Sunday Wrapup 11/21/2010

My uncle Ollie gave my father a nice tribute today as part of his testimony following the sermon which Dad preached. He said that he has appreciated David ever since he came here more than 50 years ago--for his vision, his goals, and his attitudes. He also appreciates that he speaks plainly.

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Grant had plans to leave early this morning for Washington, where he plans to live and work through next February. Around 11:00 last night he got an email saying his flight was canceled and he was now scheduled to leave at 6:30 tomorrow morning. So we had one more day with Grant. Nice for us. Not so nice for Grant and those who were looking forward to seeing him in Washington today.

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I walked out tonight to check on the pigs that are inhabiting the hog barn since yesterday. They were busy doing the things pigs do best--trotting around, snuffling in the straw, and eating. They haven't been here long enough to give clear olfactory evidence of that other thing they do well.

I'm ridiculously pleased to have more animals on this place.

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Last week one evening the cows were obviously distressed about something, demonstrating it by lots of mooing. When I mentioned it to Dad, who is checking up on the cattle while Lowell is gone to India, he said they were probably complaining about not being allowed out on the alfalfa till it dried off after a 2 1/2 inch rain. After a day or two, however, they had apparently forgotten it, and by the time Dad opened the gate again so they could graze on the alfalfa, they were lying about so contentedly, they could hardly be bothered to bestir themselves.

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Last week one day at school I was surprised late in the day to look down at my feet and see my church shoes. I had been wearing them all day, and didn't notice till then.

This morning in the van, ready to leave for church, I fortunately looked at my feet and spied one brown shoe and one black one. They were the same style--part of my very boring taste in shoes. I hurried back into the house to retrieve the other black one.

"Minor detail," Hiromi said when I returned. "If you had had them on the wrong feet, THAT would have been a big deal."

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We have an overnight low of 17 degrees predicted for Wednesday of this week, just in time for Thanksgiving. Today it was sunny and calm at 70 degrees around 4:00 when we went on a walk.

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I just watched a DVD on cancer. It was a PBS documentary that I found on the internet. It turned out to be from a decidedly alternative perspective. We won't be showing our students this one, unless individuals want to see it outside of class. I'm looking for one that is balanced regarding conventional and alternative treatments. I'll need to be convinced, however, that "balanced" does not equal "blind in one eye and not seeing well out of the other."

From a multitude of different sources I see evidence that "following the money" explains a lot of what happens in conventional cancer treatment. I don't believe that every person that participates in conventional cancer treatment is more money-hungry than full of compassion. But I think the information that reaches consumers and even medical professionals is heavily weighted in favor of those who stand to profit in a big way from prolonging treatment for cancer rather than finding quick, effective, and inexpensive cures.

Some of the "money" information comes from researchers who were at one time employed either in well-known cancer research organizations or who are medical professionals who see the system from the inside out.

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My uncle, Jesse Beachy, from Virginia, recently turned 80. Within the last month he has run 4 miles in 44 minutes. He works full time as a self-employed carpenter. (I learned this from my sister Linda, who probably read it in the Budget.)

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My niece, Heidi, plans to leave in less than a week for India, where she will teach Sam and Becca's children for several months while their regular teacher has to leave the country to renew her visa.

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I thought I published this post last night before I went to bed. It wasn't there this morning, and the last third or so was missing from the draft. I added the last two blurbs but haven't dredged up the remaining portion from the depths of a brain as foggy as this morning is. Hiromi and Grant left for the airport around 4:30. I hope the fog didn't hinder their progress too much. They have an hour's drive to the airport in Wichita.