Organ Recitals

I. You can... Name Your Own Gulf on Mapquest (via Orange Crate Art--thanks, Michael!).

II. Going Swimmingly

Hey, We're in Pisces! My sign.
No wonder I feel better.  I always feel better around my birthday--the light returns!

And, if we're lucky...
Health returns.
My knee is slightly better, after weeks of not improving. (I could roll over in bed last night!)
Energy returns.
After printing for the first time in months, I want to keep rolling. 

This prediction for Pisces is timely:

"Have you been struggling to summon the motivation to start anew in some area of your life?
I predict that in the coming weeks, you will find all the motivation you need."

I was grumbling to Maura that I need more linoleum blocks and inks, and I will have to order some online, and I always prefer to browse in person. But the one remaining art store requires a bus + walking several blocks.
"I'll take you!" she said.

So--yay!

Other people have offered rides or otherwise been kind--several have brought me groceries (without me asking)--sister even brought me flowers.
It's helped a lot––with mood as much as food.


 ^ Among donated greeting cards.
Sympathy helps.

Weirdly, though, Volunteer Abby from work has been distinctly unsympathetic.
We've become friends in the past year, but I started to notice she was NOT offering any help. She's usually keen to do things for people.

Then, she and I went out with a third thrift-store worker for happy hour, and Abby recited a list of all the times she's been injured (sometimes badly), clearly implying,
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

That's it, I thought. She has had to struggle through hard times (very hard times!) alone, without help--and she's become the sort of person who resents other people when they're "needy".

In fact, while sometimes I've been down about my knee, at work I've been as cheerful as ever.  I'm happy to be at work, and I know it shows.

I see this injury as another Trial Run for getting old.
Message: Strengthen your glutes!
Also: stock up on canned goods and books.
Practice patience.

Having someone else tell you to shut up and buck up is not helpful. It's judgment, not support.
I don't trust Volunteer Abby now.

What helps most is what always helps, at least for people like me:
a friendly ear.

"Tell me more" is the best offer.

Maybe it can be boring to listen to people talk about their health, but our bodies are where we live/who we are--it's a big deal.

I took J-shek out for his birthday yesterday--he turned 74.  We laughed about how talking about our health is part of our conversational repertoire now, and we even enjoy it--the mutual support.
He said an elderly friend calls such conversations Organ Recitals.

But then we got on to talking about his writing--he has started on the second novel in his world-building trilogy.

III. #BeHereTomorrow

I talked about researching more about suicide.
I've followed up on one of the survivors mentioned in the New Yorker article "Jumpers"--Kevin Hines.

His work since has been getting and staying healthy (he's bi-polar, with childhood trauma), and working for suicide prevention--#BeHereTomorrow––including getting a net installed under the GG bridge.

Interesting article in the San Francisco Standard.
The suicide deterrent barriers are not what I thought:

"Certainly, they are not the springy mesh used to protect high-wire aerialists. " 

"Rather, they’re marine-grade stainless-steel wire rope, akin to a horizontal fence four millimeters thick, positioned 20 feet below the roadbed and extending 20 feet out.
Anyone who jumps into this net is likely to be injured."
_______________

Here's a crazy detail I hadn't known:
A SEA LION saved Hines's life.

As soon as Hines jumped he thought, "What have I done? I don't want to die!"

When he hit the water though, his spine shattered, and he was drowning. A swimming animal came up beneath his.
He thought it was a shark--"great, I'm drowning and a shark is going to bite off my legs".
But observers later said it was a sea lion.
The sea lion circled under him and kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived.

There are a lot of different attitudes and approaches to suicide prevention--or to suffering.
Hines's is very pro-active, very strong and positive, very loving.
I like that--I love this guy--but a little of that energy goes a long way with me.

I am more drawn to the slowness and sadness of the caretaker Will in the movie Nine Days.

Everyone's different. The message that applies to us all is,

Everyone Matters.

Yes. Whether we like each other or not! 🙄

I matter.

YOU matter.

We matter, we and our organs.