falls and Joseph Cotton tried to kill

his wife Marilyn Monroe, as barrel tumblers -

ah, clever daredevils, felt the earth pounding

over and over and over again

like the beginning of time.

WROTE A POEM THIS MORNING, FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

THE TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER IN THE PINK BATHROOM

Empty.

Once Sarah and Dan kept their brushes there.

Used the Crest given them by Amerigo Venneri, DDM,

a smart man whose two children, Doreen and Joe, whose

favorite food was pizza, became their dental masters

till one by one

they left home and only I live here.

As I Water Pik, I hear the sound of Niagara

where as a child Dad and Mom took the lot of us

Ruth Donna Ellen Lynn and Amy to view the

rainbow colored falls and Joseph Cotton tried to kill

his wife Marilyn Monroe, as barrel tumblers -

ah, clever daredevils, felt the earth pounding

over and over and over again

like the beginning of time.

....

For breakfast, I had Cornbread with peanut butter on top.

DEE LICIOUS!

...

Also composed a poem for my niece NIKKI CARTAGENA ROCHE and put it in the mailbox on the back of a WHITE HOUSE CARD.

Thank god you know who is gone. 

Scott and I visit Rite-Aid in Huntingdon Valley Shopping Center

This is so he knows where to get his Moderna shot next week. He stayed online, clicking and clicking, and finally an opening came up. Hooray!

Backyard woodpecker. Yum! Nuffin better than succulent insects. Unless you are the insect. 

One of the ingredients in my Kruetzer cornbread. Delicious cornbread I made in a Pyrex glass pan. Took about half an hour to cook. Kept checking. 

Front lawn ornaments. 

The winter took a toll on my hubcaps, but of course the Buddha said nuffin. 

 Guess that's it, Boys and Girls, Ladies and Gents.

NOW what should I do?

Well, I'll certainly munch on another piece of cornbread, while telling you what I watched last night on PBS. 

PICTURE A SCIENTIST

Watch here. 

It's about discrimination and name calling from male scientists to female.

It was so unbelievably shocking I could barely catch my breath.

Justice was finally done, maybe 30 years after the fact.

Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS^[1][2] (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was a British molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, and Rosalind Franklin played a crucial role in deciphering the helical structure of the DNA molecule. Crick and Watson's paper in Nature in 1953 laid the groundwork for understanding DNA structure and functions. Together with Maurice Wilkins, they were jointly awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material"

A woman named Hopkins, I believe, said when Crick met her, he wrapped his arms around her breasts.

This was documented in the film. 

Worse though, was when women traveled to Antarctica, so very beautiful, but the men on the trip cursed them out and called them the foulest names imaginable.

The head of the trip was removed from his top job without pay and told he could return in three years.

BTW, I am using my memory, which is not all that great, but again the documentary PICTURE A SCIENTIST illustrates what happened.

WORLD BIPOLAR DAY is published and you can read it right here

 Scott and I just ordered on Instacart. Our groceries should arrive any minute. This is so we can see if the Carters have made any mistakes like those fabulous meatballs which have no meat in em. I shall not share the name with you or else the Giant will be out of them again.

Took me forever to fix this up as a post card. 

It was one of those days when I woke up at 5 am and came down for breakfast.

Two organic eggs and lots of onions.

Totally dark outside as if I were in a scary movie. Sat on red couch. Man, those eggs were scrumptious. 

A little bit of salt and a little bit of black pepper.

Tried to find something to watch on YouTube, but to no avail. Was trying to finish something with Peter Finch as a member of Parliament looking for love in all the wrong places. Just found it!

My WORLD BIPOLAR DAY appeared in the Montgomery Newspapers. Scott found it on the Ambler Gazette, where I sent it to the subscribers on AWeber.

March 30 was “World Bipolar Day,” when those of us, like myself, reflect on what this condition means.

Wearing my mask as I walked around the block early this morning -- “Caw! Caw!” went the crows -- I remembered all the incarnations I went through since I was first locked up at Norristown State Hospital for the worst three days of my life.

It is important to realize that things change. An open mind is much needed. Back then in 1984, I was told “Stay on your medication and never go off.”

Staying on lithium would ruin my kidneys and I would get a transplant courtesy of my daughter, the writer Sarah Lynn Deming.

Many people partner with their psychiatrists and psychotherapists to keep this treatable condition well-managed.

This is very important.

Working with my then-psychiatrist -- who is now retired -- I attended Hahnemann University to get a master’s degree.

New Directions Support Group has been the largest and most helpful support group in the Greater Philadelphia Area.

Every single individual gets individual attention.

We know that mood swings -- from uncontrollable “highs” to uncontrollable “lows” that bring on suicidal feelings must be attended to.

While we can’t save everybody, we do try.

Since we cannot attend live evening meetings at Abington Presbyterian Church or Daytime Meetings at the Willow Grove Giant Supermarket, we Zoom several times a month.

We have a “Call Team” if someone is thinking about taking his or her own life.

Music, believe it or not, has saved people’s lives.

“Hip-Hop Saved my Life” is a viral video from Lupe Fiasco’s album, “The Cool.”

It’s also common knowledge that the ageless Bruce Springsteen suffered from depression, as described in his 2016 autobiography “Born to Run."

And, yes, indeed, he ran into some trouble when police found him driving under the influence. Addiction to drugs is common among people with mood swings.

Here are a few common-sense ideas to help you cope:

Exercise, which helps both your body and mind.

Eat nutritious foods and minimize junk food. As Mark Hyman, MD, says on his PBS program, “The most important tool you have to change your life is your fork.”

Stay connected with other people, difficult to do during the pandemic. We are “herd animals” and when we miss our herd, depression or drug-taking may happen. Monitor yourself and call a good friend to discuss.

While the telephone cannot compare with visiting someone, it is the next best thing.

Just do it!

Learn new skills during the pandemic. My friend, Scott, taught himself to make quiche with asparagus and cheese.

Redecorate your house. Use a Dumpster and get rid of everything you do not need. I have created a quiet Reading Room, where I listen to music and read from the library books I check out from the Upper Moreland Library.

Satisfy your curiosity. My mother died at age 97. I had written our family doctor and asked him if Mom had been in any pain. He honestly answered me, “No, the morphine she was given, lifted her spirits.”

Help others. Every day I call my elderly friends -- Freda and Bernie who moved into a retirement community -- and check on them. Ten years has made quite a difference in their lives, which reminds all of us -- Have you prepared your wills? You must let your family members know where it is.

In this spring season, bring daffodils to your neighbors. Nothing is as cheerful as a flower. It is like a huge smile.

Ruth Z. Deming, MGPGP, Founder/Director

.....

Bob and Judy, our neighbors across the street, came home from Ocean City, NJ, Scott's favorite shore city.

The minute he got home he was outside cutting his lawn, rumors of rain.

Judy, he must have said, we've gotta leave here so I can go home and cut the grass.

Today is the day I'm gonna make KRUSTEAZ Cornbread. It's from a mix.

Nervous, Ruthie? Damn straight I am I am.

HERE IS THE MOVIE I JUST WATCHED AND NAPPED TO AND DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.

Johnnie Byrne, a cynical and burnt-out Yorkshire Labour MP, whose career has seemingly stalled due to his ostensibly leftist leanings, is re-elected with the victorious Labour Party after a General Election. Bitter not to receive an invitation to join the Government, his left-wing wife leaves him, and he accepts an invitation to lead a conspiratorial group of MPs working against the centrist government. Mary, the single woman upstairs, adores him but they never quite become a couple.

Johnnie falls in love with a 20-year-old student/model Pauline, and misses making an important speech against the Government's militaristic plans because he is in bed with her. His conspirators turn against him and cause his local party to attempt to deselect him. He narrowly escapes a vote of no-confidence in his constituency, and goes in search of Pauline who has ended their relationship, still in love, but knowing it is not the right relationship for her.

He goes back home, to find his wife who wants to try again, and she gives him her phone number. The Prime Minister offers him a post, and reveals that the reason Johnnie was not offered one before was due to his wife's communist connections. Johnnie tears up the paper with his wife's phone number and embraces his role in government.

OKAY THE TIMER JUST RANG. SCUSE ME WHILE I CHECK THE 375 degree oven.

IT'S OUT OF THE OVEN AND SCOTT AND I will go fine the place where he will get his Moderna Shot.