POPE FRANCIS will have colon surgery - Good luck to the People's Pontiff

 

Ruth Z Deming hoping Z Pope has successful surgery.

By Elisabetta Povoledo

July 4, 2021Updated 1:11 p.m. ET

ROME — The Vatican announced on Sunday that Pope Francis had been admitted to a hospital in Rome for colon surgery.

Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, said in a statement that Francis, 84, had been taken to the Gemelli hospital in the Italian capital. Mr. Bruni said the “scheduled surgery” would take place later on Sunday, and noted that a medical bulletin would be issued afterward. He said that the pope had “symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon.”

The surgery would be performed by Dr. Sergio Alfieri, who heads the hospital’s complex operational unit for digestive surgery, the Vatican said.

It is the first time that Francis has been admitted to a hospital since becoming pope in 2013. Unlike his predecessors, he has never left the Vatican for the cooler papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, during the summer. He normally slows down his schedule in July.

Two days ago, Mr. Bruni announced that the weekly general audiences held on Wednesdays would be suspended for the month of July, and begin again on Aug. 4. He added that the Sunday Angelus prayer and blessing would continue throughout the summer.

In general, the pope’s health has not raised concerns. More than 60 years ago, he had an upper lobe of his lung removed as a result of complications from tuberculosis. At times, his breathing has seemed labored during speeches.

He also has sciatica, a condition that causes leg and back pain, and has missed engagements in the past. This past year, he missed New Year’s Eve and Day services because of a flare-up. Last year, he missed a Lenten retreat with senior aides because of a bad cold.

Though Francis is undergoing major surgery, the fact that the procedure was scheduled and not urgent is a good sign, according to Dr. Anne Peery, a gastroenterologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. “I think there’s a very small chance that it is life-threatening,” Dr. Peery said.

Francis suffers from diverticulitis, a condition in the sigmoid colon in which saclike bulges on the colon walls become repeatedly inflamed or infected and can warrant surgical intervention, according to Dr. Feza Remzi, the director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at NYU Langone Health.

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The pope arrived at the Gemelli hospital in the afternoon. He was accompanied by a driver and a “close collaborator,” the Italian news agency Ansa reported. Francis was admitted to a suite of rooms on the 10th floor in one of the wings of the hospital, the same rooms that had been occupied by Pope John Paul II during his hospital stays. John Paul was there so often as a patient that he often jokingly referred to the hospital as the “third Vatican.”

Earlier Sunday, Francis looked serene while addressing people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly Angelus prayer and blessing. Announcing that he would be visiting Slovakia in September, he smiled happily when cheers went up from the crowd.

MY POEM FOR THE PONTIFF

by Ruth Z Deming

Admiration, yes, for you are kind to all your people

Kind and simple

No need for splendid outfits

To show you rule

Billions adore you

And I do, too

In the Holy Name of Jesus

Come out whole without

a Bag for your Poop

O Pontiff

and I too will hail your Jesu. 

Kym Cohen's obit - New Writing Group - Meeting MariePat at the Ambler Theater - Flu Shot - Requiem for Wayne Dyer

at

ICING ON THE CAKE, named by Beatriz, is a poetry journal our Saturday Writers' Group published several years ago. An inside photograph and several poems were written by the late Kym Cohen, who died of cancer on Oct. 7 at Aria Torresdale Hospital. Read obit here.

She was 45. And a real fighter!

I mailed two copies of ICING to the funeral home to give to her family.

Was the cancer growing inside her when we published ICING?

***

My therapist friend Judy D, who moved to Colorado to be with her son and his wife, is friends with MariePat.

Marie and I met for the first time last Thursday. I arrived at the Ambler Theater early

since I wasn't sure how to get there.

I said to the guy inside who took the tickets, I'm waiting for a woman with white hair.

That would describe everyone who comes here, he said.

We watched the film INDIGNATION, based on a novel by Philip Roth. I'd never heard of it. The film was gorgeously filmed and filled with anecdotes with no coherent theme. 

Marie is a stunning woman. She uses a contraption to help her hear the film. It fits into the cup holder.

 In my cupholder I fit...

this delicious Chocolate Butter Biscuit. I just finished it two minutes ago. Read about the company here. Very clever slogans.

Take a look at the family who owns Ritter. They look like they're starring in a new Netflix film.  Scroll down.

The theater was built in 1928. In one of its many incarnations, iIt used to be a Christian cinema. If I'm not mistaken Harry Bristow owned it. Read history here.

Many folks in Ambler once worked in asbestos mines. 

"Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that once was lauded for its versatility, recognized for its heat resistance, tensile strength and insulating properties, and used for everything from fire-proof vests to home and commercial construction. It was woven into fabric, and mixed with cement.

Its properties were so desired that the United States military mandated its use in every branch of service. Asbestos was a perfect blend to make things better – except it was highly toxic, too. Today asbestos is a known cause of mesothelioma cancer, is banned in more than 50 countries (not the U.S.), and its use has been dramatically restricted in others."

Here's a post I wrote about Ambler... you've gotta scroll way down for the pix.

***

Thursday night I went to a new Writers' Group. It was just around the corner on XX Avenue. I'd looked at a house on the same street but didn't buy it, since it felt as if I were squooshed between houses. Much more room here on Cowbell.

One woman didn't like her photo taken so in deference to all of them, I won't publish the picture. She said she goggled her name once and found a picture of her drinking wine! Quelle horreur!


ACCEPTANCE

These were sophisticated women
who reached across the table
to shake my hand, Lori as in
Lori Nelson, still sasssy
at 83, and Marlene, who
passed me the crackers and
cheese and told me the
chocolate chip cookies
were divine.

Oh, said I, not for me, my
resistance steadily lowering as in the
famous toddler study at Stanford that
showed "self-control" was paramount
for later success.

This was their Thursday night
writing group, hosted by Linda,
who spread the table with a
glorious feast. In deference
to the hostess I ate one of every
morsel except the coconut which
got bad reviews. Plus I left my
Dental Floss at home.

They liked my short stories -
The Red Door and The Missing Girl -
and marked up my copies with red
and purple ink.

Not bad, I thought, as I stepped outside into
the hot autumn night, thanking the stars, and the
golden leaves as I walked quickly to my car
studded with the the gifts of autumn.

These women were fussy. Grammarians, correct
spellers, fact-checkers. And they want
me back!

***

Okay, what day is it? Ah, Friday night. Went to the kids' house for dinner. I brought a salad since they'd ordered from Chick Filet.

Was so happy to see Grace and Max as it had been nearly a month.

Max wanted to sit next to me. Below is his school picture they just got.

Gosh I feel like the popular girl I never was, only when I got to run my own support group.

He fell today in nursery school and showed me his boo-boo.

Whenever he got off the couch in the den, he limped as if to help the pain.

Dan bought a new Sony Playstation. He put goggles over my head and I watched a hologram-like scenario of being in the ocean.

An amazing experience.

 

Max, who loves trains, was watching on the big screen a series of Train Crossing Videos Dan had downloaded from YouTube.

Amazing, with the sound of the bells and the train cars.

Max was naming the tankers, filled with milk, he said, tho he only drinks water, and a flatbed trailer with steel pipes on it.

You know what I'm gonna do now?

Watch an Ingmar Bergman film.... Wild Strawberries... from the library, of course.

Nix the movie. PBS has the story of the new play HAMILTON on right now. Will grab my trail mix and head upstairs. 

I learned in the Writing Group than when you write an ellipsis - it's three dots.

Finally finished one of my 4 books, which means I can start reading something else. Peut-etre Rebecca, our next book of the month club.

This was not an easy read. Perhaps none of his books are.

    Henry and Owen in Rome. People would stop to look at them on the street and even bend down to kiss them on the cheek.

Smells like rain now and I hear it pattering on the street. The street of Willow Grove, not Rome or New Orleans or even Cleveland, where I talked to my family there this morning.

It was pouring, they said, and told me it would be coming our way.

You're right, Jack, Linda and Aunt Selma.

Got my flu shot today. By bloggin it, I can remember when I got it. I do have a sheet but...

Anyway, Hannah gave it to me and it was painless. Had to wait a few minutes for her, so I chose to read a paperback by J R Ward, who I'd never heard of.

REQUIEM

Louise Hay in her 90th year
is no doubt grieving as am I
for the PBS guru, we might as
well call him a preacher, like
Ecclesiastes. His message
Be Christ-like, I applaud
that, though I could never
be as bold as The Nazarene
which the Jews call him.

The guru breathed his last
at 75. A heart attack stilled
his defiant heart. Did he
feel it coming? Did he inhale
and say, I release myself
to the stars?

Philadelphia Opera redux

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-0p1rFCv5U&list=OLAK5uy_kkMW26xxCIxuIChIaAecaRJkg-JEkTlBU 

We are now going to hear Rossini - Fountains of Rome,,, Pines of Rome

But now we are in Philadelphia with its very large hall

I just walked around the block 

Stravinski will also be heard, Pergolisi.

It is 1920 ish.

Everybody gets something to do. 

His modern classical was a new discovery for the Russian, whose first name I can't remember. 

Oleg.

He was asked to write it for Diaghilov. 

Nicholas McGheegan guest conductor comes on stage, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-0p1rFCv5U&list=OLAK5uy_kkMW26xxCIxuIChIaAecaRJkg-JEkTlBU

Marcus Aurelius - these warrior kings die young - 58

Rem and I were sharing some notes, kidding around and I said, YOU and Marcus Aurelius.

Read about him here on Wiki. He died at age 58.

Marcus Annius Verus 26 April 121 Rome
Died	17 March 180 (aged 58) Vindobona or Sirmium
Burial	Hadrian's Mausoleum
Spouse	Faustina the Younger (m. 145)
Issue Detail	14, incl. Commodus, Annius, Antoninus and Lucilla

I had no idea who the man was but I did know he was a scholar and a philosopher.

I wrote this poem about him, which I sent off with an email alert about our meeting on Tuesday night.

SELF IMPROVEMENT

Since humankind sailed down
from the trees, the pink-bottomed baboons,
the huge gorilla, the tail-less Barbary Macaque,
and tiny Rhesus monkeys
we have an innate need to improve ourselves.

This is why we read the Meditations of
Marcus Aurelias. He lived in a time of
constant warfare and a hatred of Christians.

The historian Herodian wrote, "He gave proof of his learning
not by mere words or knowledge but by his blameless life."

On the battle field his men were burning with thirst.

One Justin Martyr wrote, "Aurelius believed Christian prayer
had saved his army from thirst
when "water poured from heaven," after which,
"immediately we recognized the presence of God."

Aurelius goes on to request the senate desist
from earlier courses of Christian persecution by Rome.

Find your dog-eared college copy of Marcus Aurelius
Meditations and Quotes.

Carry it through the many battles and struggles
of your lives.

Better than that, you cannot do.

....

Scientific Discoveries - Poems: The Peripatetic Omelet Eater - Ed Twiski basks on his front porch and I wave

THE PERIPATETIC OMELET EATER

With a spritz of mild green
Tabasco sauce, Omelet and I
ventured outdoors in the
mild 40 degree weather.

Traces of snow dotted the
land like whipped cream
on pie.

Today is Wednesday
Nick's day to answer the
phones. I often find him
reading in a rocking chair
at the Abington Libe.

I've done it now, for sure.
Six books checked out
from Upper Moreland. Brave-
hearts, Whistleblowing in the
Age of Snowden. "Deep Throat"
in this book is called "The
Third Man."

The whistle blows. Can you
hear it? Miss Ina, the counselor
at Camp Cardinal in Rome, Ohio,
summons us to swim. Hazel Berry
I hope you'll be there. I've got
some Blackjack Gum we can share.

  When I goggled the camp, look what came up? Jade's baby shower!

Also many photos of these religious dudes

  Lovely portrait but dunno who did it in the 1500s


Alexander Fleming of the UK discovered penicillin 


Henri Becquerel
The Discovery of Radioactivity. In 1896 Henri Becquerel was using naturally fluorescent minerals to study the properties of x-rays, which had been discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen.



Ever heard of the illustrious Christine de Pizan?



Read about this remarkable writer below.

1364 – c. 1430) was an Italian French late medieval author. She served as a court writer for several dukes (Louis of Orleans, Philip the Bold of Burgundy, and John the Fearless of Burgundy) and the French royal court during the reign of Charles VI. She wrote both poetry and prose works such as biographies and books containing practical advice for women. She completed forty-one works during her 30-year career from 1399–1429.^[1] She married in 1380 at the age of 15, and was widowed 10 years later. Much of the impetus for her writing came from her need to earn a living to support her mother, a niece and her two surviving children. She spent most of her childhood and all of her adult life in Paris and then the abbey at Poissy, and wrote entirely in her adopted language, Middle French.

  Question:  Is the Smoked Butterscotch Latte worth $5 plus tip.

Yes! There's no other way to know how it tastes. I sipped it in the car as I was driving home.


POEM - ED BLISKI RELAXES ON HIS FRONT PORCH AND I WAVE

(changed his name)

Can you imagine the derring-do of this man
Showing the world you needn't busy yourself
every single minute?

A dogwalker, he and his new black dog Maggie
parade up our hilly street, a real show-stopper
tho gotten from the pound, Ed's trained her

to believe in her own beauty, stature and
importance. I will follow in Bliski's footsteps
and stand at attention on my porch step

and sip the rhapsodic remains of my Smoked Butterscotch
Latte, which I learned of three days ago at
LaGuardia Airport, tasty, sweet, and smooth as
a piece of wedding cake. 

MY BISSELL SWEEPER GAVE OUT. I spent 15 minutes going thru my papers until I found where I bought it. From Best Buy for $37.09 on March 19, 2014.

How quickly time passes. And no it is not under warranty. My mother's 40-yo Electrolux still works!

I studied the prices online. Called up Walmart but the woman would not help me purchase it online, so that cost Walmart $50, but gained Amazon the $53.07 including tax.

What's for dinner?

I bought a huge salad and will eat it after I ride my bike from the hi-carb Butterscotch drink.

Whoever invented butterscotch deserves a large pension.

One is its obvious connection to the country of Scotland. Buttery toffee is sometimes called butterscotch. Another that the word Scotch was derived from the word "Scorch." The word "Butterscotch" was first recorded in Doncaster, a Yorkshire city in England, by Samuel Parkinson who began making candy in 1817.